Property:TolExcerpt
From Damngak Dzö
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Kunga Drolchok (kun dga' grol mchog) was born in 1507 in Lo Montang (glo smon thang), the capital of the Mustang (glo) region of present-day Nepal. His main teacher as a youth was his uncle, the Sakya master Drungpa Choje Kunga Chokdrub (drung pa chos rje kun dga' mchog grub, d.u.), who was a disciple of the great Sakya master Dakchen Lodro Gyeltsen (bdag chen blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1444-1495).
Kunga Drolchok received ordination as a novice monk from Drungpa Choje when he was ten years old, and stayed with him constantly for the next four years, receiving many initiations and teachings of the Sakya tradition, including Lamdre three times.
In 1519, when Kunga Drolchok was thirteen years old, he traveled with his elder brother to U and Tsang for further studies. They first went to the great monastery of Sakya and the nearby retreat center of Khau Drakdzong (kha'u brag rdzong), where they received teachings from the master Kunpang Doringpa (kun spangs rdo ring pa, d.u.).
Then they proceeded to the Sakya monastery of Serdokchen (gser mdog can), the monastic seat of Paṇchen Śākya Chokden (paN chen shAkya mchog ldan, 1428-1507), where they began the serious study of epistemology and other scholastic subjects under the guidance of Shākya Chokden's disciple and successor, Donyo Drubpa, known by the Sanskrit version of his name, Amoghasiddhi (a mo g+ha sidd+hi, don yod grub pa, d.u.). But tragedy soon stuck. A smallpox epidemic claimed the lives of nineteen of the twenty-two students, including Kunga Drolchok's elder brother. +
Kunpang Tukje Tsondru (kun spangs thugs rje brtson 'grus) as he was later known, was born in 1243 in the Dok (mdog) region of Tsang. He studied in many of the monasteries of U and Tsang, such as Sakya (sa skya dgon).
When he was staying at the master Jamyang Sarma's ('jam dbyangs gsar ma) monastery of Kyangdur (rkyang 'dur), Kunpang received the transmission of all the treatises and oral instructions possessed by the great Choku Ozer (chos sku 'od zer). In particular, although he had previously studied the Ra (rwa) tradition of Kālacakra, he now received from Choku Ozer the Kālacakra initiation, the explanation of the Kālacakra Tantra, the great Vimalaprabhā commentary, and an experiential transmission of the Kālacakra completion-stage practices of the six-branch yoga in the Dro ('bro) tradition. This caused exceptional experience and realization to burst forth. He also studied with Yeshe Rinchen (ye shes rin chen).
In total, Kunpang received and practiced about seventeen different traditions of the six-branch yoga. When he was meditating on stopping vitality (srog rtsol), which is the third of the six branches, it is said that the vital winds of the five elements became extremely forceful and he gained amazing paranormal abilities. He also had visions of countless deities, such as the eleven-faced form of Avalokiteśvara. +
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The Third Changkya, Rolpai Dorje (lcang skya 03 rol pa'i rdo rje) was born in 1717 in the Drakkar territory of Nub Padmo De Monastery (nub padmo'i sde dgon) outside Liangzhou (lang gru), modern-day Wuwei. Nub Padmo De was one of four monasteries that Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyeltsen (sa skya paN+Di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan, 1182-1251) and Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen ('phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280) established in the region in the thirteenth century. His father was Tsangpa Guru Tenzin (tshangs pa gu ru bstan 'dzin, d.u.) and his mother was called Bukyi (bu skyid). His family was of Monguor descent.
Rolpai Dorje was recognized as a reincarnation of the Second Changkya, Ngawang Lobzang Choden (lcang skya 02 ngag dbang blo bzang chos ldan, 1642-1714) in 1720 and brought to his monastic seat, Gonlung Jampa Ling (dgon lung byams pa gling), one of the four most important Geluk monasteries in Amdo.
He was taken to the Qing imperial court in 1724, after his home monastery was destroyed by Qing troops in response to the rebellion led by Lobzang Danjin (blo bzang dan jin, d.u.). Rolpai Dorje was later identified as an incarnation of the great Sakya scholar and statesman, Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen ('phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280) as well. +
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Machik Labdron was a female Tibetan philosopher-adept who is best known for her articulation and codification of the philosophy and praxis of Chod. Chod is a practice grounded in the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra directed toward cutting through ego-clinging and erroneous patterns of thinking. It was adopted by various monastic and lay lineages of Tibetan Buddhism and it also has a Bon corollary. +
Mahāvajrāsana (rdo rje gdan pa chen po) was a tenth century Indian paṇḍita. The Gyude Kuntu (rgyud sde kun btus) lists him in a lineage of the Dākārnava Tantra, which is depicted in the painting from which the image here is drawn. He was a disciple of Nāropa, from whom he received the Dākārnava, and also of Maitripa.
