GB Doc Togden with Wilfree and Ground Og at Stillwater Landing

Unknown to some—perhaps many—Ngak’chang Rinpoche was the vocalist of The Savage Cabbage Blues Band ftom 1966 to 1979. He also played bass and Blues harp. He went to Farnham Art School in 1970 and before going on to Bristol to take a degree in Illustration, he took a year out to go to the Himalayas.

In October 1971 Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche Jig’drèl Yeshé Dorje, on enquiring as to Ngak’chang Rinpoche’s earlier life, came to hear of Ngak’chang Rinpoche’s life as a Blues musician. He asked him to sing for him——to give an example of what Blues sounded like——and Ngak’chang Rinpoche sang ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ by Muddy Waters. Düd’jom Rinpoche enjoyed it and encouraged Ngak’chang Rinpoche never to abandon Blues or any of the Western Arts with which he had engaged before setting out for the Himalayas.

Ngak’chang Rinpoche does not play publicly often — but, when he does, he goes under the name of ‘Doc Togden’. This name is based on his having a doctorate in Vajrayana Psychology from the Visvabharati University of West Bengal— and the name on his passport being Chögyam Ögyen Togden.