Ramjar Lama Tenzin Kinley: A Legacy of Wisdom and Humility
Last July, I made a post on Facebook about Ramjar Lama Tenzin Kinley, sparked by the rediscovery of his composition, Kharza Dechen Tsemo, which was being celebrated anew in the Bhutanese movie Dunghin Choelu Enn. For those unfamiliar, Kharza Dechen Tsemo is the name of the retreat center founded by the Lama near Yalang.
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| Lama Tenzin Kinley (Courtesy: Youtube video of the Lama) |
Hearing the song brought back vivid childhood memories. The first time I heard the song Kharza Dechen Tsemo was from my eldest brother. He, as a young man who did not get the opportunity to go to school, would often visit Ramjar Lama to study reading, writing, and grammar during the lean farming seasons. Back then, Ramjar Lama’s home was much like a gurukul—a sanctuary for learning. Village boys from the nook and corner of Eastern Bhutan, like my brother, eager to pursue knowledge during the quiet farming seasons, would gather there. Under his guidance, many became adept in grammar, astrology, poetry, and composition, even with just a few sporadic years of tutelage.
Here is the link to the original version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCWXug9wQBQ&t=58s
Link below is the new version of the song from the recent movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19gqKWquM2w
The song, and the Lama's legacy, is not just a piece of music but a bridge connecting us to a time of dedication, learning, and cultural richness. Sharing it was my small way of celebrating that legacy and its timeless resonance.
Yesterday (Sunday, 17 November 2024), by a serendipitous coincidence, I had the incredible privilege of participating in the consecration ceremony of a statue of Lama Tenzin Kinley at Olakha, Thimphu. This beautiful statue, a tribute to his enduring legacy, was beautifully crafted with the generous support of patrons from Yalang. The initiative was spearheaded by Khenpo Pema Jamyang of Bokar Monastery in Yalang, a testament to the deep reverence and love the community holds for the Lama.
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| Author paying respects to the statue of Lama Tenzin Kinley (Courtesy: Mr Sonam Tshering of Yalang) |
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| Statue of Lama Tenzin Kinley (Courtesy: Mr Sonam Tshering of Yalang) |
The ceremony was filled with a sense of sacredness and gratitude, as Bartsham Lama Ugyen Namdrol, who had also studied under Ramjar Lama, offered prayers and rituals to consecrate and bless the statue. Soon, it will embark on its journey to Bokar Lhakhang, where it will be permanently installed. This installation will not only honor Lama Tenzin Kinley's contributions but also inspire future generations to connect with his teachings and the cultural heritage he championed.
Being part of this momentous occasion felt like being woven into the fabric of a living legacy—one that continues to thrive and resonate across time. I am deeply grateful to have witnessed such a heartfelt homage to a visionary whose wisdom and compassion remain a guiding light.
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| Framed picture of Lama Tenzin Kinley (Courtesy: Khenpo Pema Jamyang of Bokar Monastery) |
Ramjar Lama Tenzin Kinley (1920–1993), a contemporary of Bartsham Lama Pema Wangchen (1923–1990), was revered as one of the most brilliant and learned figures of his era in Eastern Bhutan. Ramjar was a part of Bartsham Gewog then. Lama Tenzin Kinley distinguished himself with extraordinary intellect, mastering rig gnas (རིག་གནས)—a field encompassing spiritual philosophy, dialectics, logic, and grammar. He also displayed unparalleled expertise in astrology and mathematics, alongside remarkable skills as a teacher and calligrapher.
In his 2004 paper titled "Development of Cursive Bhutanese Writing", Khenpo Phutshok Tashi writes, "Among many people in the 20th century, who came to write Joyig combining the three qualities of speed, style and clarity, some of the most well-known were Lam Norbu Wangchuk from Tshangkha, Trongsa, Lopen Gonpo Tenzin from Chumey, Bumthang, Lam Pema Tshewang, Dasho Tenzin Dorji from Galing, Tashigang, Lam Tenzin from Ramjar, Trashi Yangtse and Lam Kuenzang Wangdue from Bartsham, Trashigang."
