Dalai Lama The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso 1856–1875 BDRC P197 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, was born in 1876 in Langdun amidst auspicious signs, including mystical visions and his family home surviving an earthquake. Enthroned in 1879, he spent his early years in rigorous religious training before assuming full political power at 18. His leadership was defined by efforts to preserve Tibet’s independence, modernize its governance, and strengthen its defences. He navigated complex challenges, including conflicts with the British, Chinese incursions, and resistance to reforms from conservative factions. Inspired by his travels to Mongolia, China, and India, he introduced education systems, communication infrastructure, and military reforms, though these were often hindered by internal opposition. A deeply spiritual leader, Tubten Gyatso worked to preserve Tibetan Buddhism and its traditions while warning of external threats to Tibet’s sovereignty. Passing away in 1933, his legacy remains one of resilience, reform, and devotion to his people. Correspondence Eleventh Day, Ninth Month, Water Pig Year The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso A rare collection of letters by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, from the Water Pig year - now preserved in France, their recipients and original acquisition remain a mystery. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Teacher Losal Drölma 1802–1861 BDRC P1GS138134 TREASURY OF LIVES PHOTO CREDIT Ḍākki Losal Drölma (1802–1861) was a remarkable Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, recognized for her deep spiritual achievements and her contributions to the religious legacy of her brother, the treasure revealer Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje . Born in the Golok region, she received teachings from some of the most esteemed masters of her time, including Dodrubchen Jigme Trinle Özer and others at monasteries like Drigung Til and Katok. Renowned for her visionary experiences, including manifestations ḍākinī emanations, she played a critical role in preserving and disseminating treasure teachings, earning titles such as "dharma custodian" (chos bdag ). Despite familial constraints preventing formal recognition as a tulku, she maintained significant influence in spiritual and educational spheres, serving her community, family, and lineage with profound devotion until her passing. Translated Works Biography The Biography of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Tubten Chödar A realized female master, Ḍākki Losal Drölma served as custodian of her half-brother Do Khyentse's treasure teachings while deepening her own spiritual attainments in Tibet's sacred sites Read Biography The Biography of Gyalse Rigpe Raltri Tubten Chödar Son of Do Khyentse and recognized as Jigme Lingpa's son's reincarnation, Rigpe Raltri became a revered Minyak guru, transmitting the Yangsang Khandro Tugtik treasures to his own son. Read Timetable A Chronological Timetable: Lives of Do Khyentse’s Familial Line Tubten Chödar A chronology of birth and death dates mapping Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's family lineage through its key figures and connections. Read Biography A Brief Biography of Jetsunma Do Dasal Wangmo Tsangpo A renowned female master in eastern Tibet, Do Dasal Wangmo - Do Khyentse's great-granddaughter - served as nun, physician, and treasure revealer, later teaching medicine despite political hardship. Read Aspirational Prayer For the Long Life of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Do Khyentse, writing as Tragtung Dorje, crafts a long-life prayer for Ḍākki Losal Drölma that playfully incorporates her lesser-known name Drön while praising her spiritual attainments. Read Guru Yoga, Prayer, Supplication Prayer Cloudbanks of Blessings: A Guru Yoga Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje A rare guru yoga from Do Khyentse's treasure teachings centered on a historical yoginī, revealing unique insights into female practitioners and tantric transformation in Tibet. Read Lineage Prayer A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping Gyalwang Nyima, Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje A compilation of supplication verses and transmission lineage for Do Khyentse's Dzinpa Rangdröl treasure cycle, arranged by Galwang Nyima from original revealed texts. Read Biography Abridged Biographies: The Lineage of the Do Family Do Dasal Wangmo Chronicling Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's lineage, with special attention to his half-sister Losal Drölma - an honored teacher whose story emerges from the margins of temple narratives. Read Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Dzogchen Master Khenpo Ngawang Palzang 1879–1941 BDRC P724 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, a renowned nineteenth- to twentieth-century Nyingma master, was