Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche

Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (1926-2006) was born in 1926 in the Amdo region of eastern Tibet.

At the age of 8, he was recognized by the 10th Kirti Rinpoche as the first reincarnation of Khensur Kramcho Phuntsog, a former abbot of Kirti Monastery in Amdo, Tibet. At the age of 9, Rinpoche took ordination as a monk and he received the Kalachakra empowerment first in 1941.

He was appointed the abbot of Taktsang Lhamo (Kirti Monastery in Amdo) in 1955, and a year later he made the arduous journey to Lhasa to continue his studies at Drepung Monastery and avoid the political instability posed by the Chinese in the Amdo area. During this period, he became tsen-shab (debate partner) to Kirti Rinpoche, debating with him and reviewing his daily teachings.

After escaping from Tibet, following the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959, Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche taught Tibetan orphans at the Tibetan Children's Village, Dharamsala, India.

At the age of 45, he began a fifteen-year meditation retreat in a small stone hermitage above Dharamsala, "big enough for a bed, prostrations, and a stove". Seven years were spent in meditation on Lam Rim and 3 years on the 'Seven Point Thought Transformation' (Lojong). Two years were spent only on tantra generation and completion stage meditations, and during the final 3 years, Rinpoche repeated all of the above. Rinpoche put an end to his retreat only after the Dalai Lama requested him to come out of retreat and teach.

Rinpoche was a very important lineage holder in the Kalachakra tradition. After the invasion of the Chinese in 1959, he was the only living Master who held the rare lineage of the 'Vimalaprabha,' the most important commentary on the Kalachakra tantra. As such, he was also a teacher of the Dalai Lama.

Rinpoche taught in many different countries, including India, Australia, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, United States, Russia, Brazil, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Lithuania and South Africa. He also gave in total some 21 Kalachakra initiations.

Rinpoche died on December 16, 2006 [ [http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/kirtitsenshab.asp Venerable Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche] ] .

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