"I want to reply to your request for a history on the Supreme Pung Ri Tulku Rinpoche. What I know is quite brief.
Although I don't know who the basis of his emanation is, or how many times the Pung
Ri Tulku Rinpoches have reincarnated, I did know the previous Pungri Tulku Rinpoche, who was recognized by the 15th Karmapa, Kachab Dorje.
His Holiness had been invited to Palpung Monastery. Whilst at Palpung two monks who were representatives of Pungri
Monastery had come there to request His Holiness to recognize
the new incarnation of the Pungri Tulku Rinpoche. However His Holiness had not yet decided.
When returning to Tsurphu Monastery His Holiness and the 11th Tai Situpa Rinpoche stayed for a night at a place called Zhe Trima. Whilst there many people had organized a teaching by them. Also there was Tai Situpa's secretary; Mila Phuntsok, who strongly requested His Holiness to recognize the new Pungri Tulku as it would be very difficult for the Pungri monks to travel to Tsurphu Monastery to make another request.
That morning His Holiness saw clearly and recognized the genuine Pungri Tulku, giving the recognition letter to the Tai Situpa's secretary.
"The vision that appeared to myself of the new incarnation of Pungri Sung Rap Tulku Rinpoche is of a boy born in the year of the bird, to parents whose name begins with jewel or precious. In a three story house which door faces east, in the south side of a village amongst many in a flat area in the direction of Ba."
From H.H. 15th Gyalwa Karmapa's Ka Bum: Recognizing Incarnate Lamas, titled, "The New Incarnation of the Pungri Sung Rap Tulku Rinpoche."
After the Tai Situpa's secretary passed away, his nephew who was called Mechu came to my
The Present Incarnation of Pungri Rinpoche
The present Pung-Ri Rinpoche was born in Aukland, New Zealand on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar in 1992. His mother, Sonam Chozom, had received many auspicious dreams beforehand which she reported to the resident Lamas of the New Zealand Karma Kagyu Dharma Centre, Lama Samten, (her uncle), & Lama Shedrup, (the father of the child), who had also experienced extraordinary dreams.
When Lama Samten and Lama Shedrup were in Tibet for the enthronement of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, they requested the Tai Situpa for a name for the unborn child, and when the Lamas looked at the name, "Karma Kunsang Thubten
Dorje", they noticed that it was unusually long and also a boy's name. Later the Tai Situ Rinpoche was to comment to Lama Samten that he had dreamt of the boy many times.
As he grew older it became clear that Karma Kunsang was no ordinary child, for instance upon waking he would sit upright in a state of meditation, and if left undisturbed would sit like that for hours. Early in 1999 he met with the Tai Situpa at Sherab Ling Monastery in India and was officially recognized as the reincarnation of Pungri Tulku Rinpoche. His full name is "Venerable Karma Kunsang Thubten Dorje Lingtok Nyima Pal Zangpo".
Pungri Rinpoche was enthroned in Sherab Ling by the Tai Situpa in mid-2000 accompanied by his mother, the New Zealand Lamas and centre members in the first enthronement to take place in the new Palpung monastery. He is now studying full-time at Sherab Ling.
I don't know the full name that was given to him, but when once I received one of his fingernails as a devotion object, it was in an envelope on which his name was written as Supreme Pungri Sung Rap Tulku Rinpoche. So I presumed this was his real name, otherwise I don't know, as everyone would just call him Rinpoche. I never saw or heard anyone call him by his real name in an ordinary sort of way.
What I know of him is that his being was full of richness of knowledge and wisdom. He was very precise and traditional when performing rituals and so forth, never adding or changing anything or taking any shortcuts, just always in accordance with tradition, a real perfectionist. He was skilled in the traditions of Sakya, Nyingma and Kagyu with a very sharp mind and a photographic memory. He never forgot anything.
I remember especially that he was very tolerant and beneficial to many sentient beings and completely grounded in inexhaustible bodhichitta, compassion and loving-kindness. For example one time when there was a very bad contagious plague and nobody, not even doctors or Lamas would go there, he went. Then through his Cho practice and blessing the water with mantras he completely dispelled all the disease and no more people died and everybody was healed.
Rinpoche had a huge book of prayers, which he practiced every day, never missing a single day. He would wake early and also not go to sleep until after completing all his practise regardless of how busy his day had been.
