Yudron wrote:
My personal observation is that reading a bunch about Dzogchen when one has little foundation in practice, and little direct personal guidance from a master, creates more demons than Buddhas.
Yes, but this is for beginners in general. For those who properly develop the foundation of mahayana, and understand the two emptinesses, are equipped to study on their own.
There are many Kunga Rinpoches, which one is he? Can you give a link to a bio in English? I've never known a Kunga who wasn't Sakya.
There are a lot of biographies about him in chinese, none available in english, except in a short description from the book:
rDzogs chen in China
Gangs dkar rin po che, Karma bshad sprul chos kyi seng ge, the fifth incarnation of the
sprul sku from ’Bo Gangs dkar monastery [Fig. 4] was a famous Tibetan master who often came
to China for transmitting Tibetan teachings. According to the biography written by his disciple
Mi nyag mgon po (’Bo Gangs dkar sprul sku’i rnam thar dad pa’i pad dkar , Beijing Mi rigs dpe skrun
khang, 1997), Gangs dkar rin po che came to China three times. The first time, from 1936 to
1939, he visited many places, and it seems that he passed through Nanchang before returning to
his monastery in 1939. The second time was in 1946-49, and the third time in 1953-55. More on
this master in Carmen Meinert, “Gangs dkar rin po che between Tibet and China,” in Buddhism
Between Tibet and China, ed. Matthew T. Kapstein (Boston Wisdom Publications 2008). The a
while he left Nanchang in order to visit his monastery on Mount Gangs dkar in the region of Mi
nyag (today’s Liuba 六巴 district of Xikang 西康 [Tib. Khams]; see contemporary Tibetan master,
Namkhai Norbu (b. 1938) met him when he was invited to China in 1954. He heard from Gangs
dkar rin po che many explanations on the sixfold yogas of Nåropa, Mahåmudrå, the dKon mchog
spyi ’dus, as well as Tibetan medicine; see Namkhai Norbu, The Cycle of Day and Night, trans. & ed.
John M. Reynolds (New York: Station Hill Press, 1987): 95-100, here 98. It is worthy of attention
that Namkhai Norbu gives for Gangs dkar rin po che the dates 1903-1956. On the works transmitted
by Gangs dkar rin po che in China, see Appendix 2. For a biography on Gangs dkar rin po che see
also the contribution by Chen Bing on p. 400, and Chen Jifu 陳濟博, et al. Fujiao guangjue chanshi
Xikang Gongka hutuketu benzhuan 輔教廣覺禪師西康貢噶呼圖克圖本傳 (extracts of which are
available at
http://fo.usard.com/Gongge.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and
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ArticleID=187).