Letter to Dola Tulku Tsang

A Playful Letter Urging Dola Tulku Tsang[1] to Request the Teachings on the Channels and Winds from Lama Rogdrama Palge

by Patrul Rinpoche

To the venerable lamas, tulkus, and chieftains, I wish to say the following:

Just like an old woman from the outskirts of town caring for her family,
I, an old man from the back of beyond, respectfully beseech you:
When the practices of the channels and winds
Of the Heart-Essence of the Vast Expanse flourished, they spread far and wide,
And the land was filled with cotton-clad yogis and red-robed monastics.
Yet as they declined, they all but vanished,
And apart from this old Lama Palge[2]
Not a single lineage-holder remains in Tibet.
Now the lineage is on the brink of being severed—
Please consider whether or not this is a matter of consequence.
In all the monasteries of Do and Ser
They unfailingly hold sessions for all three practices.[3]
In our own communities we have nothing of the kind.
Now, if all these monastics
Choose to slip away to the Palyul monasteries,
To pursue the practices of the channels and winds and the Great Perfection—
Then let them go, and so be it!
May all be auspicious for the Teachings to flourish!

| Translated by Han Kop and Khenpo Sonam Tsewang for the Longchen Nyingtik Project, 2026. With gratitude to Lhatse Tulku Rinpoche for clarifying the local dialect.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

o rgyan 'jigs med chos kyi dbang po. "rdo bla sprul sku tshang la bla ma rog gra ma dpal dge'i mdun nas rtsa rlung zhu bskul rtsed mo'i tshul du zhu gsungs pa" in dpal sprul o rgyan ’jigs med chos kyi dbang po’i gsung ’bum, 8 vols. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003. (BDRC W24829). Vol. 1: 374–375.

Secondary Sources

Dakpa Tulku. "The Biography of Drubwang Rogza Palge Rinpoche." Tulku Dakpa Rinpoche. https://tdr.bio/previous-life/.

Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima. "In Praise of Sönam Palge". Translated by Adam Pearcey. Lotsawa House, 2020.

Ricard, Matthieu. Enlightened Vagabond: The Life and Teachings of Patrul Rinpoche. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2017.

Version: 1.0–20260602

Notes

This refers to either the Second Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Jigme Puntsok Jungne (‘jigs med phun tshogs ‘byung gnas, 1824–1863), or the Third Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Jigme Tenpe Nyima (rdo grub chen ’jigs med bstan pa’i nyi ma, 1865–1926). Given the praise the Third Dodrupchen composed in honour of Rogza Sonam Palge, however, it may well be the latter. In the Dzachukha dialect, Tsang is generally used as a title, much as teachers are addressed as ’Rinpoche’—for example, Patrul Rinpoche is referred to as Patrul Tsang. ↩
I.e., Rogza Sonam Palge. ↩
That is, in all the Palyul Monasteries. The three practices here refer to the preliminaries (ngöndro), the practices of the channels and winds (tsa lung), and the Great Perfection (dzogchen). In the Palyul tradition—as is still done today at Namdroling Monastery in India—a dedicated retreat is held each year for each of these practices. ↩