The Rimé movement (Tibetan Wylie: ris med; approximate pronunciation "reemay") also written in some English sources as Rime, Ri-me, Rimay) is a movement or tendency in Tibetan Buddhism which promotes non-sectarianism and universalism.Sam van Schaik (2011). Tibet: A History, pp. 161–162. Yale University Press. Teachers from all branches of Tibetan Buddhism – Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug, Jonang – and from Bon have been involved in the promoting of Rimé ideals.Lopez, Donald S. (1998). Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 190
According to Sam van Schaik, eclectic and non-sectarian tendencies existed in Tibetan Buddhism before the 19th century, and figures like Tsongkhapa, Longchenpa and Shabkar are widely known to have studied with teachers from different traditions. However, political divisions and religious sectarianism increased during a period of warfare in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This was a time when the Gelug school was the politically dominant religion and Gelug lamas were also the political leaders of Tibet (see Ganden Phodrang).
During the 19th century, having seen how the Gelug institutions pushed the other traditions into the corners of Tibet's cultural life, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892) and Jamgön Kongtrül (1813–1899) compiled together the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu, and Nyingma, including many near-extinct teachings.Schaik, Sam van. Tibet: A History. Yale University Press 2011, page 165-9. Without Khyentse and Kongtrul's collecting and printing of rare works, the suppression of all other Buddhist sects by the Gelugpas would have been much more final.Schaik, Sam van. Tibet: A History. Yale University Press 2011, page 169. The Rimé movement is responsible for a number of scriptural compilations, such as the Rinchen Terdzod and the Sheja Dzö.
Figures like the 14th Dalai Lama, the 16th Karmapa, and Sakya Trizin are well known promoters of Rimé ideals.
The Rimé approach
Most scholars of Buddhism explain Rimé as an "eclectic movement".Damien Keown: Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 83Dreyfus, Georges B.J. & Sara L. McClintock (eds). The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? Wisdom Publications, 2003, p. 320Samuel, Geoffrey. (1993). Civilized shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan societies. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 538, 546 Scholar Seyfort Ruegg has suggested this description is inadequate, saying: "In fact this Rimé movement was not exactly eclectic but universalistic (and encyclopaedic), rimed (pa) (the antonym of risu ch'edpa) meaning unbounded, all-embracing, unlimited, and also impartial."Seyfort Ruegg quoted in Samuel, Geoffrey (1993). Civilized Shamans. Buddhism in Tibetan Societies, p. 538
One of the most prominent contemporary Rimé masters, Ringu Tulku, emphasizes the message of the original Rimé founders, that it is not a new school.Ri-Mé_Approach. YouTube (26 January 2008). Retrieved 20 November 2011. It is simply an approach allowing freedom of choice which was always the majority practice within the history of Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapas, Je Tsongkhapa, the Dalai Lamas, Sakya lineage heads and major Nyingma and Kagyu figures took teachings and empowerments from various schools and lineages.
The movement's name is derived from two Tibetan words: ris (distinction, bias, side) and med (lack, absence), which combined makes an adjective and an adverb in literary Tibetan the common meaning of which is "without discrimination", "without distinction" (e.g. as equal compassion towards everyone alike). It was only in 20th century that the term was nominalized as a retrospective designation to the ideas and activities of the 19th century Rimé scholars, who did not form a conscious unified movement. In this sense, the term rimé expresses the idea of openness to other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, as opposed to sectarianism. The Rimé movement therefore is often misunderstood as trying to unite the various sects through their similarities. Rather Rimé was intended to recognize the differences between traditions and appreciate them, while also establishing a dialogue which would create common ground. It is considered important that variety be preserved, and therefore Rimé teachers are generally careful to emphasize differences in thought, giving students many options as to how to proceed in their spiritual training.
Ringu Tulku describes these points which are often misrepresented:
Ris or Phyog-ris in Tibetan means "one-sided", "partisan" or "sectarian". Med means "No". Ris-med (Wylie), or Rimé, therefore means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". It does not mean "non-conformist" or "non-committal"; nor does it mean forming a new School or system that is different from the existing ones. A person who believes the Rimé way almost certainly follows one lineage as his or her main practice. He or she would not dissociate from the School in which he or she was raised. Kongtrul was raised in the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions; Khyentse was reared in a strong Sakyapa tradition. They never failed to acknowledge their affiliation to their own Schools.The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgön Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet, Chapter I, Shambhala Publications, 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
Rimé is not a way of uniting different Schools and lineages by emphasizing their similarities. It is basically an appreciation of their differences and an acknowledgement of the importance of having this variety for the benefit of practitioners with different needs. Therefore the Rimé teachers always take great care that the teachings and practices of the different Schools and lineages and their unique styles do not become confused with one another. To retain the original style and methods of each teaching lineage preserves the power of that lineage experience. Kongtrul and Khyentse made great efforts to retain the original flavor of each teaching, while making them available to many. Kongtrul writes about Khyentse in his biography of the latter.... When he (Khyentse Rinpoche) taught, he would give the teachings of each lineage clearly and intelligibly without confusing the terms and concepts of other teachings.The Rime ( Ris-Med ) Movement. Abuddhistlibrary.com (24 July 2000). Retrieved 2 February 2017.
