Tukwan, 3rd

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PeopleTukwan, 3rd


བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་
Thu'u bkwan blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma(1737 - 1802) 

Tukwan Lobzang Chokyi Nyima was a prolific author, composing works in subject as diverse as biographies, dramas, astrology, doxography, tantras, poetic works, correspondences and official documents, and so forth. Originally there were about five hundred titles collected into fifteen volumes that were preserved in traditional wooden blocks in Gonlung Jampa Ling out of which ten volumes are currently preserved in the Nationalities Publishing House (mi rigs dpe bskrun khang) in Beijing.

One of the best known of his compositions is his religious history, The Crystal Mirror: An Excellent Exposition That Shows the Sources and Assertions of All Tenet Systems (grub mtha' thams cad kyi khung dang 'dod tshul ston pa legs bshad shel gyi me long). This important work was completed in 1802, shortly before Tukwan passed away. In it he surveys the Buddhist traditions of India, Tibet, Mongolia, and China, including Bon, which he compares to Chinese Chan. The work is well-regarded for the relative impartiality of its presentation, combining the insults to Bon, Jonang and Nyingma one would expected in a work of its time with sympathetic descriptions of what the author found admirable in the non-Geluk traditions. In contrast to one of his famous teachers, Sumpa Khenpo, the Third Tukwan, looking more towards Beijing than to Lhasa as a base of support, was known for his ecumenical outlook. All three Tukwan incarnations, as well as the first two Changkya incarnations, were known as protectors of the Nyingma in Amdo.
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  • ཐུའུ་བཀྭན་༠༣་ · other names (Tibetan)
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  • Gelug · religious affiliation