born in 1879 in Derge, Kham. Recognized early for his spiritual gifts, he trained under Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Nyima, receiving profound Dzogchen teachings in the Longchen Nyingtik lineage. As abbot of Katok Monastery, he preserved Nyingma traditions, trained thousands of monks, and authored significant texts. Known for his humility and realization, he balanced retreat practice with teaching, leaving a lasting legacy in Tibetan Buddhism before passing in 1941. Poetry Talking to Myself Khenpo Ngawang Palzang Khenpo Ngawa Palzang's stream of consciousness flows through self-reflection and moral inquiry, inviting readers to examine their own condition in this meditation on accountability. Read Advice Devotion is the Highest Practice Khenpo Ngawang Palzang Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's morning devotional rings clear and true with tantra's essential message: devotion stands as the highest practice. Read Buddhist A Prayer to Lord Atiśa and His Spiritual Sons Khenpo Ngawang Palzang Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's devotional prayer to Jowo Je Atiśa and his successors captures the essence of spiritual lineage while embodying profound Buddhist devotion. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor chronicles the life of Chatral Kunga Palden (1878-1944) in this luminous biographical account. The Wondrous Light of Lunar Nectar The one who seized the citadel of the awakened intent of primordially pure space, And who met everyone with spontaneous compassion to the greatest degree— In remembrance of this yogin of the essential, supreme vehicle, I will compose this biography devoid of embellishment or understatement. This sacred lord guru ( Kunga Palden ) was born near the glorious Sakya monastery of Galenteng , which was founded by Ga Anye Dampa near Chögyal Derge Lhundrub Teng Monastery. Although he was initiated into a religious life, he conducted himself in a rough manner. He would wrap stones with animal hide held by a yak-haired rope and keep this [weapon] around his waist, as he would constantly engage in fighting. Once when he was on his way home after evening group practice, he saw a mountain surrounded by a grassy meadow with mist rolling in. Atop this mountain sat two small, white retreat houses. At this sight, he thought over and over about how he must live such a life in retreat. In fact, he went to a monastery where he attended a literacy teacher and stayed in retreat on the Element Taming [Vajrapāṇi]. During breaks, he read the biography of venerable Milarepa, and continuously recollected: “Now, I must rely upon a qualified guru in order to perfectly accomplish the doctrine.” He continued to attend his teacher but received the following reprimand: “Other people can complete the recitations for the Element Taming [Vajrapāṇi] in one month, but you are distracted with these texts and have not even accomplished the recitations in two months!” Despite this scolding, he continued to read Milarepa’s biography and other texts. He completed enough recitations for the thousand-armed (Avalokiteśvara) and performed a fire offering ritual. Then, over and over again, he asked himself: “Which guru should I properly rely on?” He heard about Patrul Rinpoche’s life story, and as some others were about to seek him out, he decided to go too. Without telling anyone else, Kunga Palden confided in his mother that he would be leaving for Dzachuka to meet Patrul Rinpoche. With tears in her eyes, his mother looked and did not say anything. Kunga grabbed some travel provisions, and while he was leaving his mother broke down in tears. He reached the valley of Dza Mamo Khar [ 1 ] in Dzachukha when Patrul Rinpoche was teaching on the Bodhicharyāvatāra . He arrived and received the [last] chapter concerning dedication. Then he received the [entire] Bodhicharyāvatāra from Mura Chogtrul Pema Dechen Zangpo although he did not gain a stable understanding. When he received teachings on [Nāgārjuna’s] A Letter to a Friend from Gemang Önpo Orgyen Tenzin Norbu, he gained a stable understanding, and so he thought: “I've become a suitable vessel to rely upon this guru.” He was certain about this, and he said he never hoped to receive empowerments, instructions, or advice from any guru other than Gemang Önpo Orgyen Tenzin Norbu. Ön Rinpoche said: “Look over a text and you might gain some knowledge. In general, study is important at the outset.” Ön Rinpoche took care of him for a few years and Kunga Palden studied texts. “But I had great hopes of practicing meditation,” he said, and he frequently requested [teachings]. “At that time,” Kunga told me, “I practiced the Sakya Time of the Path without interruption, [ 2 ] and I did my best to dedicate the tormas while using my ritual bell and hand drum.” Besides this, he enthusiastically and diligently received, studied, and practiced Longchenpa’s Trilogy of Natural Ease (Ngalso Korsum) and the Seven