While in McLeodganj in early July 2023, I was fortunate to be able to make the journey to Takten House— the personal temple and residence of His Holiness the Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dampa.
Meeting with Chophel, One of Khalkha Rinpoche's Sons and Personal Assistant
When I mentioned awhile back that I would be going to Dharamsala, Khandro la told me that I absolutely must seek out Takten House. She told me it was the temple of Khalkha Rinpoche, but did not go too much into detail and simply said I needed to find it. The first thing I needed to do was seek out one of Khalkha Rinpoche’s sons, Chophel, who owned a local cafe in McLeodganj. The cafe is called Coffee Talk and as luck would have it the hotel I booked online a couple of days before I arrived in the city was right next to it. I felt a bit silly, as I was in McLeod for a few days and walked by it multiple times and never noticed it since I'm not a coffee drinker. I went in one afternoon and asked if there was a person named Chophel and if I’d like to speak to him. Some staff then pointed to a man sitting behind the counter in the back reading a Dharma text.
He was nice but looked quite confused as to why I wanted to speak to him. I explained who my teacher was and that I was told to try and find him and explained this project about his father we were trying to do. He seemed pleased to hear that Khandro la was doing well, but noted he was very busy with his business so it may be difficult to interview due to his time constraints.
Though he seemed to warm up and sat down with me for about an hour and a half to explain some things about the Jetsun Dampa, his father. This was a bit spontaneous and I was unprepared as I just wanted to set something up. Fortunately, I had paper and a pen in my backpack and took notes. He discussed the issue of perception of who the Jetsun Dampa was and noted that led to some difficulty in him being as widely cherished as some other lamas in the Tibetan and Mongolian communities. In the beginning, Tibetans seemed to assume he was a Mongolian lama while Mongolians assumed he was only a Tibetan lama (with little connection to their country). The Jetsun Dampa seemed to have a place in two worlds, once he was formally revealed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the early 90s. The Jetsun Dampa was a Tibetan refugee, but he was also the reincarnation of the 8th Bogd Khan (last khan/monarch of Mongolia). [However, once Khalkha Rinpoche was enthroned the first time in Mongolia, in 1999, he became much more well-known and started receiving more enthusiasm from the Mongolian populace, happy to see the return of their Jetsun Dampa.]
This may not have been as profound in Chophel’s mind to tell me this, but I think it is such an important piece I learned from our meeting about the complexity of the identity and public perception of the 9th Khalkha Jetsun Dampa. Today I have not seen that explored by scholars or Dharma pundits. In the Tibetan-in-exile community, they seem to hold him as a Tibetan, and in Mongolia, they seem to hold him as Mongolian and do very little to acknowledge his life as a Tibetan refugee. However, this largely has to do with ignorance of his life before his recognition. Chophel and I continued our discussion and I learned more about his role in serving the Jetsun Dampa; such as functioning as a bodyguard. I can discuss this more in a future post. We then exchanged numbers and he said he would talk to his wife to find a day that I could come and see Takten House.
Takten House and Khalkha Rinpoche's Private Quarters
A couple of days later I was told late at night to come in the morning to Takten House and meet with him and his wife Tenzing. Again as luck would have it, the second hotel I had moved into during my stay at McLeod was just down the road from Takten House. I will say— from outward appearances alone, nothing would have suggested to me this was a temple that once was lived in by Khalkha Rinpoche. From the outside it just looks like an apartment building— though, it probably does have one of the best views of the mountains and valleys in McLeod.
Being monsoon season there was lots of rain daily— however that particular morning of July 9th was experiencing extremely heavy rain that I had not seen in the previous days. There was water absolutely gushing— it was almost like a mini river on the road up to Takten, which is quite steep. There were also multiple cars that were congested near Takten as they couldn’t gain traction on the very steep road— some of the men even got out and tried pushing to help... it was a bit comical. Certainly made for a more eventful walk.
Once I made it into Takten House I headed up and knocked on one of the doors. A woman came out and seemed quite excited I had made it. I took off my water-soaked cowboy boots and headed inside. First walking in it just seemed to be a nice apartment, but once I moved past the living room I saw an amazing room filled with a large shrine, pictures of Khalkha Rinpoche, and a maroon lazy boy recliner. I was in awe to finally be in the presence of where Khalkha Rinpoche lived in McLeod. I then saw Chophel, a very tall monk, and a Western woman who also were there. I said hello and the monk and western woman were both visiting from Russia. We greeted each other and this is also where I learned that Khalkha Rinpoche had a sizable following in Russia where they refer to him mainly as, ‘Bogdo Gegeen’.
We then began a tour of sorts of the apartment. The first room was sort of a front room where Khalkha Rinpoche would have met larger groups of guests and a more general setting. I was admiring the area and taking photos. Tenzing was very nice and insisted I pose for a picture by the shrine— I happily agreed. Tenzing then shared with me that largely everything in this section of the apartment has been the same as Khalkha Rinpoche left it when he headed to live the remainder of his life in Mongolia.