Acording to the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, among his students were the Indian paṇḍita Niṣkalaṅkadeva, Khyungpo Neljor (khyung po rnal 'byor, 978-1127), the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition, and Vajrāsana the latter, whose personal name was Amoghavajra, phoneticized as Donyo Dorje (don yod rdo rje). +
Chim Namkha Drak (mchims nam mkha' grags) was born in Mondoi Kau (smon 'gro'i kha'u) in Upper Nyang (myang stod), in U, in 1210, the iron-horse year of the fourteenth sexagenary cycle. He was of the Chim (mchims) clan. His parents were named Dargon (dar mgon) and Lhemen (lhas sman); his father's family claimed descent from Chim Dorje Drelching (mchims rdor rje sprel chung), a minister to the Tibetan king, Tri Songdeutsen (khri srong lde'u btsan, 742-797).
He took novice vows and later full monastic ordinations by a lama named Pelden Dromoche (dpal ldan gro mo che), who was possibly the same person as the fourth abbot of Nartang Monastery (snar thang dgon), Droton Dutsi Drakpa (gro ston bdud rtsi grags pa, 1153-1232), one of his main teachers.
He studied the texts of the Kadam tradition with several masters, including the fifth abbot of Nartang, Zhangton Chokyi Lama (zhang ston chos kyi bla ma, 1184-1241); the sixth abbot of Nartang, Sanggye Gompa Sengge Kyab (sangs rgyas sgom pa seng ge skyabs, 1179-1250); Chim Loten Nyamme (mchims blo brtan mnyam med, d.u.); Geshe Tashi Gangpa (dge bshes bkra shis sgang pa, d.u.); Drubtob Maṇi Hūṃbar (grub thob ma Ni hUM 'bar, d.u.). Tashi Gangpa transmitted the Avalokiteśvara teachings passed from Jangsem Dawa Gyeltsen (byang sems zla ba rgyal mtshan, d.u). +
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Konchok Lhundrub was the tenth abbot of Ngor Monastery, serving from 1534 to 1557. He is remembered as one of the most accomplished and prestigious Ngor abbots, comparable in reputation to Ngor's founder Kunga Zangpo. +
Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo was one of the most famous and influential Sakya teachers of the fifteenth century. A student of Sharchen Yeshe Gyeltsen and Buddhaśrī, he played an important role in the revitalization of the Sakya tradition following the collapse of Yuan patronage, with the establishment of Ngor Monastery in 1429, and the cultivation of support from Mustang and the Rinpung family in Shigatse. He famously engaged in a polemical debate with Khedrubje over the authenticity of the Sakya Hevajra teachings. Among his disciples were Muchen Sempa Chenpo, Gorampa Sonam Sengge, and Shākya Chokden. +
Nyawon Kunga Pel (nya dbon kun dga' dpal) was born in 1285 into the royal family of Gyantse in the Nyang region of Tsang. It is said that when he was three years old he could recite the Litany of the Names of Mañjuśrī from memory.
At four years of age his mother took him to Jonang Monastery (jo nang dgon), where the master Yonten Gyatso (yon tan rgya mtsho, d.u.) stared at him, pointed his finger, and exclaimed with a laugh, "He is the rebirth of Jamyang Sarma ('jam dbyangs gsar ma, d.u.)!" Nyawon was then taken to Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon), where he learned to read and write, and for five years studied Prajñāpāramitā, epistemology, Abhidharma, and the monastic code.
He was a brilliant youth, and after receiving the vows of a novice monk from the abbot Nyima Gyeltsen (mkhan chen nyi ma rgyal mtshan, d.u.) when he was twelve years old, Nyawon traveled around for further studies at many of the great Sakya, Kadam, and Kagyu centers of learning in U and Tsang. At the age of nineteen he received full ordination from the abbot Tashi Sengge (bkra shis seng ge, d.u.) at Nyetang Monastery (snye thang dgon), and gained the reputation of being invincible in debate. +
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The Second Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa was a prominent sixteenth-century Kagyu scholar whose best known composition was the ''Chojung Khepai Gaton'' (''chos 'byung khas pa'i dga' ston''), or ''Scholars Feast'', a history of Buddhism in India and Tibet, as well as the history of the Karma Kagyu tradition. He is also famous for a massive commentary (975 folios) on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' (''The Way of the Bodhisattva''), which is still the standard for Karma Kagyu commentaries. He was a disciple of the Eighth Karmapa, the Fourth Zhamar, Dakpo Chokle Namgyel and other Kagyu lamas. He supervised the cremation the Eighth Karmapa, enthroned the Fifth Zhamar and also later organized the enthronement of the Ninth Karmapa. +
Padampa Sanggye was a Buddhist adept well known for his teachings in Tibet, especially of the Prajñāpāramitā corpus and Mahāmudrā system, as well as what would become known as the Zhije tradition. He is also associated with Chod lineages: many sources describe him as a teacher of Machik Labdron, who would herself become known as the genetrix of Chod. +
Chokle Namgyel (phyogs las rnam rgyal), who is also known by the name Chokyi Gyelpo (chos kyi rgyal po), was born in the western region of Ngari (mnga' ris) in 1306. As a young child he received teachings from several Tibetan masters and studied Sanskrit with the Indian or Nepalese paṇḍita Umapati (u ma pa ti). In 1313, when he was eight years old, he traveled to the central Tibetan region of Tsang and began the study of Madhyamaka philosophy with the expert scholar Tsangnakpa (gtsang nag pa) and other teachers. He also studied epistemology, the literature of the vehicle of perfections, abhidharma, the monastic code, and tantric subjects at different monasteries for some years.
