Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche (1931-2005)

Photo of Dr Trogawa and Sogyal Rinpoche circa 1986

2011-01-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

Thos photo is on the website Remembering The Masters a memorial to Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro.

Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute Now Has a New Website!!!!

2010-01-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that the Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute now has it's own website. On these pages you can find updated contact info, an excellent photo gallery, list of fundraising and ongoing projects and links.

Click here to go to the website

Chagpori Project Proposals for the Year 2008 - 2009

2008-08-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

Chagpori Medical Students

Dr. Anne MacDonald, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, recently wrote me to request that I list the current fundraising priorities for Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute in India.

She writes, "Dr. Trinlay Trogawa, Rinpoche’s nephew and head of Chagpori, makes once a year trips to Europe to raise money via medical consultations for his institution; even so, the yearly income is relatively low. Because of the strikes in Darjeeling this summer, his 2008 European trip had to be canceled. This will severely affect Chagpori’s finances for the year."

For further information about making donations, Please contact:

Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute, Emchi Trinley Trogawa, Trogawa House, North Point, Darjeeling 734104, West Bengal, India Tel: 0091 3542 270266 EMail chagpori@satyam.net.in

To convert suggested donations in Euros to US dollars, click here.

For a more complete description of the Chagpori Tibetan Medical School, click here.

The following Project Proposal for the Year 2008 - 2009 was written by Emchi Trinley Trogawa regarding the most urgent needs Chagpori currently faces.

For the coming year we divided the projects in urgent (A) and semi-urgent (B) projects.

Most Urgent Projects:

Students' Sponsorship

Most of the students coming to Chagpori are from very poor families. Without sponsorship it will not be possible for them to fulfill their ambition to study Tibetan medicine.

Each student will need € 75,- per month which is € 900,- per year for the duration of 6 years (5 years theoretical studies and 1 year practical). This will cover the student's tuition fees, board & lodging, pocket money and some of the overhead costs.

At the moment we are looking for two of the 4th. batch students who still need additional € 25,- per month for their sponsorship.
For the 5th. batch we need five more full sponsorships and for five other students additional sponsorships of € 38.

If you are willing to help please let us know, so that we may send you the student's bio data and other information.

Project Pharmacy

The existence of a good medical institute depends on a reliable and regular supply of medicines made in its prescribed way. Till date we have been making our medicines manually only during the winter months, when it is dry and sunny.

In order to expand and become financially independend we need to produce medicines throughout the year. Therefore what we are seeing firstly is to start this year on the acquired land with the construction of a pharmacy.

The 3 to 5 story building will include facilities for medicine manufacture, different store rooms for raw and finished materials and staff quarters. The construction will meet the amount of € 250.000,-.

As we know that this amount is beyond many purses we would like to present our
"BRICK- PROJECT".

Please feel encouraged to sponsor bricks as many as you want for € 1,- each to contribute towards the construction of the pharmacy building.

We will send the project with blue print separately after it is prepared by the architect.

Project: Herb Collection and (less urgent) B- Project: Medicine garden

Herb Collection
Tibetan medical students go to the mountains each year to learn to identify the medicinal plants. At the same time it is a part of the education to learn how to collect the plants and treat each plant in the necessary and appropriate way for preparation for their medicinal use.

Every week the students spend one day for collection of herbs in the nearby hills or they help with the preparation for medical use.

This coming summer the senior group will go for one month to a distant place for this important part of their education. The junior group will make a trip in the surrounding area.

To cover the cost of the herb collection activities of both groups we need € 7.000,- for 2008.

B- Project: Medicine Garden

We started medicine gardens for teaching, replantation and conservation of different general and rare medicinal herbs at the College compound which is spacious and ideal for growing plants. The main garden is in the shape of the Medicine Buddha mandala and is located next to the stupa at the compound.
We will try to get seeds, roots and seedlings from their original natural habitat to enhance the quality of the crops.We are happy that this means will provide practical lessons to the students as well as fulfilling a need for the pharmacy.

Donations towards the herb collecting and medicinal garden project will be gratefully received.

Urgent Project: Educational Pharmacy at the College compound

We have also started the construction of an educational pharmacy at the college ground. Through spending one day a week with pharmacy activities the students will be able to learn about this specific skill of the Tibetan doctor during their educational period.These activities of learning to find, identify and treat the plants in the proper way throughout the process till they are made into powders, tea's and pills is a complex procedure. The herbal trips, educational gardens and educational pharmacy will familiarize them with this process.

The costs of the construction as well as some basic equipment will be € 15.000,-.

We are very grateful if you can help the students towards this project.

Medical Equipment Project for Clinics

We thank the Dutch Support Group who kindly took care for this project.

It is essential to have different medical equipments, like golden needle, cupping devices, moxa-bustion and cauterization equipments at the respective clinics. Additional weighing scales and emergency light were included in this project.

Total amount required for the clinics at Darjeeling, Kurseong and Takdah was € 1.500,-.

A-Urgent Project: Dehumidifiers

Darjeeling area is very well known as a wet area due to a long monsoon period because of which there is mist for almost three quarters of the year. That is also the reason why tea grows so well and Darjeeling is so famous for throughout the world.

But to keep things dry is a problem for us. The raw materials and finished products for the pharmacy as well as the books in the library and some of our museum's display items are perishable. We need dehumidifier machines which cost € 700,- per machine.
We need three dehumidifier machines and the total cost will be € 2.100,-.

We will be very grateful if you could help us preserve the precious materials.

A-Project: New Clinic in Siliguri.

We realize that CTMI needs more clinics and clinic doctors, that's why we would like to open as soon as possible a clinic in Siliguri market. Siliguri is a reasonable town with a big need for health practitioners.
We want to request one of our 1st batch doctors to rejoin CTMI and become a clinic doctor in Siliguri.
Recurring costs are the rent of the place € 80,-
the salary of the clinic doctor - 125,-
the housing allowance - 50,-
total recurring costs € 225,-

The furnishing of the clinic will be a one time expense of € 1.500,-.
Additionally there will come running costs for the clinic as soon as the clinic opens.

We are very grateful for any donation towards this project.

B- Project: Generator for the College.

Power failure is a daily recurring fact in Darjeeling area. After 15 years of duty the generator for the college becomes old and is also very noisy, which disturbs the students during their study hours. That's why it would be good to replace it as soon as possible.

A new generator will cost € 1.100,-.

Although it's a B-Project we will be very grateful to anyone who can help us to replace the generator.

Urgent Project: Darjeeling Clinic

Two years ago we opened a clinic in Darjeeling town. In the meanwhile patients know to find the clinic and are satisfied with the treatment they receive.
As Darjeeling is a tribal area, this doesn't mean that the coming of patients and the sale of pills meets the actual costs of running the clinic. For the salary of the doctor and his housing costs the Dutch Support is taking care and the French Support group takes care for the rent of the clinic itself.

To meet the additional costs of maintaining this clinic and to be able to run it continuously we still need € 5.700,- per year (€ 475,- per month). This amount covers salaries, administration of the clinic and a part of the institute's overhead costs.

We are very grateful for any donation towards this project.

Urgent A-Project: Kurseong Clinic

In 1997 we opened a clinic in Kurseong market, unfortunately due to financial and personnel shortage we had to close the clinic in 2001.

As we still had that place, we re-opened this clinic in April 2006.
For the salary of the doctor and his housing costs the Dutch Support is taking care. And although the rent of the clinic is quite low, the overall costs to maintain the clinic and run it continuously will be € 6.000,- per year (€ 500,- per month).

This amount covers salaries, administration of the clinic and a part of the institute's overhead costs.

We are very grateful for any donation towards this project.

B-Project Medical Aid for Students

In April 2008 we gave admission to the 5th batch of 15 new students for the Menpa Kachupa degree. The 11 students of the 4th. batch have entered their 4th year of study in the meanwhile. So in total there are 26 students studying at the institute at the moment. According to the tradition the students will get free medical care when needed. In case the patient does not respond positively to Tibetan medicine then they have to go for allopathic treatment. The institute will cover the initial costs. This does not include big expenses such as operations. To cover the cost for general medical care we think of an amount of € 2.500,- per year.

We are very grateful for any donation towards this project.

B-Project: New Car

The Chagpori Institute covers an area of ± 80 Km. To ferry Chagpori's personnel, provide the clinics with medicines and transport the raw materials we need a new jeep. At the moment we have an old jeep which needs a lot of maintenance. This is expensive and gives too much trouble and is unreliable during travel.

The estimate for a new jeep will be € 15.000,-

We will be very grateful as this will assure us of a smooth and reliable transport.

B-Project: Museum display items

We are very happy that since 2006 we started with a small museum in our campus in Takdah. For the museum we are looking for donations in kind, such as old Tibetan medical instruments, as well as donations to improve our collection of museum display items.

