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From Buddha-Nature
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Khenchen Kunzang Pelden was a Nyingma scholar and teacher associated with Katok Monastery. A student of a number of distinguished Nyingma teachers including Dza Patrul and Ju Mipam, he was an important Longchen Nyingtik lineage holder. He composed a famous commentary to the ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'' ([[The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech]]), and served Katok Monastery as the first abbot of its study center, Shedrub Norbu Lhunpo, for three years. Following retirement he returned to his hometown and taught until his death in 1944. +
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. +
Layakpa Jangchub Ngodrub (la yag pa byang chub dngos grub) was born in Layak, in Lhokha. He is sometimes called Layak Jose (la yag jo sras) or Layakpa Bawachan (la yag pa lba ba can). This last name signifies that, in addition to hailing from Layak, that he had a goiter (''lba ba''), a rather common medical condition in Tibet in those times.
Layakpa's childhood name was Chokyi Ngodrub (chos kyi dngos grub). His father, Tarka Pelkyi (star ka dpal skyid), was a learned man versed in Abhidharma as well as the tantras, both old and new. His grandfather Tarka Bodhirāja (star ka bo dhi rA dza) developed siddhis through his practice of the old tantras and lived to be one hundred and twelve years old. His mother, Taklo Dadron (stag lo zla sgron), was said to be a manifestation of a wisdom ḍākinī.
According to his hagiography, as a baby when there was no one to look after him, Chokyi Ngodrub was cared for by a mysterious white hand wearing ornaments. One day when he was three and his father started teaching him the alphabet, he protested saying, “Father, I know it, too!” A sensitive child who couldn't bear the thought of anyone suffering, he once fainted when a playmate burned a flea.
Chokyi Ngodrub's earlier studies focused on Prajñāpāramitā Sutras and the Chod practices, along with the treatises by Maitreya. He went at age seventeen for a brief stay in Tsang province, and when he returned two well-known disciples of the Kadampa philosopher Chapa Chokyi Sengge (phya pa chos kyi seng ge, d.u.) were there for the funeral of their teacher. He took this opportunity to further his understanding of the Prajñāpāramitā. People were very impressed by his performance in philosophical debates, and Chapa's student promised him he could be made into a master of Prajñāpāramitā in just one year of tutoring. +
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. +
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). +
Chokgyur Lingpa was one of the most prolific treasure revealers of the nineteenth century. Based in Kham, he was a close collaborator with Jamgon Kongtrul and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, with whom he revealed treasure and opened sacred sites. Among his best-known revelations are the Barche Kunsel, the Zabpa Kor Dun, and the Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo, for which Jamgon Kongtrul wrote a famous commentary. Chokgyur Lingpa also revealed an enumeration of great sites in Khams that had a significant impact on the sacred geography of the region. He established two monastic centers, Tsike and Netan, seats of the Tsike and Neten lines of his reincarnation. +
Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, considered the mind incarnation of Jigme Lingpa, was a prominent holder of the Longchen Nyingtik. He was a disciple of the First Dodrubchen. Among his students were Dza Patrul and the Second Dodrubchen. +
Śākya Pel, or Gar Dampa Chodingpa, was a disciple of Jikten Gonpo. He wrote one of the three earliest works on the Gongchik, the Single Intention, and he was one of the three masters who ‘opened’ the region of Tsari for retreatants and pilgrims. He founded Choding Monastery and, in the last days of his life, a monastery called Rinchen Ling. His reincarnations are known as the Garchen Rinpoche. +
Ju Mipam Gyamtso was a prolific author who brought formal philosophical study, including debate, to the Nyingma tradition. Based in Kham during a period of great inter-sectarian exchange, he trained with the Kagyu lama Jamgön Kongtrul and the Sakya lama Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, among others, even as he preserved a strong Nyingma identity. Among his most celebrated works are the ''Beacon of Certainty'' and a commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. In addition to his considerable literary output he spent decades of his life in retreat. +
Khenpo Zopa (mkhan po bzod pa) was born in the Drigung Valley some time in the early twelfth century. Where he received ordination is not known.
It appears that he studied with Lama Zhang Yudrakpa (bla ma zhang g.yu brag pa, 1123-1193), and possibly participated in the establishment of Tsel Gungtang (tshal gung thang); he gave ordination there to Nyima Sherab (nyi ma shes rab, 1139-1208), a contemporary of Jikten Gonpo and the founder of Rokam Monastery (ro skam dgon pa).
He seems to have helped in the establishment of Drigung Til Monastery ('bri gung mthil) in 1179. He studied with Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel ('jig rten mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217), the founder of the monastery, and became one of the most important holders of the Vinaya tradition at Drigung, presiding over the ordination ceremonies. +
Naktso Lotsāwa Tsultrim Gyelwa was a prominent Tibetan translator of the early eleventh century who, at the order of Lha Lama Jangchub Wo, brought [[Atiśa]] to Tibet. He is credited with almost one hundred translations in the Kangyur and Tengyur. +
Ngawang Lodro Drakpa was a vajra master at Tsangwa Monastery in the Dzamtang region of Amdo. Often referred to as “Mati Rinpoche,” he was one of the leading intellectual figures and most prolific Jonangpa authors of the twentieth century. He is regarded by the living Jonang tradition as a miraculous manifestation of the Tibetan masters Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, Kunga Drolchok, and Tāranātha, among others. +
Ngoje Repa Zhedang Dorje (ngo rje ras pa zhe sdang rdo rje) was born in the early part of the twelfth century in the Ngor region (ngor) of Tsang (gtsang). His father, a member of the Ngoje (ngo rje) family, was named Dorje Tob (rdo rje stobs), and his mother was named Dortso (rdor mtsho).
