Tertön Sogyal's first teacher was the master Nyala Pema Düddul, who attained rainbow body in 1872. Pema Düddul is shown in this wall mural at Kalzang Temple, surrounded by his disciples, and above his head, the lineage gurus. Pema Düddul sent the young Tertön Sogyal into retreat under the yogi Lama Sonam Thaye. Theirs was a lineage not of ordained monks living in large monasteries but of lay tantric yogis, untethered by convention, who wandered from hermitage to cave, occasionally stopping in the towns across Tibet. Tertön Sogyal stayed for five years in his first retreat on the Tromthar plains, especially at the remote encampment of Drikok under Lama Sonam Thaye. As I write in “Fearless in Tibet,” The encampment at Drikok had been blessed over the centuries by many hermit meditators and tantric practitioners. He found not only a guru in Sonam Thaye at Drikok but also a community of practitioners who shared the same intention. Tertön Sogyal was another jewel in a garland of gems of yogis who stayed for long durations of retreat.”
Loading…}