We will be very grateful if you could help us in this project.

B-Project: Free medicine

To enable us to give free medicines to poor and under privileged patients we would like to ask donations towards this project.

Third Anniversary of the Ven. Trogawa Rinpoche's Death

2008-05-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

The following account is from Emchi Shakya Dorje's website:

"The great healer Ven.Dr.Trogawa Rinpoche left the world on May 11, 2005. He had not been ill apart from a hip injury. He spent the last months of his life in spiritual retreat, first at a temple in Siliguri, Bengal, and then at the monastery of Choten Gonpa in Gangtok, Sikkim. In his last days he was surrounded by close desciples and by other lamas. As is often the case with Buddhist masters, his remains did not deteriorate after his passing. He is deeply mourned by his many students and spiritual desciples, and by his many patients. All who knew him remember his deep kindness and compassion, his infinite wisdom, his deep understanding of healing. His legacy lives on in Chagpori, in the work of his students, in the healing he carried out and in the spiritual lives of all he touched."

This morning I am reminded of Dr. Trogawa who died on May 11, 2005. On that day just as I was preparing to attend my graduation for my MFA degree at New England College, I received an email from France regarding his passing. I've met many famous and important Tibetan lamas over the years but he remains so special in my heart as a manifestation of great and unbounded compassion.

Historic Tibetan Medicine Symposium at Amherst College, June 13-15, 2008

2008-05-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Tibetan Medicine in America 2008
June 13th -15th at Amherst College

A historic symposium featuring keynote speaker Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, speakers from the American Tibetan Medical Association and Tibetan doctors from around the world.

Regarded as science, art and philosophy, Tibetan medicine is an ancient form of holistic heath care indigenous to the Tibetan people that integrates the core Buddhist principles of altruism, karma and ethics. Originating from early indigenous Tibetan society, traditional Tibetan medicine evolved into a synthesis of thousands of years of accumulated empirical knowledge from China, Persia, India and Greece. It has been practiced continuously in Tibet for over 4,000 years.

All symposium sessions are free and open to the public, and will be held at Amherst College, in Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather. Sponsored by the International Shang Shung Institute, American Tibetan Medical Association, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College, the Dean’s Office; the Hamilton Fund; the President’s Office; and the Tagliabue Fund, Amherst College.

About the symposium
Opening day will feature a key note lecture by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, the internationally renowned Tibetan scholar and the founder of the International Shang Shung Institute for Tibetan Studies with locations in Austria, Italy and the United States. Since 2005, the USA branch has offered the only 4-year Traditional Tibetan Medicine Program in the West and the first-of-its-kind English-language curriculum that mirrors traditional training found only at advanced medical schools in Tibet and India.

On Saturday the following speakers will lecture: Dr. Yang Ga, an assistant professor of Tibetan medicine at the Tibetan Medical College in Lhasa who is currently in a Harvard PhD program, will talk on the history of Tibetan medical knowledge, one of humanity's oldest continuously practiced healing systems.

Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen, a doctoral student at the UCLA School of Public Health, ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk, and board member of the American Tibetan Medical Association, will introduce the basic medical theory underlying Tibetan Medicine that a naturally balanced being is better health.

Dr. Tenzin Darje, professor at the Lhasa Medical School in Tibet, and Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, director of the Shang Shung Institute's 4-year Tibetan Medicine program and president of the American Tibetan Medical Association, will give a talk to introduce the ancient healing system's prevention approach in present-day clinical practice with an emphasis on balancing the Western diet and lifestyle.

Dr. Tenzin Dapka, a Tibetan medical professor and publisher, and Dr. Chimed Rabten, a professor at Sichuan State Tibetan College in China, chief physician at the school's affiliated medical center and board member of the American Tibetan Medical Association, will discuss the current situation for Tibetan medicine in Tibet, where it has been practiced continuously for 4,000 years, and India, which is now home to the largest school of Tibetan medicine outside of its Himalayan homeland.

Dr. Choyang Phuntsog, a former faculty member and pharmacy director at the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in Dharamsala, India and member of the American Tibetan Medical Association, and Tashi Rabten, a graduate from the Tibetan Medical School in Lhasa and founder of the Tibetan Green Health Center in New York, will talk about the current situation for Tibetan medicine in America focusing on legality, licensing, standards and preservation through practice.

Speaker Schedule

FRIDAY, JUNE 13
Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather, Amherst College

4:30 Welcoming remarks by Professor Paola Zamperini, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College
Opening remarks, Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo
Keynote lecture by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

SATURDAY, JUNE 14
Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather.

9 - 10:30 AM | Dr. Yang Ga The Historic Roots of Medical Knowledge in Tibet
10:45 AM - 12:15 PM | Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen Understanding the Basis of the Tibetan Healing Science
2 - 3:30 PM | Dr. Tenzin Darje and Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo Preventative Measures and Practical Applications of Tibetan Medicine
3:45 – 5:00 PM | Dr.Tenzin Dakpa and Dr. Chimed Rabtan Modern Day Study and Practice of Tibetan Medicine in Tibet and India

SUNDAY, JUNE 15
Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather.

9 - 10:30 AM | Dr. Chodying Phuntsog and Tashi Rabten Tibetan Medicine in America
10:45 AM - Noon |Concluding Remarks
Dr. Yang Ga, Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen, Dr. Tenzin Darje, Dr. Chodying Phuntsog and Tashi Rabten

Moderators: Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo and Professor Paola Zamperini, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College

About ATMA
The American Tibetan Medical Association (ATMA) is exclusively dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Tibetan Medicine and has no political affiliations or involvement. It is a national organization representing the Tibetan Medical profession in The United States of America, and its mission is to preserve, protect, improve and promote the philosophy, knowledge, science and practice of Tibetan Medicine for the benefit of humanity.

About The Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College
Asian Languages and Civilizations promotes an interdisciplinary exploration of the histories and cultures of the peoples of Asia. Through a systematic study of the languages, societies, and cultures of the major civilizations that stretch from the Arab World to Japan, this department aims at expanding knowledge and challenging presuppositions about this large and vital part of the world. Students in this discipline learn about cultural difference and its social and political implications, both within Asia and between Asia and the West.

About The International Shang Shung Institute
The International Shang Shung Institute was founded in Italy in 1989 by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, and inaugurated in 1990 by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Its aim is to deepen the knowledge and understanding of Tibetan cultural traditions in order to ensure their survival and preservation. The International Institute currently has three main branches, located in Italy, Austria, and the USA, which work together as one to promote all initiatives to this end.

The American branch, founded at Tsegyalgar in 1994 by Chögyal Namkai Norbu, currently offers the only full-time, four-year Traditional Tibetan Medicine certification program in the West. The program follows a recent revival of Traditional Tibetan Medicine in the East and marks one of the most significant advances for its preservation and practice in the West.

The innovative program is attracting a new generation o medical students interested in the integration of ancient healing systems with modern medicine. The institute is currently on the path of becoming the first fully accredited school of Traditional Tibetan Medicine in the West

For more information contact the Shang Shung Institute at (413) 369 - 4928 , email: secretary@shangshung.org, Web: ShangShung.org

New Year Greeting: Year of the Earth Rat

2008-02-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

Best Wishes and Good Health!

Year of the Earth Rat

What comes to mind is a certain
brawn, a radiant boldness
that defies the boundaries of can’t do
or won’t make it happen.
I’ve seen you look askance,
your single eye focused
in the strutting through garbage and refuse--
All the heaps of discouragements
that hinder others but excite your passion
for excellence and a worthy prosperity.
Let's move mountains,
scale globes of gold,
defy the house rules
to blaze a path towards realization
arising from such unlikely origins
as the lowly earth rat
who never says No.

Jacqueline Gens
2.7.08
Brattleboro, VT

Visit Shakya Dorje's Gallery of Photos

2008-02-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

For other photos fo Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche and Chagpori, visit Emchi, Shakya Dorje's webpages by clicking on the title above.

Five Essays by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche Online

2007-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

Five essays by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche can be downloaded from Thrangu, Rinpoche's website. Click on the title above for the link. These are :

Medical Care in the Tibetan Tradition

Embryology

Diabetes

gNyan Dieseses

Causes of Mental Disorders According to the Tibetan Tradition

A Brief Overview of Tibetan Medicine by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2007-07-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

The following transcript is a portion of a talk delivered by Dr. Trogawa on June 9, l989. The translator was Shakya Dorje.

Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche
Overview of Tibetan Medicine

Translator: Good evening everyone. This evening I've been asked to begin an overview of Tibetan medicine. Elements of the Tibetan system of medicine as it is practiced today date from more than 3ooo years ago to an early system of medicine from amongst the Tibetan peoples-Tibet was initially an isolated country and so developed its ideas in general, and its medical ideas in particular, under its own inspiration. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Tibet began more seriously to contact other cultures, particularly India, and Indian medicine began to influence Tibet. Three systems of medicine from India have influenced Tibet, two of these were the general wide-spread systems found in India, and the third was a lesser-known system. And as the diffusion of Indian medical ideas began in Tibet, there also began the diffusion of Dharma ideas. This was during the reign of King Lha-mtho-ri gnyan-brtsan. So from the 4th century, there begins a fusion of the traditional system of medicine found in Tibet, and Indian systems of medicine, in Tibet.

One might investigate more precisely the particular influence of India on Tibet, and the interrelation of the two, but that is not our topic tonight and we do not have the time for such a sideline.

In the 7th century, a large conference of medicine was held in Lhasa and at this time physicians came from all over Asia, from China and Nepal and from all over Tibet, from Mongolia, from Kashrnir, and from Tajikestan, and elsewhere. This served to bring together medical ideas of that time. In the 8th century a second great conference was held at Samye Monastary. This was the great period of transmission of Dharma in Tibet when Padmasarnbhava, Vimilarnitra, and other great Indian Masters were in Tibet at this time. When the second conference was held, it was headed
by a very great Tibetan Master of medicine, gYu-thong Yon-tan mGon-po, the E1der. At this time, it is said that from a place called Trong a physician whom we call Galenos came to Tibet. This would seem to be a practitioner of the ancient European system of medicine, as epitomized by Galenos (or Galen).

It is an interesting point as to where Trong might have been, there is quite some speculation about it, but it is unsure now where it might have been, where Galenos might have come from. Some people think that it is a reference to Rome and, in fact, Galen of the 2nd century was from Rome, so it might be a reference to the text and system. There are other ideas that it might be somewhere in Persia. It is important to understand the sources of what we do so these historical questions have some importance.

At this time in the 8th century and further on, there occured a number of other developments, but I'm going to keep this part fairly short. What is important to note is that there was a text written down at this time, which [?} some coordinate ideas on medicine, called The Fearless Weapon (Tib. I'ihjigs-pa'i mTs'on-chha). In the 11th century the family descendent of gYu-thong Yon-tan mGon-po, the Elder became the overwhelningly predominate influence on Tibetan medicine. He had the same name, so he is clled gYu-thong Yon-tan rnGon-po, the Younger. He composed a text which is still the basis of the science of Tibetan medicine. This text is commonly called the Four Tantras (Tib. rGyud-bzhi) and it consists of 1-56 chapters.

gYu-thong Yon-tan mGon-po, the Younger was a very great Master and had a very great influence on his time and on future generations. He had a very large number of
disciples, not only in the field of medicine but also in the field-of spiritual practice. And at the end of his life he flew away to the Buddha-fields of the Dakinis in front of a great crowd. He had been invited to Tsong to a place near Shigatse, by a local official. There he was to give a teaching, and at the end of his teaching to a great assernbly of people, he flew away in the sky.

This family had a paternal origin in India. They had perpetuated in their family a tradition of Buddhist practice centering around the Medicine Buddha, with many special instructions, and so in their family through whom the teaching was transmitted, a number of practitioners had vanished in the rainbow at the end of their life, leaving behind no mortal remains. He had many disciples in the field of medicine, and a good number of them who were capable of transmitting the (?) of his understanding of medicine. So because of him, Tibetan medicine became a more wide spread science.

In the (?) century, the Fifth Dalai Lama became quite concerned that the tradition of Tibetan medicine might at some point decline if its teaching were not regularly
supported. So he built the Medical Monastary of Chakpori (Tib. lChags-po-ri) adjacent to Lhasa. Here the teaching of medicine was given with a very definite spiritual emphasis, so that medicine and Dharma became a single integral practice. So the physicians of Chakpori were practitioners of Dharma and developed their healing powers through the practice of mantra and special sadhanas. And when they did so, then each one according to his own particular capacities would utilize not only the more scientific and external systems of treating illness, but also use his personal development and personal powers according to his development to cure his patients.

What were the spiritual aspects of the practice of medicine, as a Chakpori physician would learn? First of all, he would be a person who developed himself. And part
of his own development would be to learn healing practice and develop his own healing energies so that these would also be utilizable for curing his patients. Then another
aspect of the spirituality of medicine at Chakpori was the consecration of the medicines. This happened regularly, but most especially at a great annual ritual which took about ten days if you count also the time it took to prepare, in which a great mandala was drawn and the medicines for the year were placed in the mandala and then consecrated in a large ritual. We would say that in Chakpori the medicines had two powers: they had the powers of the substances themselves, and then the powers of the mantras with which they were consecrated.

The practice of Tibetan medicine diffused throughout Tibet, from Chakpori it diffused as far as the eastern reaches of the Tibetan people, and it was found all through
the Himalayas as well. In Mongolia, Tibetan medicine was taught and practiced, and in China some things about it were learned from Mongolia, and some texts were translated into Chinese. Through the Mongols, Tibetan medicine was practiced in Tsarist Russia also. we find some texts in Tibetan which were translated between the 7th and 8th
centuries into Tibetan frorn Chinese. But the matter in these texts is basically Indian. For instance, the Sonaraza, which is a commentary of Nagarjuna, a great Indian Master, still has its Indian title and was brought to China in an early period and then translated into Tibetan from Chinese. The studies by Nagarjuna of the head and of the body, with regard to their points and strategic places was also translated into Chinese at one point from an Indian language.

In ancient times traditions ran together quite a bit, rather like different streams flowing into a large river. And the old sources of these different influences tended to get lost. So in the different systems one finds in Asia -even in early times there were influences that weren't exactly entirely indigenous. There were influences from
other different sources as well. Indian influence on Chinese medicine, for instance, It goes back to very early times. The earlier you go in research, evidently the harder it is to find exactly where the influence might have been.

So because of the different historical changes that have taken place, especially in our century, the ancient sciences have declined in the modern period. Especially
since 1959, Tibet has gone through a severe cultural decline. Chakpori no longer exists. At the beginning of this century, the thriteenth Dalai Lama began another school of medicine in Lhasa, the Lhasa School of Medicine and Astrology (Tib. sMan-rtis-dkan) and this was then closed by the Chinese administration at one time.
It has now been reopened (in Tibet), and so this school again functions. In Dharamsala, there is also a school which is a derivitive of the former School of Medicine and Astrology in Lhasa. Chakpori has been destroyed. There has been no attempt to rebuild this very valuable school, so this is why it is my aim to work to rebuild the school which will replace the teachings of Chakpori.

This is more or less by way of introduction.

Peace & Discipline in Mental Stress According to Tibetan Medicine

2007-07-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Meridian Trust Buddhist film archive has a talk by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche recorded on January 4, 1986 at Rigpa London. In the film, according to the notes:

"Dr. Trogawa talks of the effects of mental stress, how it can develop an attitude of patience to bear with the discord of life and how we can relate to others in this world with happiness. There is a question and answer session at the end of the talk. Dr. Trogawa is one of the most highly respected practitioners of Tibetan medicine and completed a rigorous training in Lhasa before leaving Tibet in 1954."

Shang Shung Institute of America Tibetan Medical School Receives Licensing by the Massachusetts Department of Education

2007-06-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

While not specifically related to the Chagpori School of Tibetan Medicine, I worked for years in helping Shang Shung Institute under the direction of Choegyal Namkhai Norbu develop its own Tibetan Medicine School in America. I am very happy to report some fruition to my own and others great effort toward realizing the initial steps in creating an accredited school of Tibetan medicine. My initial inspiration, of course, was Dr. Trogawa, who was first brought to the west at the invitation of Choegyal Namkhai Norbu, Rinpoche to participate in the first conference on Tibetan Medicine. {Louise writes about this in her recollections}. It was through my work with Dr. Trogawa that I was first introduced to students from the Dzogchen Community.

The Shang Shung Institute Tibetan Medicine program under the direction of Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo is doing an incredible job of creating the first four year curriculum in English with 14 full time students enrolled.

Congratulations!!!!

New Photo of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2007-05-21T07:41:00.001-07:00

While cleaning my shrine area this morning, I came accross this photo of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche taken by John Giorno in 1993 on a trip outside New York. While I do not remember the destination, on the way we stopped to picnic at a lovely park where everyone took a nap.
While we were sleeping, a small red fox approached the doctor. On the backside of this photo is a stamp "Giorno Systems." I do remember sitting in the backseat of the car with John on this trip and hearing his story of meeting poet, Anne Waldman. I love John's slogan art. For years, I have kept a small silk screened post card of his in my office--EVERYONE IS A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT. Whenever, I feel disappointed in my own or others' failing, just seeing this card perks me up.