Among his early teachers were the Kashmiri Paṇḍita Śākyaśrībhadra (kha che pan chen shAkya shrI b+ha dra, 1127-1225). He studied philosophy in the Sakya tradition and was known as an excellent debater and expounder of the Buddhist teachings.
According to tradition, when Ngoje Repa first heard of Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel ('jig rten mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217) the founder of Drigung Til Monastery ('bri gung mthil), he was overcome by jealousy. He drew a picture on a wall of Jikten Gonpo turning a stone mill with the heads of his disciples in it, a depiction meant to suggest that Jikten Gonpo was spinning the heads of his disciples with false teachings.
Confident of his debating skills, he went to Drigung Til to challenge Jikten Gonpo. He was brought into the master's presence by Pelchen Ngepuwa (dpal chen ngad phu ba). Despite his intentions, legend has it that as soon Ngoje Repa saw Jikten Gonpo he felt he was seeing the Buddha himself. +
Khedrup Norsang Gyatso (1423–1513), a well-known scholar and adept of the fifteenth century, was a student of the First Dalai Lama and a principal teacher of the Second Dalai Lama. Though belonging to the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, Norsang Gyatso is recognized as a seminal figure in the promotion of a syncretic approach—between the Geluk and Kagyü schools—to the teachings and practices of mahamudra. Along with Phukpa Lhundrup Gyatso, Norsang Gyatso is credited also with the founding of the highly influential Phuk school of Tibetan astronomy and astrology. Because of his dedication to intensive meditative practice for more than four decades as a wandering hermit, Norsang Gyatso came to be revered by the Tibetan tradition as a great meditator and teacher, and he is included among the lineage masters of many important practice traditions, including the lineage of Kalachakra. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/product/ornament-stainless-light/?attribute_pa_format=ebook Wisdom Experience]) +
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. +
Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje was one of the great Nyingma Dzogchen masters of the twentieth century. Born in Kham, he trained under Khenpo Ngaga and many other of the era's great teachers. He spent several years in solitary retreat and taught at Katok before fleeing the Communist take over of Tibet in the 1950s. Settling in Bhutan, he taught both high officials and young monks. He travelled and taught widely in the West. +
Patsab Lotsāwa Nyima Drakpa was a major translator of Madhyamaka texts into Tibet. A monk of Sangpu Monastery, he traveled in in Kashmir to work with paṇḍitas such as Jñānagarbha and Kanakavarma. Among his translations are Nāgārjuna's ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'' (D 3824), Āryadeva's ''Catuhśataka-śāstra'' (''Four Hundred Verses'') (D 3846), and Candrakīrti's ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' (D 3861). Tibetans consider him the founder of the Prasangika school of Madhyamaka. +
The Fifteenth Ganden Tripa, Paṇchen Sonam Drakpa (dga' ldan khri pa 15, khri chen bsod nams grags pa) was born into the family of Nangpa Ralampa (nang pa ra lam pa) that was based near the Tsetang Monastery in Lhoka (lho kha rtse thang dgon pa) in 1478, the earth-dog year of the eighth sexagenary cycle. At the young age Sonam Drakpa received the vows of novice monk from Lechenpo Sonam Tashi (las chen po bsod nams bkra shis, d.u.), who gave him the ordained name Sonam Drakpai Pel (bsod nams grags pa' i dpal).
Sonam Drakpa enrolled at Tsetang Monastery and received his primary monastic education such as reading and writing, and memorization of daily and frequent prayer texts and other root-verses of important texts. He studied Pramāṇa (''tshad ma'') for some time, and then went to Yabzang (g.ya' bzang) for some clarification on the critical points of the subject with some scholars. There he studied traditional philosophical texts under the tutorship of Choje Dakpo Rabjampa (chos rje dwags po rab 'byams pa, d.u.) and other scholars. He also studied grammar, poetry, composition, and so forth.
Sonam Drakpa travelled to Lhasa and then matriculated at Sera at the age of sixteen. There he studied Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Mādhyamak, Abhidharmakośa, Pramāṇavārttika and Vinaya, the five major subjects of the Geshe Lharampa curriculum, mainly under the three eminent masters: Donyo Pelden (don yod dpal ldan, 1445-1524), the tenth abbot of Sera Monastery; Nyelton Peljor Lhundrub (gnyal ston dpal ' byor lhun grub, 1427-1514) and Tonpa Khetsun Yonten Gyatso (thon pa mkhas btsun yon tan rgya mtsho, 1443-1521). While studying these traditional texts he also received many teachings on tantra. In the meantime he received the vows of full ordination at the age of twenty from Wona Lama Sanggye Zangpo ('od na bla ma sangs rgyas bzang po, d.u.). +
The Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen, who was the first to hold the title, lived during a time of tremendous political and religious change in Tibet. During his near-century long life the Geluk government of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the Ganden Podrang, took power in Tibet, and Bhutan established itself as an independent state under the rule of the Drukpa Kagyu, both events in which he was intimately connected. Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen was a teacher to many powerful Tibetan, Bhutanese and Mongolian political and religious figures, including the Fourth and the Fifth Dalai Lamas, and the First Jetsundampa of Mongolia. The Sixteenth abbot of Tashilhunpo, he was given the title Paṇchen Lama by the Fifth Dalai Lama, who declared him an emanation of Amitabha. By the system advanced by the Ganden Podrang, Chokyi Gyeltsen is considered the First Paṇchen, not counting three previous incarnations, beginning with Kedrubje, one of Tsongkhapa’s close disciples. A prolific author, Chokyi Gyeltsen is credited with over a hundred compositions, including a number of commentaries and ritual texts that remain central in the Gelukpa tradition. +
