Sogyal Lakar

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Sogyal Lakar (2006)
Tibetan name
Tibetan script :
བསོད་ རྒྱལ་
Wylie transliteration :
bsod rgyal
Chinese name
Simplified :
索 甲 仁波切
Pinyin :
Suǒjiǎ rénbōqiē

Sogyal Gyaltsen Lakar Rinpoche (* 1947 in Garzê County, then Xikang Province , Republic of China ; † August 28, 2019 in Thailand ) was a Tibetan Lama of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism . He was recognized by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö as the incarnation of Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa (1856–1926), a teacher of the 13th Dalai Lama . Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö also took over the upbringing and training of the boy. Also Jigdral Yeshe Dorje , the then Düdjom Rinpoche , was one of his teachers. Sogyal Lakar was not a monk , which is often the case in the Nyingmapa tradition .

biography

Sogyal Lakar was born in 1947 as the son of Pema Tsering Wangmo (* 1925), whose sister Khandro Tsering Chödrön (* 1929) was the future wife and spiritual companion of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. At the age of six months, Sogyal Lakar was sent to the monastery of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö in Kham Province. He was given the name Sogyal, although his master only recognized him as the reincarnation of Tertön Sogyal at a later date.

In 1971 Sogyal Lakar went to England, studied Comparative Religious Studies at Cambridge University and began teaching the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.

In the mid-seventies, the spiritual network Rigpa, which was under his leadership until his resignation in summer 2017, was founded, which is internationally active and represented in many countries. In Germany there are Rigpa Centers in 17 cities where devotees devote themselves to the practice and study of Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1991, Sogyal Lakar founded the Lerab Ling retreat center near Montpellier in southern France.

In 1992 his book The Tibetan Book of Life and Death , which is based on the teachings of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and has so far been published with a circulation of two million copies in 30 languages ​​and 59 countries, was published. It is one of Hape Kerkeling's favorite books .

1993 Sogyal Lakar appeared in the film Little Buddha by Bernardo Bertolucci on the role of Kenpo Tenzin. In the same year Christine Longaker founded the "Spiritual Care Program", which is based on the teachings of Sogyal Lakar and is under his patronage. The program offers ways in which the compassion and wisdom of Buddhist teachings can be used by those facing illness or death.

In 2000, Sogyal Lakar invited the Dalai Lama to Lerab Ling, Rigpa's main retreat and meditation center. Almost 10,000 students from all over the world took part in the Dalai Lama's teachings on "The Path to Enlightenment".

In the summer of 2006 a Buddhist temple based on Tibetan tradition was completed and opened in Lerab Ling.

On August 28, 2019, he died of a pulmonary embolism in Thailand .

Allegations of abuse

After Sogyal Lakar had long been accused of wastefulness, physical violence and sexual abuse of young women, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on these allegations in a detailed article on August 11, 2017. Sogyal's former employee Oane Bijlsma said:

"During his visit to Amsterdam we rented a suite in a five-star hotel for Sogyal, plus a house for him and a house for his playmates and cooks [...] I ran around the shops with thick wads of cash Buying the highest quality steaks. That was absurd. "

In response to an inquiry from Süddeutsche Zeitung , the Dalai Lama's private secretary Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa said:

“His Holiness says that it is totally wrong to blindly follow everything a teacher says. One has to examine whether a teacher's teachings are consistent with the teachings of the Buddha. [...] Sogyal Rinpoche (is) a very good friend of mine [the Dalai Lama], but he has defiled (the Buddhist teachings). ”His advice:“ Make these things public, also through the media. ”

The sociologist Werner Vogd dealt with the scandal surrounding Sogyal Lakar scientifically in his book The Empowered Master. A systemic reconstruction using the example of the Sogyal Rinpoche scandal (Carl-Auer, Heidelberg 2019).

Head teacher of Sogyal Lakar

Works (selection)

Web links

Commons : Sogyal Rinpoche  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rigpawiki: Mayum Tsering Wangmo
  2. ↑ lotsawahouse.org: A Brief History of the Lakar Family by Mayum Tsering Wangmo ( Memento of the original from July 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lotsawahouse.org
  3. ↑ s. Statement in the foreword of Lakars The Tibetan Book of Life and Death
  4. ↑ rigpa.org
  5. ↑ lerabling.org: Who are we?
  6. ↑ Stories - Das Thalia Magazin 3/2018, p. 5.
  7. ↑ imdb.com: Sogyal Rinpoche
  8. ↑ spcare.org: About the Spiritual Care Program ( Memento of the original of July 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.spcare.org
  9. ↑ www.rigpa.org.uk
  10. ↑ Mary Finnigan: Buddhism Cif belief Lama sex abuse claims call Buddhist taboos into question. Allegations against Sogyal Rinpoche highlight the dangers of Buddhist injunctions against gossip and insistence on loyalty. ( theguardian.com , July 1, 2011)
  11. ↑ Michaela Haas : Source of torment. Sexual abuse, beatings, wastefulness. Sogyal Rinpoche is one of the most successful Buddhist teachers in the western world. Now the Rinpoche is heavily burdened by former students. Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 11, 2017, p. 3
personal data
SURNAME Sogyal Lakar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sogyal Gyaltsen Lakar Rinpoche
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tibetan author and Lama (Buddhism)
DATE OF BIRTH 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Garzê (County) , Xikang Province , Republic of China
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 2019
Place of death Thailand