Treasuries, [Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal’s] Ascertaining the Three Vows , Bodhicharyāvatāra , The Root Stanzas of the Middle Way: Wisdom , the Teachings of Maitreya , the empowerment of the two main volumes of the Heart Essence of the Great Expanse (Longchen Nyingtik), creation stage practices, the practice of the channels, winds, and the physical yogas, The Unexcelled Primordial Wisdom ( Yeshe Lama ), The Three Phrases that Hit the Key Points , and much more. In particular, since Ön Rinpoche reached the end of practice within one lifetime, he bestowed the empowerment, profound instructions, and oral transmission of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Guru’s Inner Essence ( Lama Yangtik Yizhin Norbu ). On the day that there was an exchange of gifts in reciprocity for the teachings, Ön Rinpoche received a fine hanging-scroll of the omniscient Longchenpa from my old father Dilgo Tashi Tsering. Rinpoche said: “This is a good interdependence,” and he gave it to the lord guru, Kunga Palden. Ön Rinpoche instructed: “Now there is no need for you to apply yourself to studying texts. You only need to go to the mountains on retreat and practice your meditation. Whatever you find to eat, eat it. Whatever clothes you come across, put them on. Food that others may offer, rituals for the dead, and bestowing empowerments—there is no need for such things. Go meet Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and exclusively receive the essential instructions for [Longchenpa’s] Finding Rest in Illusion then stay in a retreat near [Khenpo] Zhenga’s place.” “Nothing can compare to receiving the essential instructions on Finding Rest in Illusion from my root guru, Ön Rinpoche,” thought Kunga Palden. “However, since it's my guru’s command, I must meet Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo and receive the teaching as my guru instructed.” Thinking this, he left for his homeland. Along with a few monks from Galen Monastery , he went to Dzongsar to meet Jamyang Khyentsé Rinpoche, who gave the Hévajra Gyu lam empowerment as well as the blessings and instructions for Khecara in an extensive manner. Between his explanations of the instructions, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo gave supplementary and additional talks. “These days, in the current times, there are many prideful people who say they have renounced [cyclic existence] and are free from activities. If foreigners came to Tibet and said that they must abandon the Three Jewels, they would immediately agree with them. I am in a state of bustling distraction, but still, if they were to place my head on the threshold, bring an axe and say: ‘If you don’t abandon the Three Jewels, we will cut your throat with this axe!' I wouldn’t abandon the Three Jewels even with my words. I would gladly answer them. These days there are Buddhist practitioners who have no substance at all, only great renown.” When other friends were about to depart [the teachings], they made many promises to continuously practice the Hevajra Time of the Path and complete the fundamental recitation total for Khecara. Kunga Palden told me: “In the past, I practiced the Time of the Path and made torma offerings [to the deities], but it's been several years since I stopped. I promised that I would practice The Guru’s Inner Essence in a mountain retreat.” Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo said: “A kha kha, I have conferred empowerment and instructions for Hevajra and Khecara on you, and I take any wrongdoings of this upon myself. It was the wrong occasion,” as he pulled on his cheek. “Or, I could consistently recite the Aṣṭa Chö Rok [ 3 ] and the three OṂ(s) thirty-three times a day,” Kunga Palden replied. “Do whatever you like." “I will continuously recite the approach [recitations] for Aṣṭa and Khecara,” Kunga answered. Having offered the text and the essential instructions for Finding Rest in Illusion , Kunga Palden requested the instructions and oral transmission. “You can receive them from your root guru as I do not know the instructions for Finding Rest in Illusion ,” replied Khyentse Wangpo. “He never gave me the teachings,” Kunga Palden confessed. Then he stayed in a lonely mountain retreat without any bustling distractions. Kunga Palden received the empowerment and instructions for the Guru’s Inner Essence and practiced without interruption the guru yoga of [Longchenpa’s] Stages of Guru Practice: The Ocean of Attainments and the guru yoga of the smaller aural transmission of the Natural Manifestation of Primordial Wisdom . He exclusively practiced the inner guru yoga that is devoid of elaborations. On the tenth day of the waxing and waning phases of the month, he offered extensive tantric feasts. He accepted whatever clothing and other valuable provisions were given as offerings. Whatever offerings people gave for the dead or for the living, whether great or small, he used them to make woodblocks for texts such