Rimé
The Rimé movement (རིས་མེད། ris med Rimé, literally meaning “Unbiased,” “Non-Sectarian,” or “Impartial,” rendered in Sanskrit as निष्पक्ष - Niṣpakṣa or अ पक्षपात - Apakṣapāta, and in Chinese as 利美运动 / 利美運動 - Limei Yundong, universally revered across Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Ladakh, Sikkim, China, United States, Europe, and the global Buddhist world as the monumental 19th century ecumenical renaissance of Tibetan Buddhism), acclaimed throughout modern Himalayan and world Buddhist history as the decisive spiritual and literary movement that rescued rare meditation lineages, philosophical treatises, and tantric transmissions from extinction, stands as a supreme triumph of non-dual wisdom and compassion. Grounded in the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha (c. 563–483 BCE) regarding anicca, dukkha, and anatta, fearless renunciation, and unshakeable refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, Rimé revitalized ethical conduct, precepts, meditation, mindfulness, concentration, and universal bodhicitta across every tradition of Tibet.
Historically and geographically, the Rimé movement arose during the mid-19th century in the rugged mountain kingdoms and monastic valleys of eastern Tibet—specifically in Kham (centered in the Kingdom of Derge, Dzogchen Monastery, Shechen Monastery, Palpung Monastery, Kathok Monastery, Palyul Monastery, and Dzongsar Monastery) and extending into Amdo—at a time when central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) was dominated by rigid sectarian politics and institutional rivalry among major monastic establishments, leaving smaller lineages and rare contemplative transmissions dangerously close to disappearing.
Rather than seeking to merge all schools into a single homogenized syncretic religion or erase their unique doctrinal distinctions, the founding architects of Rimé sought to honor, preserve, and practice each lineage in its full, uncorrupted purity—recognizing that all authentic traditions of Tibetan Buddhism (including Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug, Jonang, Kadampa, Shije, Chöd, and even the indigenous Bon tradition) represent valid, complementary skillful means taught by enlightened masters to suit the diverse dispositions of sentient beings.
At the heart of the Rimé movement stood a legendary triad of towering 19th century masters whose lifelong friendship, mutual devotion, and tireless collaboration transformed Himalayan spirituality: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé (1813–1899), and Chogyur Dechen Lingpa (1829–1870), working alongside luminous contemporaries including Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887), Ju Mipham Rinpoche (1846–1912), Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (1800–1866), Dza Paltrul, Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpai Nyima (1829–1901), and Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859–1935).
The supreme spiritual catalyst of Rimé was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེའི་དབང་པོ། ’jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, 1820–1892), born in Dilgo in Derge in eastern Tibet and recognized as an emanation of Manjushri Bodhisattva as well as the combined incarnation of Trisong Detsen, Vimalamitra, and Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798); beginning in his youth, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo traveled tirelessly across Kham, Amdo, and central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) for thirteen years, studying under more than one hundred and fifty masters across every single school and becoming the celebrated “Holder of the Seven Special Transmissions” (Ka-bab Dun).
Working in inseparable partnership with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was the encyclopedic polymath Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས། ’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé, 1813–1899), born in Ronggyab in Kham and ordained at Shechen Monastery and Palpung Monastery under the Ninth Tai Situ, Pema Nyinje Wangpo (1774–1853), who became the supreme editor, anthologist, and literary architect of the Rimé renaissance while also excelling in Tibetan medicine, Sanskrit grammar, poetics, and painting.
Completing this sacred triad was the prolific treasure-revealer (Terton) Chogyur Dechen Lingpa (མཆོག་གྱུར་བདེ་ཆེན་གླིང་པ། mchog gyur bde chen gling pa Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, 1829–1870), born in Nangchen in Kham, who revealed thirty-seven major cycles of hidden treasures (Terma) concealed by Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal—including the celebrated Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo (The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence) and the Tukdrub Barché Kunsel—sharing them immediately with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé at Dzongsar Monastery and Palpung Monastery.
Alongside this triad shone the incomparable wandering yogi-scholar Patrul Rinpoche (དཔལ་སྤྲུལ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་འཇིགས་མེད་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབང་པོ། dpal sprul o rgyan ’jigs med chos kyi dbang po Peltrul Orgyen Jikmé Chökyi Wangpo, 1808–1887), born in Dzachuka in eastern Tibet, who renounced all institutional titles and monastic wealth to wander dressed in a simple sheepskin coat, teaching Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara (Toh Number 3871 in the Tibetan Tripitaka, corresponding to Taisho Number 1662 in the Chinese Tripitaka) and composing the immortal Nyingma preliminary practice manual Kunzang Lamai Zhalung (The Words of My Perfect Teacher), which inspired devout practitioners across all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
The intellectual and philosophical titan of the Rimé movement was Ju Mipham Rinpoche (འཇུ་མི་ཕམ་འཇམ་དབྱངས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ། ’ju mi pham ’jam dbyangs rnam rgyal rgya mtsho Ju Mipam Jamyang Namgyel Gyatso, 1846–1912), born in Yulhung in Derge and trained directly under Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé, and Patrul Rinpoche, who authored a monumental thirty-two-volume corpus of commentaries on Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Pramana, Abhidharma, Kalachakra Tantra (Toh Number 362), and Dzogchen—creating a complete scholastic curriculum for the Nyingma tradition while engaging in respectful, brilliant philosophical dialogue with Gelug and Sakya scholars.