Visit New Photo Gallery of Dr. Trogawa at Emchi Shakya Dorje's Site

2007-03-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Emchi Shakya Dorje, a Chagpori associate, has a number of photos of Dr. Trogawa in Ladakh and Bhutan. You can visit his site at http://www.shakyadorje.org

Some Recollections of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche (1931-2005)

2006-10-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche (1931-2003)

A Personal Tribute to Ven. Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche (1931- 2005)

I first met Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche in 1989 through the NY Shambhala Center which had invited him to teach for a week and see patients. Having recently moved to New York from Boulder, Colorado, I was asked to help coordinate his visit. On the eve of his arrival, the other coordinator unexpectedly had to travel to visit her dying father and I was left alone to coordinate his visit. I spent many weeks in his clinic helping out and cooking in a marathon of hard labor. Over the years, I saw him here or there often spending time in his household, which tended to be at John Giorno’s wonderful loft on the Bowery in New York City. Poet, Allen Ginsberg was on his Chakpori board of directors along with Sir James George and other interesting people like John, and Shakya Dorje. Once, I spent a week in Boulder at the invitation of one of his students, Dr. Phil Weber, to cook for the doctor there. In addition to being a great lama and physician, I found him an interesting man in his observations about Western life with a subtle but wicked sense of humor. He had his quirks which always endeared me to him. One never knew what kind of odd ingredient he would request for his medicine preparations. He was my first real introduction to undiluted Tibetan culture. I will always hold him in high esteem.

A rarefied and aristocratic lama, I was impressed by Dr. Trogawa's uncompromising dedication to his vocation as a physician and the contrast of his sensitive nature in relation to the grittiness of dealing with so much human illness and suffering, Over the years, I observed him with hundreds of patients, many terminal. There is no doubt in my mind that he brought a healing presence to so many people, including myself. Although he was an incarnate lama, his path was different than most because his primary vocation was that of a physician. From morning to night he would see patients. He forwent many things by maintaining his own personal practice life in the midst of this kind of busy schedule. He worked really hard on behalf of others. Given his somewhat frail constitution, this always seemed so telling of his dedication. In this respect, he was something of a “Hidden” yogin—working by day, and practicing all the time. Like any great lama he was able to transmit the essence of the teachings with the slightest gesture, word or nuance of feeling. I consider him among my principle teachers—someone who
delivered me from grossest ignorance so that I could continue on the path.

Ven. Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche was born in 1931 into a noble family in Thro Thralung, near Gyangtse, in the province of Tsang, in west-central Tibet. His father was an important officer in the Tibetan government. As child he was identified as the tulku of a Buddhist master and physician. Later, at the age of sixteen, he was sent to Lhasa to study medicine under the great physician Nyerongsha Rigzin Lhundrub Paljor who was a successor to the lineage of the Chagpori monastic school of medicine and a widely famed physician. He had at that time his own clinic, medicine production facility and apprenticeship program. Ven.Dr.Trogawa, Rinpoche studied with him for nine years, and became accomplished in all aspects of Tibetan Medicine becoming one of his master's principle successors. As an incarnate lama, he also studied and practiced the Buddhist path in depth during this time,

In 1957 Dr. Trogawa moved to Sikkim (then an Indian protectorate) in the company of the great Buddhist Master, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. After his master's passing in 1961 he moved to Darjeeling, in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, where he lived and practiced. After the fall of Tibet, he was one of the last masters free to teach and practice Tibetan Medicine. In 1963, he was appointed chief medical teacher at the Tibetan School of Medicine and Astrology, in Dharamsala, India, the institute directed by H.H.Dalai Lama. After some years at this school he left for health reasons, and then spent a number of years in retreat in the forests of Bhutan, periodically emerging to treat patients. He returned to Darjeeling in the 70's, where he lived and practiced until the present. Choegyal Namkhai Norbu invited him to the First International Conference on Tibetan Medicine at Merigar in 1983. Since that time, he taught at various conferences and dharma centers including the Dzogchen Community throughout the world. In 1994 he founded the Chagpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine to propagate his lineage of medicine. Dr.Trogawa. Rinpoche is considered one of the pre-eminent masters of Tibetan Medicine.*

Because of him, I believe in the efficacy of Tibetan medicine, its genius as an indigenous healing art infused with the noble view of Buddhism. He was a true manifestation of the medicine Buddha and the power of compassion as the basis for healing. With him there were no hopeless cases. With his passing, we have lost another link between old Tibet and the present. It was a great privilege to spend the time I did with him. So many memories flood my mind at this time—passing remarks, dreams, fragments of inner experiences in his midst, the simple elegance of his presence, and the subtly of his mind. I wish him well on his journey from this realm to another where no doubt he will continue his ministry to the suffering of beings

*biographical details were extracted from the website of Shakya Doirje at www.shakyadorje.org

Jacqueline Gens
published on my blog, Poetrymind and in the Mirror, International newspaper of the Dzogchen Community.

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The following account was taken from Amchi, Nel de Jong' s website: http://www.chagpori.nl/englishdarjeeling.htm

Chagpori - Darjeeling

Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche is one of the few doctors now living who has been educated according to the old Chagpori lineage. He sees it as his goal in life to maintain this unique tradition of Tibetan medicine and regularly comes to the West to teach and to treat patients. He re-established the Chagpori tradition by founding the Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute in Darjeeling in India in 1992. Under his guidence it was extended to include a pharmacy for herbal medicines and several clinics. Currrently (2004), thirty young doctors have graduated from the institute in Darjeeling while there are twenty students in training, mainly Buddhist nuns, who are able to receive an education only because the students are financially supported by Western sponsors.

With deep sadness we have to inform you that Ven. Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche passed away on the 11th May. Rinpoche went quietly into a deep meditation in which he remained untill the 15th. The cremation took place on the 25th May, at 8 a.m. local time, in Gangtok. The 49th day ceremony takes place on the 29th June, also in Gangtok. With his passing, not only has one of the last great teachers from the Chagpori lineage left us, but also a great Buddhist teacher who was an example of living compassion. Many dear memories and a gratefulness to have known him so closely will remain with us.

May his wisdom mind continue in us.

A documentary film made by the Buddhist broadcast about
Ven. dr. Trogawa Rinpoche you can find under: (click)

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OTHER RECOLLECTIONS

The following account is by Loek Jehee of the Netherlands.

Dear Jacqueline,

Thank you for your lovely post! I too have fantastic memories of
Doctor Trogawa R. He was several times in Amsterdam. We organized a
Medicine Buddha initiation for him and public talks and he gave many
consultations. I especially remembered the warm and cosy, simple and
friendly natural atmosphere around him. There was a sense of special
spacious purity around him that I now vividly recall while
remembering him in my practice. It was a sense of presence of a
cloud-like medicinal herbal purity and in fact after leaving the
house where he stayed, that whole house was filled with that special
scent of medicine that tastes like those wonderful precious jewel
pills that you sometimes can get if you are lucky. I guess he was a
very high lama (yet manifesting very simply).

I noticed that also on another occasion. I visited him in Nepal in
Boddhanath where he stayed in a small house near the Great Stupa.
This was during the time that H.H. Dudjom R. just had died. He in
fact warned me to be around the special stupa that was built for
H.H.. So, I went there that afternoon, doing some meditation all on
my own sitting in a nearly empty temple. Then, all of a sudden, at
around 4 o'clock in the afternoon the temple suddenly filled around
me with monks and lamas and a large puja (leaded by Ven. Chadral R.)
started. Also Trongawa R. entered and took place at a high throne (!)
on the opposite site of the other lama's. That indicated somehow to
me how much respected Trogawa R. was by the other lama's (and which
high position he in fact had). Although he never would show this off
while being in his presence, he was always simplicity himself and had
also a lot of humor. Then the family of the late Dudjom R. entered
and an invocation and gathering of all enlightened forces to dedicate
the stupa occurred. A spiritual event of such power that I never
again have witnessed later. It was so strong that everybody in the
environment and city felt it and all fuses were blown (literally). Without
Trogawa R.'s warning I would never have had the good fortune to be
present at that special occasion.

So, there are many stories to be told about Trogawa R. He was for me
in fact the embodiment of Tibetan medicine. He took considerable
effort to safeguard its tradition and knowledge in the Chakpori
Institute of Tibetan Medicine. I pray strongly that Rinpoche's life
work will be continued successfully and that all his intentions for
sentient beings will be swiftly fulfilled.

Love!

Loek Jehee

------------------------------

The following account is by poet, Louise Landes Levi (the format has not been saved--my apology-JG)

a
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The Death of a teacher is a strange event. I can’t do Xitro for you, you are enlightened. You used to tell me to visualize Medicine Buddha in my practice but I always saw you, instead. I asked you if Medicine Buddha mantra cld. be used in massage. You answered ‘yes’ ‘without touching’. Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche always loved that massage (of mantra) - he said it was better than touch. I cldn’t tell if he was pretending (I think so )when he kicked me across the floor on many an occasion, saying this (the unpredictable actions of his left foot) was due to the power of the mantra....to the power of the transmission I’d received fr. ‘Trogawa’.

