The 1stKhamtrul Rinpoche, Karma Tenphel
The first Khamtrul Rinpoche was bron in 1560 in the kham region of Tibet. At the age of 14, he was ordained as a monastic monk of the Taklung Kagyu sect. He was then trained under the guidance of Jedrung Tsokye Dorje, the head of the Riwoche Institute.
At the age of 26, he received the full ordination as a Bhikshu from 9th Karmapa,Wangchuk Dorje, and was given the name Karma Tenphel. After some time, he felt that all his monastic duties has left him no time for personal practice, so at the age of 28, he left the monastery to devote his life to meditation. Karma Tenphel went on pilgrimage around Tibet.
It was during his pilgrimage that he met his root guru, the great meditation master. Lhatsewa Ngawang Zangpo of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage under his supervision for many years, Karma Tenphel accomplished rigorous meditation retreats and attained a high level of realization. On several occasions, he received direct teachings and blessing from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, such as Avalokiteshvara, Padmasambhawa, mahakala, etc. His guru then advised him to go to the region of Kham to practice and spread the teachings. Karma Tenphel had inspired a great number of people. Over one thousand of whom became his disciples. Among them, the three main oceans: Sonam Gyamtso the 1stZigar Rinpoche; Trinley Gyamtso, the 1stAdeu Rinpoche, and Chogyal Gyamtso, the 1stDrugu Chogyal. The 1stKhamtrul Rinpoche also composed widely on the topics of vajrayana, meditation and philosophy. He has been honored as “The Gyalwa Dokhampa“ and the fame spread all over. He passed away in the year 1628 at the age of 68. There were auspicious earthquakes and also rainbows filling in the sky