Japhy received the lung and tri for Khenpo Gangshar’s “Mind Instructions,” the irony of receiving the lung and tri for this particular transmission notwithstanding.

“Until quite recently, the surviving holders of Khenpo Gangshar’s transmission, kept it on a need to know basis.”

Japhy’s Khenpo Karthar spoke of Khenpo Gangshar in retreat with the retreatants he trained at Karma Ling, in Delhi, New York.

“I’ve seen references made to Khenpo Gangshar made by Pema Chodron.”

Pema Chodron’s teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, was Khenpo Gangshar’s attendant in Tibet.

“In fact, Trungpa was the last person to see Khenpo Gangshar alive, when they were stopped at a Chinese check point in Tibet.”

The Chinese detained Chogyam Trungpa. They let Khenpo Gangshar pass. Khenpo Gangshar was never seen again.

“When Lama Tashi Dondup visited here last year his version of the story had Khenpo Gangshar not dying in prison.”

Japhy likes to imagine that the Chinese never found cause to imprison Khenpo Gangshar, that he lived out his life as a hidden yogi.

“What Khenpo Gangshar taught, as it was taught to me by Khenpo Karthar, suggests for me at least, the hidden yogi scenario.”

What is known for certain, though, is that the flow of three Karma Kagyu lineage holders credited with establishing their lineage in America, Trungpa, Thrangu, and Karthar, flows directly through Khenpo Gangshar.

“There is no Karma Kagyu in America, if not for Khenpo Gangshar. He forever changed how we do Vajrayana here, as a lineage.”

It was Khenpo Gangshar who showed the way beyond how the Vajrayana had been transmitted for centuries in Tibet,

“Khenpo Gangshar did the unthinkable, and transmitted the Vajrayana without restriction, in response to a deathbed epiphany he had.”

According to Chogyam Trungpa, as told to Khenpo Karthar, Khenpo Gangshar had in fact died.

“Trungpa was preparing Khenpo Gangshar for cremation when his teacher came back to life.”

Before this unexpected turn of events, Khenpo Gangshar was special to Trungpa, an accomplished master, but nothing like the figure he has come to be recognized as today.

“I received pointing out from His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, the lung and tri for Mahamudra from Khenpo Karthar.”

For those that, rightly so, demand that a person knows what they speak of, Japhy’s paperwork is in order when it comes to Mahamudra.

“If not for Khenpo Gangshar, this would have been unthinkable.”

Prior to Khenpo Gangshar, and for many to this day, Japhy would have had to first, at the very least, complete ngondro before receiving the transmission for Mahamudra.

“I thought the same, prior to receiving the lung and tri for Mahamudra from Khenpo Karthar.”

One day Khenpo Karthar popped out of his room, and got his Khenpo Gangshar on. This changed Japhy’s life forever.

“It took his translator at the time, Nodup Tsering Burkhar, by surprise.”

Japhy happened to be sitting in the shrine room, when Nodup walked in and announced Khenpo Karthar.

“Nodup barely had time to say what was happening.”

Three of Japhy’s cohorts were in the shrine room when Khenpo Karthar entered the shrine room.

“We jumped up, prostrated, and sat down. Rinpoche did what he came out to do. It was over in a flash.”

Afterwards, two of Japhy’s cohorts were still waiting for Rinpoche to give them something, which is what Nodup blurted out was what Khenpo Karthar wanted to do.

“They were a bit put off from Rinpoche’s uncharacteristic display of what can only be described as Vajrayana Crazy Wisdom.”

One cohort, the only other cohort still with Japhy’s encampment, just smiled, and has never spoken of it since.

“Nodup was rendered speechless, a rarity for him.”

He mumbled something to Japhy when Khenpo Karthar exited the shrine room and returned to his room.

“Nodup had apparently never seen anything like it, at least not from Khenpo Karthar. It isn’t something Rinpochre is known for,”

Khenchen Thrangu was the first to transmit Khenpo Gangshar’s transmission, the book “Vivid Awareness” came from the teaching.

“When lama Sean told me that Khenpo Karthar was going to give us Khenpo Gangshar, we were as giddy as two school girls.”

For Japhy, it was the piece of the puzzle that made the picture for him.

“Rinpoche had always told me to not worry about it, but it had always worried him all the same. I wanted to know why I received Mahamudra as my practice like I did.”

Japhy, as do his Vajrayana coreligionists, know the Vajrayana to be presented in terms of ngondro, retreat, and Mahsmudra.

“You don’t get to go straight to Mahamudra like I did.”

Khenpo Gangshar changed this, which allowed Khenpo Karthar to, as Khenpo Gandshar did, transmit Mahamudra to otherwise unqualified recipients.

“The precedent had been established by Khenpo Gangshar during the period between his death bed epiphany and his disappearance.”

Outside of the Karma Kagyu in America, to the larger Vajrayana, Khenpo Gangshar’s transmission is news to them.

“Whenever a Karna Kagyu teaches Mahamudra today though, they aren’t disregarding the rules of Vajrayana, some may think. They are getting their Khenpo Gangshar on.”

Japhy hopes you are enjoying yourselves with this. Some readers are quite upset. They hate Japhy with a passion.

“I’ve tried to explain the obvious, that Tinfoil Ushnisha is an exercise in fiction, but they simply can’t get their minds around this fact,”

They believe Japhy to be something other than a literary device, which tells you everything you need to know about these readers.

“After three months, Tinfoil Ushnisha is an unqualified success as a Buddhist blog. I’m quite pleased with the response.”

What Japhy is referring to are the close to ten thousand views in less than ninety days he sees when he checks the stats for Tinfoil Ushnisha.

“I’m just blown away by your response. Being hated is just part of being a Buddhist blogger for me. It’s no skin off my nose that they hate Tinfoil Ushnisha,”

The bulk of Tinfoil Ushnisha’s readers understand that Japhy is purely for entertainment purpose, and not intended to be taken literally.

“One would think that Buddhists would get that appearances are illusions, without any substantial basis in reality.”

Anyway, Japhy has embarrassed himself enough for one day. I hope everyone is enjoying this. Japhy is having the time of his life, Karmapa Chenno,