I continued to look at the beautiful area and Chophel came to me to make sure I saw a framed photo of Takten Phuntsok Ling in Tibet, which was a Jonang monastery before being forcibly taken over by the Ganden Phodrang and converted to the Gelug sect in the 17th century. Khalkha Rinpoche held it close to his heart as it was founded by one of his predecessors, Taranatha, and he lived here several years where he received Jonang Kalachakra teachings from the Jonang yogi, Kunga Rinchen Gyatso who came from neighboring Jonang Se Monastery. Here he also gave back his monastic vows and married and, from what I recently read, even had his first child, Thuksey, at Takten! So I understand now the significance of the name Takten to Khalkha Rinpoche— and why he made sure to give his temple its namesake. When Chophel explained the significance of Takten Puntsok Ling it was said with much devotion and a glimmer in his eyes. He also discussed that it further showed the unique nature of Khalkha Rinpoche.
Past the front room was a smaller room where Khalkha Rinpoche would have met more personally one-to-one with students as well as performed his daily prayers and pujas. It was quite beautiful and felt very ethereal. It was amazing to see the seat where Rinpoche would have done his Chöd practice as well as various statues and tantric implements that belonged to him. While the room was very beautiful, Tenzing noted that it still doesn’t quite compare to before Rinpoche left for Mongolia and most of his most precious and needed items, like his Chöd damaru, were brought with him there. Besides that, its almost museum-like integrity has been maintained.
The last room I saw was Khalkha Rinpoche’s bedroom which was mainly a shrine with a small bed. The best way to describe it was like his inner sanctum. The room was very dark with only light from the electric red Christmas lights that dimly illuminated his shrine. I remember walking in and it felt so warm— the kind of dry heat you feel when approaching a bonfire. I then saw one of his personal statues of NaroKacho Vajrayogini and it all reminded me of this tummo heat associated with her practice. I also admired the small and simple bed, and it warmed my heart to see such an example of living simply like the ancient Kadampas did. It was a deeply spiritual experience being in this area— like journeying into a yogi’s cave. I wish I could’ve spent hours in the room meditating as the energy was quite profound.
Reflecting on my tour of the apartment, I found a parallel to Dharma teachings. In Tibetan Buddhism, almost everything is categorized into outer, inner, and secret levels. So, going into the front room was almost like the outer level, the shrine room was the inner level, and then Khalkha Rinpoche’s bedroom was almost like being at the secret level. Going through each one I could almost sense the intimacy and power grow as I walked through.
Main Gompa of Takten House
The group of us then headed out the apartment to go to the upper level where the gompa room was. Although while walking out the Russian woman pointed out an old computer on the floor, stored under a desk. She asked if it was Rinpoche’s. Tenzing related a humorous anecdote that Rinpoche really did not know how to use a computer, but he would enjoy ‘click-clacking’ on the keys. This made us all laugh, and I loved hearing this story because I personally enjoy how even as adults there are those who still can retain a child-like essence of enjoying the simple things of the world— who’s ever too old to be playful?
We then began heading up the stairs to the gompa, and I found it a bit funny that everyone was admiring my cowboy boots and asking if I got them in Mongolia, I noted they were proudly from the US.
The first thing I noted when on the balcony to the gompa was the gorgeous view of the valley below. The sun had just begun to come out by the time we arrived to the front of the temple. Beside the locked door was a huge Kalachakra thangka. Tenzing then unlocked it for us. Myself and the Russian woman were both bursting with anticipation since we were the two who had never seen it before. When the door opened it was like being led into a hidden land. The simple gompa was beautiful and had a vibrant energy for being out of public use for a decade. It was kept extremely clean and I could not spot one iota of dust. Seeing the gompa was also helpful for my research as I realized many of the old photos I’ve seen online were taken here. Now, for future cataloging of photos, it will be even easier to determine locations.
I went around taking photos of the temple and the Russian monk, Tengon, went to a cabinet to take a copy of a collection of texts of various practices that Khalkha Rinpoche taught. Tenzing and he both kindly offered me one. It is completely in Tibetan, which I cannot read, but I was happy to take it back for my teacher Choying Khandro— and who doesn’t love to receive a holy Dharma item?
I tried to memorize everything I saw in the room such as the beautiful thangkas and a spectacular statue of Machik Labdron with a light-up crown wired to it. Relaying my experience to Khandro la, months later, I noted this and how I never have seen a statue with a crown of flashing lights. She giggled and noted that she remembered it fondly, she also said to me that putting bright flashing lights had become popular in India— so thank you to our Hindu friends for pioneering an awesome way to beautify our deities. Besides the light show it is important to note that this statue of Machik was held with great devotion as Rinpoche’s main practice was Chöd.
Once we were done touring the shrine I made my goodbyes with the Russian woman and monk— though I ended up seeing them a couple of weeks later in Ladakh for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings. Tenzing was then very kind and invited me back to the apartment for tea and to explain more to me about some of the history of Takten House.
Overall, I feel extremely blessed to be able to see this hidden gem in McLeodganj and it helped deepen my devotion to the Jetsun Dampa further as well as make the strong resolve to continue to preserve his legacy.
—Cameron
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