Tare Lhamo

Tāre Lhamo, a.k.a. Tāre Dechen Gyalmo (1938–26 March 2002[1][2][3]), was a Tibetan Buddhist master, visionary, and treasure revealer (gter ston) who gained renown in eastern Tibet.[4] She was especially praised for her life-saving miracles during the hardships of the Cultural Revolution and for extending the life-span of many masters.[5] Local legends claim that her activities to benefit others swelled like a lake in spring.[6]

Tare Lhamo
Photograph of Khandro Tāre Lhamo
Tibetan name
Tibetan ཏཱ་རེ་ལྷ་མོ།
Transcriptions
WylietA re lha mo
THLtaré lhamo

According to Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, one of her treasures was tying different types of knots with string as a skillful means to fulfill wishes or activities to benefit others.[7]

Early life

Biographies

Spiraling Vine of Faith: The Life of Liberation of the Supreme Khandro Tare Lhamois the official biography of her early life written by Pema Osal Thaye, a heart-son of Namtrul Rinpoche and Tare Lhamo.

Another biography is Jewel Lamp of Blessings (gter ston grub pa'i dbang phyug gzhi chen nam sprul dang mhka' 'dro tva re bde chen lha mo zung gi mdzad rnam nyer bsdud byin rlabs norbu'i sgron me), written by Abu Karlo and published in 2001.

After Tare Lhamo's marriage to Namtrul Rinpoche, her biography is continued in Pema Osal Thaye's biography of Namtrul Rinpoche, Jewel Garland: The Life of Liberation of Namtrul Jigme Phuntsok.

Later youth and familial ties

At age fourteen, Tāre Lhamo and her mother were traveling by foot to Dodrupchen Monastery when a pack of wild dogs attacked them in an open field. They threw stones at the dogs, including one dark stone that Tare Lhamo picked up from the top of a boulder. Later that night, when she went to bed, she found that dark stone in her jacket. On closer examination, it was a treasure casket marked with the syllable of Yeshe Tsogyal. Her mother understood once again that her daughter was an emanation of Yeshe Tsogyal and told her, "This stone is very important. You must wear it next to your body." Tāre Lhamo placed it inside a locket and wore it at all times.[8] She later learned that it contained a treasure destined to be revealed by Dodrupchen Rigdzin Jalu Dorje and she offered it to him.[9]

When she was 19, Tāre Lhamo was advised to marry Tulku Mingyur Dorje (1934–1959), an alleged reincarnation of Vairocana and the son of Dzongter Kunzang Nyima.[10]

Teachers

In 1990, from Dola Tulku Jigme Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, one of Dudjom Rinpoche's sons who remained in Tibet, Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche received the complete cycle of the Dudjom New Treasures. Later she recognized his son as a rebirth of Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje.[11]

During the Cultural Revolution

At age 22, Tāre Lhamo was caught up in the Cultural Revolution. In eastern Tibet, religious institutions were destroyed and practicing Buddhism was banned.[12]

During the Cultural Revolution, Tāre Lhamo was subjected to manual labor. Her first husband, Tulku Mingyur Dorje, and her three brothers all died in prison. According to stories passed down by mouth, she was spared imprisonment, but endured beatings and torture. On one occasion, officials placed her bare chest on a hot wood-burning stove.[13]

Life with Namtrul Rinpoche

1978–1988

During the 80s and 90s, Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche guided and taught many people throughout Eastern Tibet, freely disseminating the treasures of Dudjom, Apang Terton, and their own. According to Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, when revealing their treasures, it was customary for Tāre Lhamo to write in a symbolic script and for Namtrul Rinpoche to transcribe the symbols.[14]

Final years
Namtrul Rinpoche, Khandro Tare Lhamo, Tulku Lhaksam Namdak

Tāre Lhamo died on March 26, 2002, in a Chengdu hospital. She had been healthy and strong throughout her life. However, according to Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, in 2000, she started feeling that she would soon die.[15]

References
  1. Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  2. Holly Gayley (August 2014). "Khandro Tāre Lhamo". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  3. Yeshe Wangmo (7 March 2020). "A Short Biography of Khandro Tāre Lhamo" (PDF).
  4. Gayley, 2016, p.33, 38.
  5. Gayley, 2019
  6. Spiraling Vine of Faith, Pema Osal Thaye
  7. Life of Khandro Tāre Lhamo, Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo interview of Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, Life & Works of Tare Lhamo website
  8. Life of Khandro Tāre Lhamo, Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo interview of Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, Life & Works of Tare Lhamo website
  9. Spiraling Vine of Faith, Pema Osal Thaye.
  10. Spiraling Vine of Faith, Pema Osal Thaye.
  11. Spiraling Vine of Faith, Pema Osal Thaye
  12. "Khandro Tare Lhamo". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  13. "Khandro Tare Lhamo". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  14. Life of Khandro Tāre Lhamo, Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo interview of Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, Life & Works of Tare Lhamo website
  15. Life of Khandro Tāre Lhamo, Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche interview, Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo, Jnanasukha Foundation.

Sources
  • The Life & Works of Tare Lhamo, http://www.tarelhamo.com
  • Abu Karlo (A bu dkar lo) et al., Jewel Lamp of Blessings: Brief Biographies of Namtrul Jigmed Phuntsog and Khandro Tare Lhamo (gter ston grub pa'i dbang phyug gzhi chen nam sprul dang mhka' 'dro tva re bde chen lha mo zung gi mdzad rnam nyer bsdud byin rlabs norbu'i sgron me), Xining: Mtsho sngon nang bstan rtsom sgrig khang, 2001.
  • Gayley, Holly, Love Letters from Golok: A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet, Columbia University Press, 2016.
  • Gayley, Holly, Inseparable across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of the Tibetan Visionaries Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tare Lhamo, Snow Lion, 2019, https://www.shambhala.com/inseparable-across-lifetimes-3764.html
  • Gayley, Holly, Khandro Tare Lhamo https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Tare-Lhamo/8651
  • Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, Life of Khandro Tāre Lhamo, interview with Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo, Jnanasukha Foundation, http://www.tarelhamo.com/videos
  • Pema Osal Thaye (Pad ma 'od gsal mtha' yas), Spiraling Vine of Faith: The Life of Liberation of the Supreme Khandro Tare Lhamo (mkha' 'gro tā re lha mo'i rnam thar dad pa'i 'khri shing), Chengdu: Sichuan Ethnic Publishing House (si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang), 1997.
  • Pema Osal Thaye (Pad ma 'od gsal mtha' yas), Jewel Garland, The Life of Liberation of Namtrul Jigme Phuntsok (nam sprul 'jigs med phun tshogs kyi rnam thar nor bu'i do shal), published in Cloud Offerings to Delight The Vidyadharas and Dakinis (skyabs rje nam sprul rin po che 'jigs med phun tshogs ang mkha' 'gro ta re lha mo mchog gi rnam thar rig '
  • dzin mkha' 'gro dgyes pa'i mchod sprin), 1997.
  • Péma Osel Thayé, Hagiographies de Taré Lhamo et Namtrul Rinpoché, translated by Jean-Francois Bulliard, Editions Yogi Ling, 2005.
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