His Holiness the Dalai Lama has recognized a two-year-old Tibetan boy born in Nepal as the reincarnation of Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, the former head of the Nyingma lineage, the oldest tradition of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ngawang Tenzin Choekyi Lodoe Rabsel. From Lion's Roar
The named successor, Ngawang Tenzin Choekyi Lodoe Rabsel, was born in Kathmandu on 25 July 2013. The announcement of his recognition was timed to coincide with the 80th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 6 July.
The previous Trulshik Rinpoche, one of the most senior lamas of Tibetan Buddhism, was born in Lho Talung, Tibet, in 1923 (some sources state 1924) and was recognized at the age of four. He was one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachers and became head of the Nyingma order in 2010.
Trulshik Rinpoche, 1923–2011. From Vajratool.wordpress.com
According to Buddhist monk and author Matthieu Ricard: “He was one of the last great masters to have completed a truly extensive study, training and practice of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the extraordinary cultural environment of Tibet prior to its invasion by the Chinese communist regime.”
Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche (the title “Kyabje” is a mark of respect reserved for senior lamas), who established Thupten Choling Monastery and retreat community in the Solu Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal in the 1960s, died in Nepal in 2011. He was considered the spiritual heir to a number of senior Nyingma lamas, including Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.