Newsletters of the Thousand Stars Foundation

Dr.Krisadawan, Myself and Students at Chulalongkron University

Last Day of Class with a gift from the students

Tokden Monastery, One of Tibet's Greatest Bon Monasteries

Zhang Zhung Dzogchen College, a three year retreat center at Tokden

Tokden's lineage is that of the Oral Tradition of Zhang Zhung held by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche, who achieved rainbow body in the 1930s. The college was established in 1924. More than two hundred yogis from every part of Tibet have been trained here. Before the college was established, the traditional three year retreat was undertaken by five students at a time. During the Liberation in 1956 and the Culture Revolution the monastery was destroyed and college activities were stopped for twenty seven years.

Tokden Monastery is a center of both the new and old traditions of Yungdrung Bon Buddhism. Here the Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen teachings have been transmitted without any interruption. It has been blessed by Shadza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche, who established the Zhang-zhung Dzogchen College.The Monastery is currently run by Driwa Rinpoche and Tshulchen Rinpoche.

History of Tokden Monastery

Tokden Monastery is a center of both the new and old traditions of Yundrung Bon Buddhism. In 1385 Rigdzin Shachen Nyimadzin first built a small practice community (Tibetan: gar). A few ngakpas (tantric practitioners) practiced the teachings of the Secret Mantra there. After that Tokden Yungdrung Tsultrim meditated in a retreat cabin for many years before he built a monastery near the gar. This enabled ordained monks to practice there. His practice came from the Shen Tshang lineage. And since that time the former community of the ngakpas and the new community of the monks practiced together the three vehicles of Buddha's teaching, namely the Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. The hermitage and the monastery constitute a great monastery "Tokden Gon Palshenten Mindrol Tashi Chil Ling".

Presently the monastery has been known as "Ngawa Tokden Gonpa" or "Tokden Monastery of Ngawa". It is located on a mountain five kilometers north-east of Aba County, Qiang and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. There are 318 monks studying Tibetan traditional culture and practicing Bon Buddhism.