In 1325 Chokle Namgyel studied at the great monastery of Sakya (sa skya) and also at Drakram (brag ram dgon). At this point he was a strong advocate of the rangtong (rang stong) view. He then visited many monasteries in central Tibet and Tsang for further studies and during this trip received the nickname Chokle Namgyel, “Victorious in All Directions” because of his consummate skill in debate. He returned to Sakya, where he was again victorious in debate, and also traveled to several other places in central Tibet and Tsang, including Zhalu Monastery (zhwa lu) Monastery. There he received teachings from the great master Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub) +
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Gotsangpa is considered the founder of a special branch of the Drukpa Kagyu school known as the Upper Drukpa. He traveled widely in western Tibet and present-day Himachal Pradesh, India, and is particularly well known today in Ladakh and Lahaul. +
Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen of the aristocratic Khon family was the third of the five men credited with founding the Sakya order. He was also the Fifth Sakya Tridzin, or throne holder. His father Sachen Kunga Nyingpo and his elder brother Sonam Tsemo were the first and second Sakya patriarchs. Drakpa Gyeltsen was instrumental in the early recording and compiling of the Lamdre teachings that form the basis of the Sakya tradition. +
Ngok Lotsāwa was nephew of Ngok Lekpai Sherab, the founder of Sangpu Neutok, and not only carried on the teaching activities of his uncle but raised the fame and prestige of Sangpu to new heights. He was important not only to his own Kadam lineage, but to the development of Tibetan education in general. Ngok Lotsāwa, working with the Kashmiri paṇḍita Sajjana, produced the sole-surviving translation of the Ratnagotravibhāga, the central text of buddha-nature theory in Tibet. His commentary on the text is said to have initiated the "analytical" exegetical tradition. +
Rok Bande Sherab O was a Nyingma scholar and yogi who was a major figure in the transmissions of the Guhyagarbha Tantra and the "later lineage" of Zhije tradition of Padampa Sanggye. +
Rongton Sheja Kunrik is the second in the line of great Sakya masters known as the Six Ornaments of Tibet. Among these teachers he is particularly revered for his mastery of the Buddhist sutras. Rongton studied and taught at Sangpu Neutok Monastery. He founded Penpo Nalendra Monastery in 1436. +
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Sachen Kunga Nyingpo was the first of the Sakya Jetsun Gongma Nga, the five founding patriarchs of Sakya. These five men of the Khon family are credited with having laid the foundations for the Sakya tradition. Sachen was a layman and the third Sakya Tridzin or throne holder, a position distinct from his later designation as a patriarch. His father, Khon Khonchog Gyelpo, was the first Sakya throne holder and the founder of what became Sakya monastery. +
Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen, commonly referred to as Sapaṇ, was the fourth of the Five Patriarchs of Sakya and the sixth Sakya throne holder. A member of the illustrious Khon family that established and controlled the Sakya tradition, he was an advocate for strict adherence to Indian Buddhist traditions, standing in opposition to Chinese or Tibetan innovations that he considered corruptions. In this regard he was a major player in what has been termed the Tibetan Renaissance period, when there was a move to reinvigorate Tibetan Buddhism’s connections to its Indian antecedents. He was instrumental in transmitting the Indian system of five major and five minor sciences to Tibet. As an ordained monk, Sapaṇ was instrumental in laying the groundwork for adherence to the Vinaya at Sakya Monastery, built under his successors. He authored more than one hundred texts and was also a prolific translator from Sanskrit. His writings are among the most widely influential in Tibetan literature and prompted commentaries by countless subsequent authors. Sapaṇ’s reputation as a scholar and Buddhist authority helped him forge close ties with powerful Mongols, relations that would eventually lead to the establishment of Sakya Monastery and its position of political power over the Thirteen Myriarchies of central Tibet. +
Gampopa Sonam Rinchen, also known as Dakpo Lhaje, is credited with founding the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Trained first as a medical doctor and then ordained as a Kadam monk, Gampopa met Milarepa when he was thirty years old, and spent much of the next decades in meditation retreat. Never renouncing his monastic vows, he combined the Indian Mahāsiddha practices brought back to Tibet by Marpa and others with the monastic order of his Kadampa teachers. He also united the Kadam teachings of Lamrim with the Mahāmudrā teachings he received from Milarepa. He founded Daklha Gampo in 1121 and trained many of the greatest Kagyu masters of all time, including the First Karmapa and Pakmodrupa. +