Literarily and bibliographically, the crowning achievement of the Rimé movement was Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé's compilation of the monumental Five Great Treasuries (མཛོད་ཆེན་ལྔ། mdzod chen lnga Dzö Chen Nga), an extraordinary encyclopedic library spanning over ninety volumes that gathered, authenticated, and preserved the oral instructions, empowerments, and root texts of every lineage in Tibet for future generations.
The first of the Five Great Treasuries is the Sheja Dzö (ཤེས་བྱ་མཛོད། shes bya mdzod Shéja Dzö, Treasury of All Knowledge), a comprehensive three-volume encyclopedia summarizing the entire cosmos, history, Vinaya Pitaka monastic discipline, Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Tantra, and the practical paths of liberation across all Buddhist schools, accompanied by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé's own lucid auto-commentary.
The second treasury is the Kagyü Ngak Dzö (བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་སྔགས་མཛོད། bka’ brgyud sngags mdzod Kagyü Ngak Dzö, Treasury of Kagyu Tantras), which preserved the tantric cycles, mandalas, and initiations transmitted through Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097), Milarepa (1052–1135), Gampopa (1079–1153), and the Karmapas—including Chakrasamvara Tantra (Toh Number 368), Hevajra Tantra (Toh Number 417), and Guhyasamaja Tantra (Toh Number 442)—that were in danger of being lost.
The third and largest treasury is the monumental Rinchen Terdzö (རིན་ཆེན་གཏེར་མཛོད། rin chen gter mdzod Rinchen Terdzö, Treasury of Precious Revealed Treasures), compiled jointly by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé across sixty-three to seventy volumes, collecting thousands of rare Terma revelations, sadhanas, empowerments, and protective rites discovered by Terton masters from Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1124–1192) and Guru Chöwang (1212–1270) down to Jigme Lingpa and Chogyur Dechen Lingpa.
The fourth treasury is the Gdams Ngag Mdzod (གདམས་ངག་མཛོད། gdams ngag mdzod Damngak Dzö, Treasury of Spiritual Instructions), an eighteen-volume anthology preserving the essential meditation manuals and oral pith instructions (man ngag) of the Eight Great Chariots of Practice Lineages in Tibet: Nyingma, Kadampa, Lamdré (Sakya), Marpa Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, Shije and Chöd (founded by Pha Dampa Sangye and Machig Labdrön, 1055–1149), Dorje Naljor (Kalachakra Six-Branch Yoga), and Orgyen Nyendrub (Dorje Sumgyi Nyendrub).
The fifth treasury is the Gyachen Kadzö (རྒྱ་ཆེན་བཀའ་མཛོད། rgya chen bka’ mdzod Gyachen Kadzö, Treasury of Extensive Teachings), comprising Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé's own collected writings, liturgical compositions, philosophical treatises, and historical records, alongside the fourteen-volume Drupthab Kuntü (Compendium of Sadhanas) compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and his disciple Jamyang Loter Wangpo (1847–1914), which preserved hundreds of Sakya, Jonang, Gelug, and Kagyu deity practices.
Culturally and artistically, the Rimé movement sparked a golden age of sacred art, woodblock printing, and monastic education across eastern Tibet—centered at the famed Derge Parkhang (Derge Printing House), where artisans carved pristine woodblocks of the Kangyur and Tengyur of the Tibetan Tripitaka alongside the Five Great Treasuries, while master painters such as Situ Panchen Chökyi Jungné (1700–1774, whose earlier scholarship inspired Rimé) and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo refined the delicate Karma Gadri thangka painting tradition.
Architecturally and institutionally, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé established his secluded hermitage at Tsadra Rinchen Drak above Palpung Monastery as a model non-sectarian retreat sanctuary, while Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo transformed Dzongsar Monastery and Katok into vibrant centers where monks studied the treatises of Tsongkhapa, Sakya Pandita, Gampopa, Longchenpa, and Ju Mipham Rinpoche side by side without prejudice.
