“ཀརྨ་དཔལ་ལྡན་ལུང་རྟོགས་ཕིན་ལས་པ། །
Karma Palden Lungtog Trinleypa [1]
འགྲོ་མགོན་འཁོར་ལོ་གསུམ་གི་དཔལ་བཟང་པོ།།
Excellent glorious protector of beings and the three turnings,
དམ་པའི་ངང་ཚུལ་དགུ་ཡི་བདག་ཉིད་ཅན། །
Possessing the nine aspects of a sacred being [2],
ཞབས་པད་བརྟན་ཅིང་མཛད་ཕིན་རྒྱས་གྱུར་ཅིག།
May your lotus feet remain stable and activities flourish.”
–excerpt from long-life aspiration for 9th Gyalton Rinpoche, composed by HH 12th Tai Situpa (tr. Adele Tomlin, 2025).
“I have observed a strange idea of love that many people seem to have: they see love as a kind of gift that has to be given back. Someone says, “I love you,” and if the other person does not reply with an “I love you, too,” the first person gets upset. But love doesn’t always have to be reciprocated. We can just love. If love doesn’t come back to you, it is still love that you give and that you feel. We do not always have to look to get something back for what we give, do we?” –17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Birthday Wishes and Long-Life Aspiration
On the occasion of the birthday of H.E. 9th Gyalton Rinpoche today, here is a small offering to commemorate it. First, a few months ago I created a website section related to articles, transcripts and translations connected to or about Gyalton Rinpoche (whom I first personally met in May 2025 in Hanoi, Vietnam) and whose teachings I was able to attend in Taiwan and Europe 2025:
For the full long-life aspiration for Gyalton Rinpoche, composed by HH 12th Tai Situpa (2024), which I compiled with the Tibetan and phonetics, and translated for the first time into English in June 2025 while attending Taiwan teachings, see here.
Recently, despite all the obstacles that a few people created to try and prevent and block my attending his teachings, and a persistent gossip, slander and bullying smear campaign, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Gutor and Losar commemorations at Sherab Ling monastery, India and stay for one month (kindly extended twice) in the presence of Gyalton Rinpoche, for more on that see here.
As Shakespeare (and many other great Buddhist masters) wrote about the importance of unconditional love and compassion: “Love is not love which alters, when it alteration finds.” It is easy to think we love and have compassion people when we like them, or they please us. Real love is tested when they do not. Never let others tell you what is in your mind and heart, and who to love and not to love. Liberation and love comes from within not from outside. The heart that loves is always rich.
May all obstacles to Rinpoche’s health, life, karmic connections and Dharma activities be pacified and transformed into teachings on the nature of love, compassion and patience, on the path!
Music? White Tārā mantra Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Mama Āyuḥ Puṇya Jñāna Puṣṭiṃ Kuru Svāhā , What is Love? by Howard Jones , Where is the Love? by Black-Eyed Peas, Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Love Minus Zero by Bob Dylan .
Adele Tomlin, 6th April 2026.
ENDNOTES
[1] This is the name given to Gyalton (Gya-ton in Tibetan) Rinpoche by the 12th Khenting Tai Situpa.
[2] The nine aspects of a qualified Buddha are (1) Accomplished, (2) Perfectly Enlightened, (3) Endowed with knowledge and Conduct or Practice, (4) Well-gone or Well-spoken, (5) the Knower of worlds, (6) the Guide Unsurpassed of men to be tamed, (7) the Teacher of gods and men, (
Enlightened, and (9) Blessed.
Enlightened, and (9) Blessed.