Dasho Shingkhar Lam, in the book Hero with Thousand Eyes by Dasho Karma Ura, recounts his brilliance at the court of His Majesty the Second King of Bhutan (1905 - 1952). As a young man, Lama Tenzin Kinley was celebrated for his impeccable calligraphy, expertise in geomancy, astrological forecasting, and ritualistic prowess. Even the King recognized his talents, presenting him with a sword sheathed in silver. However, he had no worldly ambition for power or position. He just wanted to pursue spiritual practice as Dasho Shingkhar Lam notes:
“Tenzin had the fastest hand and sparkled in the group. Given the same time limit, he could write four copies; I managed to do three, whereas others struggled to finish only one. Within a week of starting the work, His Majesty presented him with a sword sheathed in a silver scabbard. Still, Tenzin hoped to revert to his former monk's life. Indeed his aim was fulfilled after he put a few years of work or so into tax reform; he took leave and never returned. He became a Lama.”
Before his royal court appointment, Lama Tenzin Kinley had served as a scribe under Dzongpon Thinley Tobgye (Sey Dopola) (1891 - 1952), the last Dzongpon of Trashigang.
As far as his ancestry is concerned, Lama Tenzin Kinley hailed from a long line of Buddhist practitioners, and he was said to be the 15th generation to uphold the tradition. His position as a Lama was not officially appointed but earned through his profound knowledge, achievements, and contributions to society. Today, his accomplished son, Lama Khenpo Tenzin Norgay, a learned celibate monk, carries on his father’s legacy in the same spirit of compassion and humility.
A Shared Legacy with Bartsham Lama Pema Wangchen
Both Ramjar Lama Tenzin Kinley and Bartsham Lama Pema Wangchen began their spiritual journeys at a young age as monks at Trashigang Dzong, with Ramjar Lama being the elder. Ramjar Lama not only excelled in the study of rig gnas (philosophy, logic, and grammar), but he was also an accomplished Dharma practitioner and teacher choosing to lead a simple life in the village. Bartsham Lama Pema Wangchen had spent many of his formative years in Tibet (after he chose to leave Trashigang Dzong at a young age) focused on studying the practice of nyam len (ཉམས་ལེན) - meditation and tantric practices, thus becoming a revered yogi.
Lama Tenzin Kinley was so impressed by the teachings he received from Bartsham Lama Pema Wangchen that he composed a prayer in his honor on behalf of all his disciples. This prayer (see below) encapsulates the reverence and devotion of the disciples to the Lama, and remains a testament to the two Lamas’ mutual respect and shared commitment to the dharma.
མཚོ་སྐྱེས་རྒྱལ་བའི་རྒྱལ་ཚབ་སྤྱི་བོར་བསྙེན། །གསུང་གསང་གདམས་པའི་ བདུད་རྩི་སྙིང་ལ་སིམ། །བསྐྱེད་རྫོགས་ལམ་ཞུགས་དོན་གཉིས་དཔལ་འབར་ བ། །པདྨ་དབང་ཆེན་ཞབས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། །ཞེས་པའང་གང་གི་དད་སློབ་ཡོངས་ ནས་རེ་བསྐུལ་བཞིན་བླ་མིང་འཛིན་པ་བསྟན་འཛིན་ཀུན་ལེགས་ནས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པ་དགེའོ།། །།
Lama Tenzin Kinley’s life and legacy continue to inspire. His profound knowledge, dedication to education, and humility have left an indelible mark on Bhutanese culture. As his statue prepares to find its home in Bokar Lhakhang, it serves as a reminder of the timeless wisdom he embodied and the deep respect he garnered from all who had the fortune to know or learn from him.
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| Prayer to Lama Pema Wangchen composed by Lama Tenzin Kinley |