I was a little girl that grew up w. doctors/ most of the time the doctors didn’t understand my complaints or didn’t want to look that far/ I cld never tell them what was REALLY the matter. Maybe they didn’t want to know. It was a great relief to meet Tibetan medicine in the form of Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche who needed no explanations. I wld. like to list below 10 anecdotes which I hope will serve as just memorial to this wonderful doctor, teacher, healer & friend.

l. There’s a Tibetan Medicine Conference, sponsored by the DC Community at Merigar. It’s 1983. The same people who organize things at Merigar in general, the Dell’Angelo brothers, in particular, are organizing this first of its kind seminar. We all go to Venice. I feel totally lost but am interested in the subject matter. At one point I see Doctor Trogawa crossing the Piazza St. Maria while I’m sitting under a fountain or next to one, playing sarangi, getting some money together...I see him across the piazza w. Tsultrim Allione & some other students. I want to get up & greet him but can’t abandon my post.

2. Later in Merigar, I have to choose between one of two doctors that are there for the conference. I chose Trogawa because I know the other doctor, a lady, will tell me I am crazy. Dr. Trogawa tells me I am in perfect health. This is a big surprise to me & the beginning of a trust that endured to the end of the doctor’s life. Later Rimpoche asks me which doctor I have seen. I say Trogawa.Rinpoche says ‘Good, because Dr. Trogawa is a Dzog Chen Master”. (I later understand that in the Doctor’s lineage there is a Dzog Chen transmission of the nyig tig).

3. I remember that when I first met Namkhai Norbu Rinpoiche, in Amsterdam, in 1982 - having received teachings fr. him in 1979-80 in London, & in 1981 in Paris, we bond - I have not recognize d him as my teacher, until a precise moment on the grachts of Amsterdam. As part of the ‘program’ in Amsterdam, we watch a film called AURA by Mario Maglietti - as far as I know it is the West’s first film on Tibetan medicine- There are scenes of our Master w.Dr. Trogawa in Darjeeling, where he has settled. I have an important insight while watching that film. Later Norbu Rinpoche confirms my self-diagnosis of what has been a very serious obstacle - nearly fatal - the last few years.

4. I become Dr. Trogawa’s ironess. Merigar is still a rather primitive place. I usually dress the part of ‘dharma bum’ (often not changing my clothes for weeks on end - but at least I am THERE). One retreat I decide on an ‘image change’. I bring a NICE bag of lace et.al clothes fr. Amsterdam & leave my bag at the hotel at the base of Merigar- my lace is to heavy to carry up the hill. Of course it rains & all the clothes are ruined or basically ruined. The practitioners shugg off my disaster w. a single word ‘karma’ but the Doctor, when he asks me why I am so distressed is very interested in my dilemma. He ask O what was the collar like? What kind of lace? O - O. Until now I have neglected to say that the doctor & I are speaking in Hindi - After describing the damage done to my little shirts he asks me would I like to take care of his shirts? His silk shirts. I become the doctor’s washer woman & ironess. This is the doctor’s first trip to the West. I am the only one who can freely converse w. him -

5. The doctor gives teachings at Merigar - we are sitting on a hill burning fires & taking pills. One morning we wake up at 5 AM, all the practitioners take a single pill. each The evening before we have taken medicine to clear our channels & chakras. We go into some sort of communal ‘samadhi’ - I finally understand the meaning of the word ‘drug’, in both its popular & pharmaceutical usage.

6. I decide I have to start reading poetry again. I bow at the door behind which the doctor is sleeping & leave for Amsterdam. It’s 1984. The doctor & the master have cured me to this point.

DR. Trogawa gives many initiations of Medicine Buddha. It’s impossible to know the effects of these blessings w. our limited minds
.
Later we meet in Amsterdam - at the airport I ask the doctor to kindly inscribe a book I am putting together w. a Tibetan A. - symbol of the state. He says he’s not sure he can write an ‘A’ - I say ‘O Dr. Trogawa - I am sure you can’ .He writes a very nice A which becomes the last page o f my first book - AMIATA. The idea fr. then until now was poetry as medicine.

7. Dr. Trogawa is in Amsterdam - a few years later - . It is 1986 & I am almost unable to walk. It’s high drama, really. I find a place for Dr. Trogawa to teach but get incredibly ill at the teachings. I try to conceal this. It’s the same old (psychic ) illness - a certain kind of secondary cause presents itself & I become desperately ill. . After the teaching (I have had to lie down in an adjoining room & can’t hear anything) I am trying to escape but Dr. Trogawa calls to me - He says ‘let’s go to the central station’. We all go to the Central Station & he starts handing out change to the street musicians gathered there. He says ‘Nice Music’. Then we go to the place where he is staying. I get violently ill, really violently ill - other guests - who don’t understand I have this problem - think I’m inventing these convulsions- Dr. Trogawa comes & starts blowing smoke over me & saying words that are mantras, after a while, I calm down. These episodes become fewer & fewer, finally they hardly exist.

I have been having trouble walking. I always knew this moment of not being able to walk was going to arrive in my life. So it’s not a total surprise but its inconvenient & painful. No one seems to know what is wrong - but I remember a protective mudra that the Karmapa once bestowed upon me (by touching my backbone at its weakest point) & through recitation of his mantra, I slowly recover. One night at the table (in Amsterdam)Dr. Trogawa announces that ‘the pain in your back is due to your nervous system’ (I don’t have money for a formal visit to him & once again am ironing his shirts)-Then he says -’ don’t lose any weight. The truck drivers won’t be able to see you’ (He knows that I am hitchhiking up & down the roads that Hitler built in order to get to Merigar). THEN he suggests that I take his bag w. me to Merigar - where he is going. This bag is the heaviest thing I have ever carried - I experience intense anger at the doctor (of course unexpressed) but of course agree to carry the bag of rocks w. me on the road. I can’t even carry this bag down the stairs ...but somehow transport it to my attic room . The neighbor carries it down the stairs the next day--hardly do I turn the corner when I get a ride well on the way to Italy. Laura Evangelisti - on her way to Merigar - picks me up somewhere in Italy. I arrive basically effortlessly - have a slight pain - & then miraculously, never again. This is a true story.

8. I visit Trogawa in Germany. It’s really hard to get there in the blizzard which is manifesting but I succeed. He is very kind & gentle but explains to me that he can’t diagnose the condition of a friend of mine - only that of family members -by feeling my pulse. He asks about Merigar - I have been having trouble learning the dance. I am shy & feel that my hair is an obstacle - that my kind of hair looks strange w. the dance positions. I of course e never say this to ANYONE. The doctor asks to see some of the dance . Then he says ‘your hair looks very good w. these postures’. I show him an article I have written about Shakya Dorje’s ‘teaching in John Giorno’s loft in NYC & he points lovingly at Jacqueline Gens (pictured in a group portrait taken by Allen Ginsberg) saying ‘O my secretary.’

9. Another disaster. My sarangi is stolen in a highway robbery. I am distraught, indescribably distraught & spend 4 days on the road looking for it. I get a ride fr. a doctor who tells me ‘we go to distressed areas’ . I tell him this time a distressed area has come to you). I get to Amsterdam & discover Dr. Trogawa is there---I am still unable to control my extreme shock. I am uncontrollably weeping. Dr. Trogawa’s disciples say ‘Why doesn’t she practice?.’ The doctor says, ‘practice? She can’t even READ’. He then gives me some medicine & says to take it at 5 pm w. some wine. I go to my favorite cafe. at 5 pm. I take the medicine. The forms dissolve into colored rays - I am relaxing completely. I keep taking this psychedelic for the next 3 days, then I’m relaxed. A museum in Holland gives me a new sarangi just a few days later. As a gift.

10. Dr. Trogawa is in again in Amsterdam. By this time there is a Stichting for Tibetan Geneeskunde (Healing) in the city. I explain to him that I am having some trouble separating fr. a friend - the same one mentioned above - for whom I have done much practice. Dr. Trogawa gives me Vajrapani pill. I take it & set off for Italy. By the strangest coincidence I end up in the environs of another ‘friend’ with whom there has been some attraction - he invites me into ;his trailer - of course a large thangka of Vajrapani hangs above his sleeping place.

I continue to write to Trogawa - just luckily I had written to him a few months before he was destined to leave this planet. Not about myself either - about my music teacher who can no longer walk

When I learn that Dr. Trogawa has left his body, Rinpoche says to do Guru Yoga of the White A -

I feel I owe my life to Namkhai Norubu Rinpoche & to Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche. I am still feeling the effects of that long ago cure-.

