For Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche (aka, Lopon)’s 100th birthday, I wrote an article for his festschrift celebratory publication titled “A Truly Magical Encounter.” In it, I shared the story of meeting Lopon in 1991, visiting Triten Norbutse Monastery in Nepal a couple of years later at his invitation, and learning—almost by chance or coincidence—the Tibetan Yoga known as Trul khor, translated as “Magical Movements.”
This particular yoga comes from the special Dzogchen compendium, the Aural Transmission of Zhang Zhung, taught through a profound commentary by the great scholar and practitioner Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, who attained rainbow body at his death.
This yogic practice has enlivened my life in countless ways from my daily practice, to my academic work, to my teaching and my work in hospitals. That is why I dedicated the translation of Shardza’s commentary, as well as my book Tibetan Yoga: Magical Movements of Body, Breath, and Mind, to our dear Lopon.
While staying at Triten Norbutse, I was able to practice with the yogic group and learn Trekchö—the meditation to cut through mental elaborations—directly from Lopon. Our morning and evening sessions, led by Khenpo Nyima Wangyal (aka Khenpo Tashi), combined prayers and Trekchö meditation, and whenever our minds strayed to dullness or agitation, we used Trul khor as a kind of reset. In fact, Lopon often said these magical movements should be employed when one’s meditation feels unclear, unstable, or weakened. You might think of it as a reboot that clears out any “bugs” in the system.
With Lopon and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s blessings and support, I began bringing these practices into health environments at the turn of the millennium—first through clinical research and integrative medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, then into the mental health field via the Jung Center’s Mind Body Spirit Institute, which I founded, and now through Tibetan Yoga Wellbeing. Throughout this journey, Lopon has always been my guiding star, with Rinpoche as the captain.
On June 12th, Lopon passed away and remained in meditation (Tukdam) for a week. At a time when much of the world was caught in wars and proclamations of peace, Lopon showed us what true peace actually looks like.
I remember celebrating his 95th birthday at Triten Norbutse with my wife Erika. In one of our precious private moments with Lopon, Erika asked him if he felt pain (as he was in a wheelchair) and how his meditation helped. He smiled and replied, “Do I feel the knee blessed by a Chinese bullet? Yes. Does it disturb my peace of mind? Absolutely not.”
Though he has left his body, as many have already shared, his presence is still pervasive and palpable—both around us and in our hearts. It continues to inspire us to carry forward his beautiful legacy. Those magical movements I first learned over 30 years ago at Triten Norbutse, deepened through practice at Menri Monastery with His Holiness Lungtok Tenpa Nyima and Ponlob Thinley Nyima, with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung at Tristan Norbutse, and with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche at Ligmincha, are what I continue to teach through Tibetan Yoga Wellbeing.
Join me at Esalen, Morocco, and let’s keep this magic alive and vibrant in our hearts, through body, breath, and mind.
Warmly,
Alejandro