Philosophically, the Rimé masters articulated a nuanced, spacious synthesis of Buddhist ontology—respecting both the Prasangika Madhyamaka “Self-Emptiness” (Rangtong) emphasized by Tsongkhapa and Chandrakirti (Madhyamakavatara, Toh Number 3861), which deconstructs all conceptual reification through Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika (Toh Number 3824, and Taisho Number 1564), and the “Other-Emptiness” (Shentong) perspective championed by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361), Taranatha (1575–1634), and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé, which affirms the luminous, primordially pure Buddha-nature (tathagatagarbha) expounded in Maitreya's Uttaratantra Shastra (Toh Number 4024, and Taisho Number 1611) as empty of all adventitious defilements yet replete with enlightened qualities.
Equally celebrated in Rimé philosophical discourse was Ju Mipham Rinpoche's brilliant demonstration—in his commentaries on Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalamkara (Toh Number 3884) and Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara—that Rangtong and Shentong, as well as Dzogchen's primordial awareness (rigpa) and Mahamudra's co-emergent wisdom (lhencig kyepe yeshe), point to the exact same non-dual ultimate truth of emptiness (शून्यता - śūnyatā; སྟོང་པ་ཉིད། stong pa nyid Tongpanyid) and luminosity (od gsal), differing only in pedagogical method and terminology.
Contemplatively, Rimé practitioners viewed sectarianism—grasping at one's own school as supreme while disparaging others—as a subtle form of ego-clinging (atmagraha) and a violation of the Bodhisattva precepts and tantric commitments (samaya), warning that abandoning any authentic teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha constitutes the grave karmic fault of “abandoning the Dharma” (chos spong).
Instead, Rimé masters modeled an inspiring personal practice in which a practitioner remains firmly grounded in one's own root lineage and primary meditation deity while cultivating pure perception (dag snang), deep reverence, and heartfelt gratitude toward all other lineages and teachers—frequently receiving empowerments from Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug masters alike.
During the early 20th century, the torch of the Rimé movement was carried forward across eastern and central Tibet by illustrious heirs and incarnations—most notably Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959), Khenpo Zhenga (Zhenpen Chökyi Nangwa, 1871–1927, who revitalized shedra monastic colleges by returning directly to the classical Indian Shastras of Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, and Shantideva), Dzongsar Khyentse, Sechen Gyaltsab Pema Namgyal (1871–1926), Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (1880–1925), and Amdo Gendun Chöphel (1903–1951).
Following the Tibetan diaspora of 1959, the Rimé spirit proved providential for the survival of Tibetan Buddhism in exile across India, Nepal, and Bhutan—because Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé had gathered thousands of endangered transmissions into the Five Great Treasuries, surviving masters in exile were able to restore almost every broken lineage across all four schools.
In the late 20th century and 21st century, towering Rimé masters transmitted these comprehensive treasures across India, Nepal, Bhutan, United States, Europe, Taiwan, and Australia—led by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–1991, who conferred the complete Rinchen Terdzö and Gdams Ngag Mdzod multiple times in exile), Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987), the Sixteenth Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (1924–1981), Dezhung Rinpoche (1906–1987), Kalu Rinpoche (1905–1989), Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939–1987), Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920–1996), Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931–2011), Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (b. 1961), Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and Mingyur Rinpoche.
Moreover, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), has passionately championed the non-sectarian Rimé ethos throughout his life—receiving extensive Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu transmissions alongside his Gelug training, studying with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Trulshik Rinpoche (1924–2011), and urging all Tibetan monastic universities to study the treatises of all traditions harmoniously.
In modern Western Buddhism, the Rimé spirit has expanded even further beyond Tibetan borders—inspiring respectful dialogue, shared retreats, and mutual translation initiatives among Theravada, Zen, Pure Land, and Vajrayana practitioners across United States and Europe who recognize their shared roots in Shakyamuni Buddha's awakening.
Soteriologically and contemplatively, Rimé harmonizes Shakyamuni Buddha's Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the five aggregates with Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka dialectics regarding emptiness and dependent origination, Asanga and Vasubandhu's Yogacara phenomenology, and innate Buddha-nature aligned with Maitreya's Uttaratantra Shastra (Toh Number 4024, and Taisho Number 1611).
Guiding practitioners across every vehicle to sever attachment to emptiness of self, karma, and rebirth across samsara and nirvana, Rimé anchors every philosophical study and meditative absorption in generosity, merit, loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, right view, non-attachment, skillful means, and universal bodhicitta to extinguish the three poisons across the six realms.
Preserved in thriving monastic shedras, three-year retreat centers, and digital archives such as the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC, founded by E. Gene Smith, 1936–2010, who dedicated his life to digitizing the Five Great Treasuries and Rimé literature) into the 21st century, Rimé continues to safeguard the entire ocean of Buddhist wisdom.
Standing forever as a luminous beacon of open-hearted impartiality, boundless compassion, and non-dual wisdom, the Rimé movement illuminates the Middle Way to complete Buddhahood for all sentient beings.