Rimé was initially intended to counteract the novel growing suspicion and tension building between the different traditions, which at the time had, in many places, gone so far as to forbid studying one another's scriptures. Tibetan Buddhism has a long history of vigorous debate and argumentation between schools and within one's training. This can lead a practitioner to believe that one's school has the best approach or highest philosophic view and that other lineages have a lower or flawed understanding. The Rimé approach cautions against developing that viewpoint, while at the same time appreciating that the debate and discussion is important and that arguing which views are higher and lower is still valid discourse.
Jamgon Kongtrul pointed out the necessity of each practitioner to have a strong foundation in one school:
The scholars and siddhas of the various schools make their own individual presentations of the dharma. Each one is full of strong points and supported by valid reasoning. If you are well grounded in the presentations of your own tradition, then it is unnecessary to be sectarian. But if you get mixed up about the various tenets and the terminology, then you lack even a foothold in your own tradition. You try to use someone else's system to support your understanding, and then get all tangled up, like a bad weaver, concerning the view, meditation, conduct, and result. Unless you have certainty in your own system, you cannot use reasoning to support your scriptures, and you cannot challenge the assertions of others. You become a laughing stock in the eyes of the learned ones. It would be much better to possess a clear understanding of your own tradition.
In summary, one must see all the teachings as without contradiction, and consider all the scriptures as instructions. This will cause the root of sectarianism and prejudice to dry up, and give you a firm foundation in the Buddhas teachings. At that point, hundreds of doors to the eighty-four thousand teachings of the dharma will simultaneously be open to you.The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet by Ringu Tulku, Chapter I, , Shambhala Publications, Publications, 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
A rimé practitioner may take empowerments from numerous lineages and living masters, though it is not a requirement to do so.
Non-sectarianism prior to the 19th century
According to tibetologist Sam van Schaik:This ideal of nonsectarianism – of not just tolerance, but a genuine appreciation and support for all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon – was not unique to Derge. In Tibet's 'golden age' of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, nonsectarianism was the norm throughout Tibet, and figures such as Longchenpa and Tsongkhapa expected to study with teachers from different schools. The change began with the great sectarian wars that blighted Central Tibet in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, setting the Kagyu schools against the Gelug. The final victory of the Gelug school, on the shoulders of the Qoshot Mongol armies, sounded the death knell of the nonsectarian ideal.
According to Thupten Jinpa, "the Fifth Dalai Lama was personally an ecumenist who revered Tibet's other major Buddhist traditions, especially the Nyingma."Jinpa, Thupten (2019). Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications. pp. 365–372. . In this he was influenced by his teacher Paljor Lhundrup who was a Gelug monk and master of the Nyingma Great Perfection (Dzogchen) tradition.Sam van Schaik (2011). Tibet: A History, p. 119. Yale University Press. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, is also known as a terton who revealed a cycle of Dzogchen teachings known as the Sangwa Gyachen (Bearing the Seal of Secrecy).Dalai Lama (2004), Dzogchen | Heart Essence of the Great Perfection, pp. 24–25. Snow Lion Publications, He also built the Lukhang temple behind the Potala Palace as a secret place to practice Dzogchen. The temple includes murals which illustrate Dzogchen practice according to the Dzogchen tantras.Ian A. Baker: The Lukhang: A hidden temple in Tibet. Asianart.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.THE LIFE OF SHABKAR: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin, trans. by Matthieu Ricard, fore. by H.H. the Dalai Lama. Snowlionpub.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
Another Gelug figure who espoused a non-sectarian outlook was the Fifth Lelung Jedrung Lobzang Trinle (b.1697 – d.1740). Lobzang Trinle is known to have had many masters, including the Nyingma master Terdak Lingpa. Later in life, Lobzang Trinle wrote:I have an un-fabricated pure vision toward all the accomplished [masters] without bias (ris med) such as the Sakya, Geluk, Nyingma, Drukpa Kagyu, Karma Kagyu, etc. My mind has increased respect toward the holders of these [various] teachings and when I think about this, I have pride in my own powerful realizations.He is also known for having written a treatise which claims that Tsongkhapa was a reincarnation of Padmasambhava. He was also active in rebuilding Nyingma monasteries like Mindroling and Dorje Drak which had been destroyed by a Dzungar invasion. The Fifth Lelung Lobzang Trinle was also a terton.
According to José Cabezón, the Third Tukwan, Lobzang Chokyi Nyima, a great Gelug scholar, "wrote an important defense of the Rnying ma tradition in response to an anti-Rnying ma polemic written by one of his own teachers, Sum pa mkhan po (1704–88)."Cabezón, José (2007). Freedom from Extremes, p. 24. Wisdom Publications.