Also he was very powerful. By this I mean his power to benefit beings and dispel obstacles. Once when I was eight or nine I was studying with my uncle at Palpung monastery when my whole family, all ten, contracted a bad sickness. Nobody would go to see them only a relation of mine called old mother, Gorel, was there at that time looking after them. She would nurse all the patients, look after the animals and collect the wood and water, etc. Then my auntie died but still no Lamas or doctors would visit. So my uncle requested Pungri Tulku Rinpoche to come. He was three days ride away, but still he came. My uncle and myself we were both scared and we remained behind at a camp. Again Pungri Tulku Rinpoche dispelled all disease through his Cho practise and blessing the water with mantras. Therefore Rinpoche was very kind to us, and since then we were all fully devoted to him and my family became one of the benefactors of his activities.
Another time Rinpoche wanted to go on a journey doing ritual food begging on the near side of the Drichu River and he asked me to be his attendant, to which I agreed. This took about one month and then he wanted to continue on the other side of the river. There was a village there called E Pun Nang, which had a problem with plague. Some people had dies and so no doctors or Lamas would visit. Rinpoche had many disciples and benefactors there and some came requesting him to come and assist, but he said he was unable to due to having not completed the begging journey we were on.
Later many more people came crying and requesting him to come, to which he then consented. I myself was however quite scared and told Rinpoche I didn't want to go. He became very wrathful with me and said, "I am Pungri Tulku, and these things are not a big deal. I guarantee you that you will not get sick or die. If you do the I will never again touch my bell and damaru." Rinpoche then gave me his yak's horn in which were many wrathful substances and water blessed with mantras. He said for me never to be separate from it.
We then went to the village and Rinpoche again did purification through Cho practise and blessed the water with mantras. Some had already died and so Rinpoche performed Phowa and Bardo pujas for them. Then he himself took all the corpses, which no-one else would touch, to the cemetery. Everyone then was healed and no one else died. After having been there for about three or four days I had, one morning, a dream of flames as long as my arms length coming out through my robe pocket. When I looked to see where they were coming from it was out of the yaks horn that Rinpoche had given me. I was very scared and immediately woke up. So anyway, through the kindness and blessing of Rinpoche I was never sick. This is not hearsay, these experiences I have witnessed myself through my own eyes.
Inn 1955 I was sent to a place called Pobo to be the resident Lama there. Whilst there one time the Tai Situ Rinpoche came with many monks. One monk called Karma Phuntsok told me that Pungri Rinpoche had passed away in a village about one days ride from Palpung monastery where he had many students and benefactors. There were many signs but I cannot recall the details. On the day of his passing, which was in mid-winter, there was thunder and lightening which usually never occurred at that time, also many amazing rainbows appeared and also earth tremors. I am not sure exactly how old Rinpoche was, maybe about 56 or 57.
I asked my brother about Rinpoche and he said that the son of the benefactor in whose house he had passed away had a son who some thought could be the incarnation of Pungri Tulku Rinpoche. However since the present Tai Situ Rinpoche went back to Palpung monastery in Tibet he has recognized more than 100 incarnate Lamas and was requested any times by the Pungri monastery monks to recognize Pungri Tulku, but the Tai Situpa never recognized an incarnation of Pungri Tulku until now. So that means that he was not. The boy is now a monk in a small Sakya monastery.
Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and Ongen Rinpoche from the main Palpung monastery would every year alternate in going out with many monks village to village teaching and giving empowerments. Sometimes they would both be busy and Pungri Tulku Rinpoche then would do this because he was their regent.
This is my brief history and experience of Pungri Tulku Rinpoche. The Lama whose realization, knowledge and activity are vast like space is impossible to measure by a stupid person like myself. His incarnation is for the benefit of all sentient beings in accordance with wherever there is need and he will liberate all those connected with him. He is a great bodhisattva with non-sectarian views, a pure moral discipline and a kind and gentle nature. He is humble, not proud or arrogant, and unstained by the eight worldly dharmas. One who looks after all equally, regardless of their being good or bad, rich or poor. In fact he is solely the activity of a great bodhisattva.
This is in accordance with your questions as best as I can remember. I don't have anything else".
Written in Birmingham, England, at Karma Do-Ngag Kunchab Ling by an old man called Lama Lodro on the 13th day of the 9th month 1999.