****

addenda: It wld. be unworthy of the doctor (& perhaps to those interested in Merigar’s ancient history)to not mention the following-less personal event. After the Medical conference in Venice, the DC community organized the first ever Medical conference to which doctors & medical practitioners from all over Europe had been invited. These dignitaries came in suits & ties & all of Merigar dressed up for the occasion. Dr. Trogawa - dressed in monk’s robes though he was not technically a monk - stood up to speak . I am sure the assembled doctors (& professors) expected an interpretation of Tibetan medicine for the West, an analysis of the pharmacology &/or diagnostic methods, etc. Instead, humble Trogawa stood up & in painful tones described his trauma at the collapse of the Tibetan civilization that he had known, his departure fr. Tibet, his work with his teacher & in painful detail his own mental breakdown. He made no effort to convince anyone of anything - instead he clearly spoke of his own state of mind & also of his teacher’s state & his eventual recovery.
Moments of such naked honesty are rare in one’s life, that they occur in an ambient which is waiting for an exact opposite narrative made Trogawa’s talk the more memorable - creating at least for me, a bond that endured until his death & onward

Another time the doctor asked me to play (sarangi) for him. He listened & said ‘you ought to make a recording to put people to sleep’. I said Doctor I thought this music was to wake up people. He said that people in hospitals often suffer fr. the sleeping medicine given to them & that I should make a music which wld. be more effective & w. fewer side effects than their medicine. I still haven’t done that. Another time - in NYC - he played this music on flute for me- he played the music that he thought people should hear in order to ...sleep. I wonder what he would have played
to awaken them.

We were extremely lucky to know the doctor who to us seemed to be a direct emanation of Medicine Buddha & to share
many initiations & teachings w. him- especially in the 80’s & early 90’s when his visits to
Europe & NYC were frequent enough

*******

Recommended Reading: A Cure for Cancer in which Dr. Trogawa compares the Tibetan method of curing to that of Dr. Emanuelle Rivici, famed bio chemist & foudner of the Healing Institute in NYC.

Louise Landes Levi

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Photo Gallery of Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche Online

2006-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Visit the great online gallery of photos of Dr. Trogawa for more photos

The Past, Present, and Future Life of Tibetan Medicine by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2006-09-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

The following article," The Past, Present, and Future Life of Tibetan Medicine" by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche can be found on the Tibetan Himalayan Digital library site.

Every week I'm locating new material online. There is a very interesting new website by French students of Dr. Trogawa called, Chagpori France.The site is in French but is developing their English language version. There appears to be an expanded biography, and other updated information about projects connected to Chagpori.

New Links: An Account of the Final Days of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2006-09-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

I recently came across an account of the final days of Dr. Trogawa on the web site of Shakya Dorje, one of the doctor's primary western students and an affiliate of Chagpori Institute. You can read this account on Shakya's website.

Another new link describing in detail a meditation by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche who often prescribed this or similar to his patients.

Photo by Allen Ginsberg of Chagpori Board

2006-05-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Allen Ginsberg who was a member of the Chagpori Board of Directors for several years took this photo at John Giorno's loft in 1989. left to right: John Giorno, Shakya Dorje, Dr. Trogawa
Rinpoche, Eliot Tokar and Jacqueline Gens

The Buddhist Broadcast Foundation Film Link

2006-05-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

To view a film about Dr.Trogawa first aired on the Buddhist Broadcast network on June 29, 2002, go to the following link

Dr. Trogawa on Diabetes & An Interview with Eliot Tokar

2006-04-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

To read the following two articles by and about Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche
go to http://jcrows.com/trogawa_diabetes.html

A Recollection of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2005-09-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

from Maggie Camfield, in Cobargo, New South Wales, Australia - close to Namgyalgar

Here are my encounters with Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche, which you are welcome to include among your collection.

I was in Leh, in the street, when suddenly my energy almost hit the ground and shot forward. A lama spun around as if he'd been hit. I managed not to fall completely, and some people we were with said, 'Oh, it's Trogawa Rinpoche.'

The following day 4 of us were to meet with him for lunch. The restaurant we had agreed to meet at was closed. Puzzled, someone asked what we should do. I said, 'We can go to the Korean restaurant across the road.' Why I said that, I don't know. When we arrived, Trogawa Rinpoche and his nephew were already there at a table for 6.

Naturally after these incidents, I feel a strong bond with him.

Teachings by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche

2005-09-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Over the next few months I will try to post some of Dr. Trogawa's teachings he gave on Tibetan medicine in the US from 1984-1990's. He taught at Shambhala Centers, The Dzogchen Community of America, Chagdud Rinpoche's centers among others.

photo credit unknown: Dr. Trogawa at a Shambhala Center

LIberation

2005-09-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

On one of his trips, Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche gave me this photo of the statue of Liberty taken on a helicopter trip up the Hudson River and to Karmatriyana, the seat of the Karmapas organized for him by Ernest Sharhag. He pointed to the picture and to me. Before meeting Trogawa Rinpoche I never conceived of "liberation" possible for someone like me or as any kind of reality to aspire to. On that trip we not only visted Karmatriyana but also one of Kalu Rinpoche's centers.

At The Museum of Natural History

2005-09-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

One day we (Shakya Dorje, Eliot Tokar and myself) went to the Museum of Natural History in NYC accompanying Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche and the Khenpos, Tsering and Palden Sherap. They spent a very long time looking at the gem and mineral exhibition discussing the various properties. Later, we walked through the hall of dioramas. At the Siberian shaman's exhibit, I pointed to the diorama and said, "my ancestors." Either there in the museum or at some other time, Dr. Trogawa mentioned to me that in the library at Alma Ata in Russia where my grandfather lived, there were many rare Tibetan medicine texts.

Here Dr. Trogawa is striking a "Milarepa" pose before one of the rock exhibits at the museum simulating a cave.

Photo of Allen Ginsberg and Dr.Trogawa, Rinpoche in NYC

2005-09-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of Allen and the doctor outside John Giorno's loft on the Bowery in NYC , August 29, 1989 using Allen's Olympus XA camera. I asked them to move closer together but Dr. Trogawa just dug in his heals and stayed put. I had started working for Allen around then while living on McDougal at Anne Waldman's dad's house. I made many trips up Spring Street to Dean and Delucca's on Broadway to shop for the meals I prepared. At one point, Dr. Trogawa said that working for Allen would be good for my "development" and to him, he said I was a "rare" hard worker. After Allen died I sent him the obituary I wrote for the Mirror which he received.

Teaching by Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche, July 10, 1986 in Conway, MA

2005-09-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

...So what I think I'd like to speak to you about this afternoon, is caring for health in body and mind. In order to speak about this, we first have to think about what the relationship is between body and mind. If we don't understand that, then we aren't going to understand anything else.

The Buddha taught how all phenomena are the result of a process of dependent arising. Our medical system in Tibet is, in fact, a fusion of medicine and dharma, so it is from this point of view that I will be speaking. Most of you know something about the source of our tradition. To be continued....

Some Recollections of Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche (1931-2005)

2005-09-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche (1931- 2005)

A Personal Tribute to Ven. Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche (1931- 2005)

I first met Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche in 1989 through the NY Shambhala Center which had invited him to teach for a week and see patients. Having recently moved to New York from Boulder, Colorado, I was asked to help coordinate his visit. On the eve of his arrival, the other coordinator unexpectedly had to travel to visit her dying father and I was left alone to coordinate his visit. I spent many weeks in his clinic helping out and cooking in a marathon of hard labor. Over the years, I saw him here or there often spending time in his household, which tended to be at John Giorno’s wonderful loft on the Bowery in New York City. Poet, Allen Ginsberg was on his Chakpori board of directors along with Sir James George and other interesting people like John, and Shakya Dorje. Once, I spent a week in Boulder at the invitation of one of his students, Dr. Phil Weber, to cook for the doctor there. In addition to being a great lama and physician, I found him an interesting man in his observations about Western life with a subtle but wicked sense of humor. He had his quirks which always endeared me to him. One never knew what kind of odd ingredient he would request for his medicine preparations. He was my first real introduction to undiluted Tibetan culture. I will always hold him in high esteem.

A rarefied and aristocratic lama, I was impressed by Dr. Trogawa's uncompromising dedication to his vocation as a physician and the contrast of his sensitive nature in relation to the grittiness of dealing with so much human illness and suffering, Over the years, I observed him with hundreds of patients, many terminal. There is no doubt in my mind that he brought a healing presence to so many people, including myself. Although he was an incarnate lama, his path was different than most because his primary vocation was that of a physician. From morning to night he would see patients. He forwent many things by maintaining his own personal practice life in the midst of this kind of busy schedule. He worked really hard on behalf of others. Given his somewhat frail constitution, this always seemed so telling of his dedication. In this respect, he was something of a “Hidden” yogin—working by day, and practicing all the time. Like any great lama he was able to transmit the essence of the teachings with the slightest gesture, word or nuance of feeling. I consider him among my principle teachers—someone who
delivered me from grossest ignorance so that I could continue on the path.