as The Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish and A Hundred Deeds , and he placed them in the Dzogchen Monastery’s printing house. He lovingly protected the wild animals and the various birds by using methods such as the conservation law of sealing the mountains and valleys. He accepted a great amount of salt, which he gave to the wild animals. Through such actions, he nurtured wild animals in the manner of livestock. Kunga Palden had disciples who were a calling distance or about a league away in all directions. He made his students enter thatched meditation huts to practice only unelaborate meditation in silence. He advised his students not to collect food offerings or keep any texts other than the Guru’s Inner Essence , the Seven Treasuries, and the cycle of the Heart Essence of the Great Expanse. Kunga Palden did not even have a hand drum or a ritual bell for performing ceremonies. He collected a lot of supplies for ritual feast offerings and delicious foods and drinks which he generously gave to the birds, wild animals, and the poor. When many ordinary people gathered, he taught them the essential points about karmic causes and results, taking refuge, generating the intentional mind of awakening, and the four causes of the Blissful Realm in a concise and easily understandable manner. He thus encouraged them to engage in virtue. At some point, he developed a sickness of the white channels which caused him weariness. Due to this he exclusively engaged in the practice of removing obstacles in the body, as found in the Guru’s Inner Essence. He did not take any other treatment or medicine, and he was freed from the sickness. He taught, “By supplicating the guru, vital provisions will come naturally even if you are staying in a pleasant mountain retreat. In places without water, you can say, ‘Let water arise here!’ Then, when you dig for it, water will emerge.” In his familial line there have been many who did not live long, but since he practiced the longevity practice of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Guru’s Inner Essence , he was able to live for more than seventy years. “At the time of engaging in the longevity practice, one needs to hold the wind in the center of the heart. Doing so ensures there is no chance for obstructions of the life-sustaining wind to come about. I came to the firm conviction concerning daily work that other than supplicating my root guru, Önpo, there is no need for such things as divination, astrological calculations, or predicting good and bad days,” Kunga Palden clarified. “In Galenteng, there is a lord called the 'Steward of Derge Khangsar.' His fortress became empty and inside there was a room where absolutely no light could get in, so I went there to engage in a hundred-day dark retreat of the Guru’s Inner Essence . “In the first vision, there appeared a great ravine in which a thickening darkness amassed from above and below, and you could not see the end of it. In its center was a small stone the size of two feet. There I stood, crouched. When gusts of upturning and swirling winds came, all of the long prairie grass swayed back and forth with whistling sounds— shu . I kneaded some barley flour into dough and ate it. Then I had the impression that gray flour became scattered from the rim of my small cup. Although I was in a comfortable position, fear prevented me from becoming completely relaxed. “Again, I was in that ravine, and there came an intense roaring sound— ur ! —as hail clouds rolled in. They enveloped my illusory body and carried me into the surrounding space. As soon as that happened, I recalled that my mind was integrated with the guru’s mind, and I felt a shiver of happiness. At once the anxiety returned, although it was not a shock to me. “Many pure and impure visionary realms appeared, and inside a round orb of light ( tigle ) about the size of a fingernail were all the beings of the six classes organized [according to their] happiness and suffering. Their arrangement was not mixed together, but it was clear and complete. I thought: ‘Is it not like that one saying? On a single particle there are countless [other] particles filled with buddhafields in which buddhas enact their activities.’ From all this, a trusting faith arose in me. “Later on, since going into dark retreat, I thought the visions of leaping-over ( tögal ) would be enhanced, but I did not experience any increase.” Kunga Palden said. When I (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche) received the final instructions of the Guru’s Inner Essence , Kunga Palden told me about his visions in dark retreat as additional explanations for practicing the dark retreat yogas. “I have explained to you how the dark retreat visions appear so that after this when you come to practice the dark retreat yogas, you will find this very beneficial. That's why I have shared them with you,” Kunga Palden said. “ Dzogchen Khenpo Lhagyal and my own virtuous students have stayed in that place for one hundred days and practiced. However, they did not have harsh experiences. In general, it probably varies according to the differences in peoples’ channels, winds, and essences." He also said: “When [Önpo was teaching the] profound instructions for the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Guru’s Inner Essence , he praised its great blessing. To his students who were exerting themselves in their retreat, Lord [Önpo] said, ‘In general, if there is no study, then contemplation and meditation will not develop properly. Unless one has looked into the Root Stanzas of the Middle Way: Wisdom , in particular, one will not comprehend the atemporal, natural rest of cutting-through (trekchö). Therefore, it is very important to study the Root Stanzas of the Middle Way: Wisdom .’ ” When the Dharma lord Patrul Rinpoche gave teachings for the textual traditions of sūtra and tantra, he never had the custom of keeping texts with him; however, he remained inseparable from one volume of the Guru’s Inner Essence until he died at the age of seventy-nine. “As for myself, I received the empowerment and instructions from the lord guru, Ön Rinpoche. Then, at that time, I did my best in my practice, yet there was not even the slightest depth to my realization, view, or meditation. But discursive concepts such as ‘Have I been deceived by these instructions?’ never occurred to me,” Kunga Palden confided. That is all he said. Other than this, he did not tell any of his students how the sign of heat on the stages and the paths arose in his mind. The Lord’s close friend, Khenpo Dralo of Dza Gyal Monastery practiced the approach recitations for the essential sections of the secret practice of the protectors and guardians of the Guru’s Inner Essence . As a result, he received a lot of veneration and offerings and came to be known as a companion of the protectors. He knew that this was the help of the protectors, and he clarified his position to them: “I did not engage in your practice for the benefit of this life. I am practicing for the sake of the supreme spiritual attainment.” By saying this three times, he ended up with fewer visitors. “When I initially stayed alone in my retreat, I did not need to meet anyone in person. All I had to do was practice day and night, and I was content. Yet, as soon as I had the name of Guru Kunga Palden many people assembled. They never allowed me to be completely free, as I constantly had to engage in various activities that would connect people to the teachings,” he recalled. Khenpo Zhenga Rinpoche said: “I spent my entire life teaching the sutras and tantras, but whenever Kunga Palden asked questions concerning the profound points of view and meditation, I could not answer immediately. I had to think about it carefully. I suppose the wisdom from his meditation had unfolded.” Jamgön Dorje Chang Chökyi Lodrö Rinpoche (Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö) said: “I received both the instructions and transmission for the Guru’s Inner Essence from Guru Kunga Palden, and he also explained many excellent profound points on practice.” During the later years of his life, he stayed in the retreat place called Nepu in front of the Ziltrom glacier, which became his residence, and Palpung Situ Pema Wangchok (1886–1952) also attended him there. Later Kunga Palden was protected by the compassionate refuge of Drubwang Dzogchen Tubten Chökyi Dorje, and he came to stayed at the upper meditation cave of Tsering Jong [near Dzogchen Monastery]. He uninterruptedly turned the wheel of the Dharma of the essential maturing [empowerments[ and liberating [instructions] of the supreme vehicle and the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Guru’s Inner Essence in particular to the majority of abbots and tulkus of Dzogchen Monastery. There he died and many amazing sights occurred such as tiny pearl-like relics ( ringsel ) arising from his bones. When I (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche) reached my eleventh year my legs were burned, and I came close to death. At that time the holy guru Kunga Palden performed the ablution ritual, conferred the layman’s vows, and carried out a longevity practice for a month. In particular, he granted an elaborate and detailed explanation of the whole of the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Guru’s Inner Essence , beginning with the Stages of Guru Practice: The Ocean of Attainments right up to the final inventory. I also received practical guidance from him on the channels, winds, and physical yoga practices of the Heart Essence of the Great Expanse. He told me that I should focus on practice as my main activity and, as a supplement to this, grant instructions to those who seek the teachings. He also gave me his own copies of the Seven Treasuries, which he had studied for his entire life, and his personal copies of the Trilogy of Natural Ease and cared for me with immeasurable