Lhatri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche is the Abbott and lineage holder of Lhatri
Monastery in the Kham/Dege area of eastern Tibet. Born in Tibet, he grew up
in Dorpatan, which was the first refugee Bönpo community in Nepal. His
family is the lineage holder of the Lhatri lineage and his father, Lhatri Gyaltsen
Nyima, was the third reincarnation of Tsultrim Phunstok, a great Bön practitioner
of eastern Tibet.
When Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was 6 years old he began learning to read and write Tibetan. At that time he also began religious studies with his father and with Tsultrim Nyima Rinpoche, the Abbott of the Dorpatan Monastery. When Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was 13 years old the family moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. He worked in the sweater business that his family established in Kathmandu, and he also mastered the art of carpet design
The Bönpo people now living in Kathmandu are originally from the Dorpatan area and are devotees of Te-Wa Monastery that is located in the upper region of Tibet. Nyima Dakpa's father had the name of a lama of the Te-Wa Monastery and, since there was no monastery in Kathmandu at that time, he took the responsibility for all annual religious activities. His father wanted the Bönpo community to be close and for the young people to have a firm connection with the Bön culture. For that reason he established the Bön Community of Te-Wa (Te-Bön kyi dug) and took care of the spiritual activities for these people until the end of his life. This organization is still functioning in Kathmandu. It participates in all religious activities at Triten Norbutse Monastery and helps the Bönpo people in any way possible.
At age 15 his father took Nyima Dakpa to sMen-ri Monastery in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh, India so that he could be trained there as a monk. The father was getting older and did not know what would happen in Tibet. He wanted Nyima Dakpa to become a spiritual master and a perfect religious practitioner of Bön so that he could do meaningful work for the Bönpo community. Nyima Dakpa, however, became very homesick and returned home to Kathmandu.
In 1977 the senior sMen-ri Lopon, Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche, sent a message with Amdo Sangdak from Dolanji to Nyima Dakpa's father asking why his son had not already been sent to become a fully ordained monk? \"You should do that,\" Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche said. It touched Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche very much when he heard the message that was given to his father. Because he was the eldest son and had the name of a lineage holder of Lhatri it was his responsibility to become a monk and serve the Bönpo people. Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche knew inside himself that this was the proper time to accept that responsibility.
That same day in the evening at a family gathering his father talked about the message from Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche. He said that it had always been his wish for Nyima Dakpa to become a monk and a spiritual master. \"I would be happier for Nyima Dakpa to become a monk than to be given gold the size of a sheep's head,\" his father said. Everyone in the family encouraged Nyima Dakpa and that evening it was decided that he would return to sMen-ri Monastery in Dolanji.
In September 1977 when he arrived in sMen-ri Monastery he went to see HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin, Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, and Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche who welcomed him by blessing him with scarves. Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche went with his aunt to Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche to request a prayer for blessings so that he could be successful in his wish to be a monk. Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche said, \"This is my response to your return. I will give you a good prize.\" Then he poured a whole vase of blessing water onto Nyima Dakpa's head.
During the Tibetan New Year on the birthday of Nyam Med Sherab Gyaltsen, which is the fifth day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar, Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche took the vow from HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin and the Lopon Tenzin Namdak. Since that time Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche has lived under the care and guidance of HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin Rinpoche, the spiritual head of Bön. In 1978 Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was a member of the first group to be trained in the newly organized Bön Dialectic School. He received all his teachings under Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and Lharam Geshe Yung Drung Nyamgal.
Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche made a commitment to himself not to take any vacations until his studies in the Dialectic School were complete. He kept that promise. Even when his parents sent letters asking him to come for a family reunion during the New Year, he did not return home until he obtained his Geshe degree in 1987. From 1978 to 1987 in addition to his studies he helped with the orphanage, the monastic center, and the Dolanji settlement and school. He was the representative of HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin to meetings and conferences held away from Dolanji.
In 1982 the father and brother of Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche went to Tibet to see the Lhatri Monastery and to visit the people who lived there. The people at Lhatri Monastery sent several letters asking Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche to come there and take responsibility for educating the young monks. For this reason he decided to go to Tibet in May 1987. During this trip he visited 38 different Bön monasteries in Tibet. It was his intention to give information to the monasteries in Tibet so that the connection between the sMen-ri Monastery in India and the Tibetan monasteries could be strengthened. Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche went to sMen-ri Monastery in Tibet as well as to his Monastery where he was enthroned as Abbott.
In 1988 he returned to sMen-ri Monastery in Dolanji. In April of the same year HH the Dalai Lama visited the monastery. During this visit HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin discussed the school in Dolanji with HH the Dalai Lama. At that time the school only had 6 grades. HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin requested permission to add the 7th and 8th grades so that the children could have more opportunity to study their Bön culture. HH the Dalai Lama agreed to the plan. \"Bring as many of the Bönpo children as possible to one place,\" he said. \"It will be easier.\" Ten thousand rupees were given for the project through the education minister of exile government of Tibet, Juchen Thupten. HH the Dalai Lama said that this money was the symbol of a beginning so that this project would actually take place.
At the request of the people of Dolanji HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin gave Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche the official permit for expanding the school. All necessary documents were filed with the Indian government. At the same time Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was given the responsibility for gathering children from all the different Bönpo communities so that they could attend the school in Dolanji. For that reason he made an official visit to Kathmandu to talk to the Bönpo people about the project. Information about the school was sent to the Dolpo, Lubrak, Zomsom, and Tankye areas as well as to remote Bönpo communities in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and India.
Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was given the responsibility for gathering children from all the different Bönpo communities so that they could attend the school in Dolanji. HH 33rd sMen-ri Trizin also asked Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche to take the responsibility for establishing the Bön Children's Home in Dolanji so that girls, as well as boys, could have an opportunity to receive an education. Because of his great desire to help the Bönpo children Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche was happy to accept this position. He is currently Director of the Bön Children's Home that he organized in 1989 so that the children would have a place to live while they attended the school in Dolanji.
Most of the children in the Bön Children's Home are from very remote Bönpo communities such as Dolpo, and Lubrak. In the beginning there were 45 children At the present time there are 110 children in the Bön Children's Home. Some children have now graduated from the school in Dolanji and are continuing their education in Shimla and Varanasi.
Since 1991 Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche has visited the United States three times to give teachings and to raise funds for the Bön Children's Home. During the 1996 trip he also visited the United Kingdom and Germany. He returns yearly to the United States to give teachings.