Ven. Dr. Trogawa, Rinpoche was born in 1931 into a noble family in Thro Thralung, near Gyangtse, in the province of Tsang, in west-central Tibet. His father was an important officer in the Tibetan government. As child he was identified as the tulku of a Buddhist master and physician. Later, at the age of sixteen, he was sent to Lhasa to study medicine under the great physician Nyerongsha Rigzin Lhundrub Paljor who was a successor to the lineage of the Chagpori monastic school of medicine and a widely famed physician. He had at that time his own clinic, medicine production facility and apprenticeship program. Ven.Dr.Trogawa, Rinpoche studied with him for nine years, and became accomplished in all aspects of Tibetan Medicine becoming one of his master's principle successors. As an incarnate lama, he also studied and practiced the Buddhist path in depth during this time,

In 1957 Dr. Trogawa moved to Sikkim (then an Indian protectorate) in the company of the great Buddhist Master, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. After his master's passing in 1961 he moved to Darjeeling, in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, where he lived and practiced. After the fall of Tibet, he was one of the last masters free to teach and practice Tibetan Medicine. In 1963, he was appointed chief medical teacher at the Tibetan School of Medicine and Astrology, in Dharamsala, India, the institute directed by H.H.Dalai Lama. After some years at this school he left for health reasons, and then spent a number of years in retreat in the forests of Bhutan, periodically emerging to treat patients. He returned to Darjeeling in the 70's, where he lived and practiced until the present. Choegyal Namkhai Norbu invited him to the First International Conference on Tibetan Medicine at Merigar in 1983. Since that time, he taught at various conferences and dharma centers including the Dzogchen Community throughout the world. In 1994 he founded the Chagpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine to propagate his lineage of medicine. Dr.Trogawa. Rinpoche is considered one of the pre-eminent masters of Tibetan Medicine.*

Because of him, I believe in the efficacy of Tibetan medicine, its genius as an indigenous healing art infused with the noble view of Buddhism. He was a true manifestation of the medicine Buddha and the power of compassion as the basis for healing. With him there were no hopeless cases. With his passing, we have lost another link between old Tibet and the present. It was a great privilege to spend the time I did with him. So many memories flood my mind at this time—passing remarks, dreams, fragments of inner experiences in his midst, the simple elegance of his presence, and the subtly of his mind. I wish him well on his journey from this realm to another where no doubt he will continue his ministry to the suffering of beings

*biographical details were extracted from the website of Shakya Doirje at www.shakyadorje.org

Jacqueline Gens
published on my blog, Poetrymind and in the Mirror, International newspaper of the Dzogchen Community.

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The following account was taken from Amchi, Nel de Jong' s website: http://www.chagpori.nl/englishdarjeeling.htm

Chagpori - Darjeeling

Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche is one of the few doctors now living who has been educated according to the old Chagpori lineage. He sees it as his goal in life to maintain this unique tradition of Tibetan medicine and regularly comes to the West to teach and to treat patients. He re-established the Chagpori tradition by founding the Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute in Darjeeling in India in 1992. Under his guidence it was extended to include a pharmacy for herbal medicines and several clinics. Currrently (2004), thirty young doctors have graduated from the institute in Darjeeling while there are twenty students in training, mainly Buddhist nuns, who are able to receive an education only because the students are financially supported by Western sponsors.

With deep sadness we have to inform you that Ven. Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche passed away on the 11th May. Rinpoche went quietly into a deep meditation in which he remained untill the 15th. The cremation took place on the 25th May, at 8 a.m. local time, in Gangtok. The 49th day ceremony takes place on the 29th June, also in Gangtok. With his passing, not only has one of the last great teachers from the Chagpori lineage left us, but also a great Buddhist teacher who was an example of living compassion. Many dear memories and a gratefulness to have known him so closely will remain with us.

May his wisdom mind continue in us.

A documentary film made by the Buddhist broadcast about
Ven. dr. Trogawa Rinpoche you can find under: (click)

----------------------------------------------------
OTHER RECOLLECTIONS

The following account is by Loek Jehee of the Netherlands.

Dear Jacqueline,

Thank you for your lovely post! I too have fantastic memories of
Doctor Trogawa R. He was several times in Amsterdam. We organized a
Medicine Buddha initiation for him and public talks and he gave many
consultations. I especially remembered the warm and cosy, simple and
friendly natural atmosphere around him. There was a sense of special
spacious purity around him that I now vividly recall while
remembering him in my practice. It was a sense of presence of a
cloud-like medicinal herbal purity and in fact after leaving the
house where he stayed, that whole house was filled with that special
scent of medicine that tastes like those wonderful precious jewel
pills that you sometimes can get if you are lucky. I guess he was a
very high lama (yet manifesting very simply).

I noticed that also on another occasion. I visited him in Nepal in
Boddhanath where he stayed in a small house near the Great Stupa.
This was during the time that H.H. Dudjom R. just had died. He in
fact warned me to be around the special stupa that was built for
H.H.. So, I went there that afternoon, doing some meditation all on
my own sitting in a nearly empty temple. Then, all of a sudden, at
around 4 o'clock in the afternoon the temple suddenly filled around
me with monks and lamas and a large puja (leaded by Ven. Chadral R.)
started. Also Trongawa R. entered and took place at a high throne (!)
on the opposite site of the other lama's. That indicated somehow to
me how much respected Trogawa R. was by the other lama's (and which
high position he in fact had). Although he never would show this off
while being in his presence, he was always simplicity himself and had
also a lot of humor. Then the family of the late Dudjom R. entered
and an invocation and gathering of all enlightened forces to dedicate
the stupa occurred. A spiritual event of such power that I never
again have witnessed later. It was so strong that everybody in the
environment and city felt it and all fuses were blown (literally). Without
Trogawa R.'s warning I would never have had the good fortune to be
present at that special occasion.

So, there are many stories to be told about Trogawa R. He was for me
in fact the embodiment of Tibetan medicine. He took considerable
effort to safeguard its tradition and knowledge in the Chakpori
Institute of Tibetan Medicine. I pray strongly that Rinpoche's life
work will be continued successfully and that all his intentions for
sentient beings will be swiftly fulfilled.

Love!

Loek Jehee

------------------------------

The following account is by poet, Louise Landes Levi (the format has not been saved--my apology-JG)

a
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The Death of a teacher is a strange event. I can’t do Xitro for you, you are enlightened. You used to tell me to visualize Medicine Buddha in my practice but I always saw you, instead. I asked you if Medicine Buddha mantra cld. be used in massage. You answered ‘yes’ ‘without touching’. Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche always loved that massage (of mantra) - he said it was better than touch. I cldn’t tell if he was pretending (I think so )when he kicked me across the floor on many an occasion, saying this (the unpredictable actions of his left foot) was due to the power of the mantra....to the power of the transmission I’d received fr. ‘Trogawa’.

I was a little girl that grew up w. doctors/ most of the time the doctors didn’t understand my complaints or didn’t want to look that far/ I cld never tell them what was REALLY the matter. Maybe they didn’t want to know. It was a great relief to meet Tibetan medicine in the form of Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche who needed no explanations. I wld. like to list below 10 anecdotes which I hope will serve as just memorial to this wonderful doctor, teacher, healer & friend.

l. There’s a Tibetan Medicine Conference, sponsored by the DC Community at Merigar. It’s 1983. The same people who organize things at Merigar in general, the Dell’Angelo brothers, in particular, are organizing this first of its kind seminar. We all go to Venice. I feel totally lost but am interested in the subject matter. At one point I see Doctor Trogawa crossing the Piazza St. Maria while I’m sitting under a fountain or next to one, playing sarangi, getting some money together...I see him across the piazza w. Tsultrim Allione & some other students. I want to get up & greet him but can’t abandon my post.

2. Later in Merigar, I have to choose between one of two doctors that are there for the conference. I chose Trogawa because I know the other doctor, a lady, will tell me I am crazy. Dr. Trogawa tells me I am in perfect health. This is a big surprise to me & the beginning of a trust that endured to the end of the doctor’s life. Later Rimpoche asks me which doctor I have seen. I say Trogawa.Rinpoche says ‘Good, because Dr. Trogawa is a Dzog Chen Master”. (I later understand that in the Doctor’s lineage there is a Dzog Chen transmission of the nyig tig).

3. I remember that when I first met Namkhai Norbu Rinpoiche, in Amsterdam, in 1982 - having received teachings fr. him in 1979-80 in London, & in 1981 in Paris, we bond - I have not recognize d him as my teacher, until a precise moment on the grachts of Amsterdam. As part of the ‘program’ in Amsterdam, we watch a film called AURA by Mario Maglietti - as far as I know it is the West’s first film on Tibetan medicine- There are scenes of our Master w.Dr. Trogawa in Darjeeling, where he has settled. I have an important insight while watching that film. Later Norbu Rinpoche confirms my self-diagnosis of what has been a very serious obstacle - nearly fatal - the last few years.

4. I become Dr. Trogawa’s ironess. Merigar is still a rather primitive place. I usually dress the part of ‘dharma bum’ (often not changing my clothes for weeks on end - but at least I am THERE). One retreat I decide on an ‘image change’. I bring a NICE bag of lace et.al clothes fr. Amsterdam & leave my bag at the hotel at the base of Merigar- my lace is to heavy to carry up the hill. Of course it rains & all the clothes are ruined or basically ruined. The practitioners shugg off my disaster w. a single word ‘karma’ but the Doctor, when he asks me why I am so distressed is very interested in my dilemma. He ask O what was the collar like? What kind of lace? O - O. Until now I have neglected to say that the doctor & I are speaking in Hindi - After describing the damage done to my little shirts he asks me would I like to take care of his shirts? His silk shirts. I become the doctor’s washer woman & ironess. This is the doctor’s first trip to the West. I am the only one who can freely converse w. him -

5. The doctor gives teachings at Merigar - we are sitting on a hill burning fires & taking pills. One morning we wake up at 5 AM, all the practitioners take a single pill. each The evening before we have taken medicine to clear our channels & chakras. We go into some sort of communal ‘samadhi’ - I finally understand the meaning of the word ‘drug’, in both its popular & pharmaceutical usage.

6. I decide I have to start reading poetry again. I bow at the door behind which the doctor is sleeping & leave for Amsterdam. It’s 1984. The doctor & the master have cured me to this point.

DR. Trogawa gives many initiations of Medicine Buddha. It’s impossible to know the effects of these blessings w. our limited minds
.
Later we meet in Amsterdam - at the airport I ask the doctor to kindly inscribe a book I am putting together w. a Tibetan A. - symbol of the state. He says he’s not sure he can write an ‘A’ - I say ‘O Dr. Trogawa - I am sure you can’ .He writes a very nice A which becomes the last page o f my first book - AMIATA. The idea fr. then until now was poetry as medicine.

7. Dr. Trogawa is in Amsterdam - a few years later - . It is 1986 & I am almost unable to walk. It’s high drama, really. I find a place for Dr. Trogawa to teach but get incredibly ill at the teachings. I try to conceal this. It’s the same old (psychic ) illness - a certain kind of secondary cause presents itself & I become desperately ill. . After the teaching (I have had to lie down in an adjoining room & can’t hear anything) I am trying to escape but Dr. Trogawa calls to me - He says ‘let’s go to the central station’. We all go to the Central Station & he starts handing out change to the street musicians gathered there. He says ‘Nice Music’. Then we go to the place where he is staying. I get violently ill, really violently ill - other guests - who don’t understand I have this problem - think I’m inventing these convulsions- Dr. Trogawa comes & starts blowing smoke over me & saying words that are mantras, after a while, I calm down. These episodes become fewer & fewer, finally they hardly exist.

I have been having trouble walking. I always knew this moment of not being able to walk was going to arrive in my life. So it’s not a total surprise but its inconvenient & painful. No one seems to know what is wrong - but I remember a protective mudra that the Karmapa once bestowed upon me (by touching my backbone at its weakest point) & through recitation of his mantra, I slowly recover. One night at the table (in Amsterdam)Dr. Trogawa announces that ‘the pain in your back is due to your nervous system’ (I don’t have money for a formal visit to him & once again am ironing his shirts)-Then he says -’ don’t lose any weight. The truck drivers won’t be able to see you’ (He knows that I am hitchhiking up & down the roads that Hitler built in order to get to Merigar). THEN he suggests that I take his bag w. me to Merigar - where he is going. This bag is the heaviest thing I have ever carried - I experience intense anger at the doctor (of course unexpressed) but of course agree to carry the bag of rocks w. me on the road. I can’t even carry this bag down the stairs ...but somehow transport it to my attic room . The neighbor carries it down the stairs the next day--hardly do I turn the corner when I get a ride well on the way to Italy. Laura Evangelisti - on her way to Merigar - picks me up somewhere in Italy. I arrive basically effortlessly - have a slight pain - & then miraculously, never again. This is a true story.

8. I visit Trogawa in Germany. It’s really hard to get there in the blizzard which is manifesting but I succeed. He is very kind & gentle but explains to me that he can’t diagnose the condition of a friend of mine - only that of family members -by feeling my pulse. He asks about Merigar - I have been having trouble learning the dance. I am shy & feel that my hair is an obstacle - that my kind of hair looks strange w. the dance positions. I of course e never say this to ANYONE. The doctor asks to see some of the dance . Then he says ‘your hair looks very good w. these postures’. I show him an article I have written about Shakya Dorje’s ‘teaching in John Giorno’s loft in NYC & he points lovingly at Jacqueline Gens (pictured in a group portrait taken by Allen Ginsberg) saying ‘O my secretary.’

9. Another disaster. My sarangi is stolen in a highway robbery. I am distraught, indescribably distraught & spend 4 days on the road looking for it. I get a ride fr. a doctor who tells me ‘we go to distressed areas’ . I tell him this time a distressed area has come to you). I get to Amsterdam & discover Dr. Trogawa is there---I am still unable to control my extreme shock. I am uncontrollably weeping. Dr. Trogawa’s disciples say ‘Why doesn’t she practice?.’ The doctor says, ‘practice? She can’t even READ’. He then gives me some medicine & says to take it at 5 pm w. some wine. I go to my favorite cafe. at 5 pm. I take the medicine. The forms dissolve into colored rays - I am relaxing completely. I keep taking this psychedelic for the next 3 days, then I’m relaxed. A museum in Holland gives me a new sarangi just a few days later. As a gift.

10. Dr. Trogawa is in again in Amsterdam. By this time there is a Stichting for Tibetan Geneeskunde (Healing) in the city. I explain to him that I am having some trouble separating fr. a friend - the same one mentioned above - for whom I have done much practice. Dr. Trogawa gives me Vajrapani pill. I take it & set off for Italy. By the strangest coincidence I end up in the environs of another ‘friend’ with whom there has been some attraction - he invites me into ;his trailer - of course a large thangka of Vajrapani hangs above his sleeping place.

I continue to write to Trogawa - just luckily I had written to him a few months before he was destined to leave this planet. Not about myself either - about my music teacher who can no longer walk

When I learn that Dr. Trogawa has left his body, Rinpoche says to do Guru Yoga of the White A -

I feel I owe my life to Namkhai Norubu Rinpoche & to Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche. I am still feeling the effects of that long ago cure-.

****

addenda: It wld. be unworthy of the doctor (& perhaps to those interested in Merigar’s ancient history)to not mention the following-less personal event. After the Medical conference in Venice, the DC community organized the first ever Medical conference to which doctors & medical practitioners from all over Europe had been invited. These dignitaries came in suits & ties & all of Merigar dressed up for the occasion. Dr. Trogawa - dressed in monk’s robes though he was not technically a monk - stood up to speak . I am sure the assembled doctors (& professors) expected an interpretation of Tibetan medicine for the West, an analysis of the pharmacology &/or diagnostic methods, etc. Instead, humble Trogawa stood up & in painful tones described his trauma at the collapse of the Tibetan civilization that he had known, his departure fr. Tibet, his work with his teacher & in painful detail his own mental breakdown. He made no effort to convince anyone of anything - instead he clearly spoke of his own state of mind & also of his teacher’s state & his eventual recovery.
Moments of such naked honesty are rare in one’s life, that they occur in an ambient which is waiting for an exact opposite narrative made Trogawa’s talk the more memorable - creating at least for me, a bond that endured until his death & onward

Another time the doctor asked me to play (sarangi) for him. He listened & said ‘you ought to make a recording to put people to sleep’. I said Doctor I thought this music was to wake up people. He said that people in hospitals often suffer fr. the sleeping medicine given to them & that I should make a music which wld. be more effective & w. fewer side effects than their medicine. I still haven’t done that. Another time - in NYC - he played this music on flute for me- he played the music that he thought people should hear in order to ...sleep. I wonder what he would have played
to awaken them.

We were extremely lucky to know the doctor who to us seemed to be a direct emanation of Medicine Buddha & to share
many initiations & teachings w. him- especially in the 80’s & early 90’s when his visits to
Europe & NYC were frequent enough

*******

Recommended Reading: A Cure for Cancer in which Dr. Trogawa compares the Tibetan method of curing to that of Dr. Emanuelle Rivici, famed bio chemist & foudner of the Healing Institute in NYC.

Louise Landes Levi

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