compassion. COLOPHON Therefore, I, Maṅgala Śrī Bhūti ( Tashi Paljor ) have written this brief biography, which is devoid of embellishment or understatement, at my retreat place. May all beings set out upon the direct path of the supreme, sovereign vehicle, and may this text become a cause for them to follow the path as found in this glorious guru’s life of liberation. NOTES [1] Dza Patrul Rinpoche reconstructed this Maṇi stone wall, which was first constructed by Samten Puntsok (bsam gtan phun tshogs). [2] Time of the Path ( lam dus ) is the common name for the daily Hevajra sādhana, which must be practiced regularly without interruption. [3] This is a root mantra found in the practice of Hevajra. Thanks to Adam Pearcey at Lotsawa House for his editing. Published: July 2020 Edited: April 2025 BIBLIOGRAPHY Tashi Paljor (bkra shis dpal ’byor. theg pa mchog gi rnal ’byor pa bya bral kun dga’ dpal ldan gyi rnam thar ngo mtshar bdud rtsi’i snang ba . In gsung ’bum/_rab gsal zla ba , vol. 1, 621–636. Delhi: Shechen Publications, 1994. BDRC W21809 . Abstract The Wondrous Light of Lunar Nectar is a biography of Chatral Kunga Palden (1878–1944) written by Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor. BDRC LINK W21809 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 18:42 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century TEACHERS Pema Tegchok Loden The Third Mura, Pema Dechen Zangpo Orgyen Tenzin Norbu Mipam Gyatso Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo The First Adzom Drugpa, Drodul Pawo Dorj e The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chökyi Dorj e TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Galenteng Dzogchen Monastery Dzongsar Derge Gonchen STUDENTS Rigdzin Wangyal Lobzang Palden Tenzin Nyandrak Könchok Zangpo Pema Damchö Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor Tsewang Rigdzin Norbu Tenzin Chimé Yesh e Tenzin Gyaltsen Jigme Lodrö The Eleventh Tai Situ, Pema Wangchok Gyalpo Togden Jampa Tendar Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Wangchuk AUTHOR Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor The Wondrous Light of Lunar Nectar VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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Treasure Revealer Jigme Lingpa 1730–1798 BDRC P314 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE Jigme Lingpa was a visionary disciple of Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (1308–1364) and was a highly influential treasure revealer. He is specifically known for The Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse, or the Longchen Nyingtik, which continues to be prevalently practiced today. Prayer The Vajra Verses: A Prayer of the Fierce Inner Heat Jigme Lingpa Jigme Lingpa's Longchen Nyingtik instruction on fierce inner heat practice, composed as a supplication to be sung between lineage prayers and practice commencement. Read Translated Works Biography The Biography of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Tubten Chödar A realized female master, Ḍākki Losal Drölma served as custodian of her half-brother Do Khyentse's treasure teachings while deepening her own spiritual attainments in Tibet's sacred sites Read Biography The Biography of Gyalse Rigpe Raltri Tubten Chödar Son of Do Khyentse and recognized as Jigme Lingpa's son's reincarnation, Rigpe Raltri became a revered Minyak guru, transmitting the Yangsang Khandro Tugtik treasures to his own son. Read Biography Biography Of Getse Lama Jigme Ngotsar Gyatso Tenzin Lungtok Nyima Getse Lama Jigme Ngotsar Gyatso, disciple of Jigme Lingpa and founder of Kilung Monastery, spread the Longchen Nyingtik teachings while establishing his own enduring legacy. Read Biography The Biography of Dzogchen Khenchen Abu Lhagang Khenpo Tsöndru Khenpo Tsöndru chronicles his teacher Pema Tegchok Loden (1879–1955), from his studies with renowned masters to his role as Dzogchen Śrī Siṃha's abbot, culminating in solitary meditation practice. Read Biography Abridged Biographies: The Lineage of the Do Family Do Dasal Wangmo Chronicling Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's lineage, with special attention to his half-sister Losal Drölma - an honored teacher whose story emerges from the margins of temple narratives. Read Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

A compilation of supplication verses and transmission lineage for Do Khyentse's Dzinpa Rangdröl treasure cycle, arranged by Galwang Nyima from original revealed texts. A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping ཀུན་བཟང་ཡབ་ཡུམ་སྟོན་པ་འོད་མི་འགྱུར། ། kunzang yabyum tönpa ö mingyur Samantabhadra and Samantabhadrā in union, Teacher of Immutable Light, [ 1 ] ཁྲག་འཐུང་གཞོན་ནུ་དཔའ་བོ་སྟོབས་ལྡན་དཔལ། ། traktung shönnu pawo tobden pal Glorious, powerful, and blood-drinking Youthful Hero, [ 2 ] དྲི་མེད་གསང་བདག་དགའ་རབ་མཚོ་སྐྱེས་རྗེ། ། drimé sangdak garab tsokyé jé Stainless Lord of Secrets [Vajrapani], Garab Dorje, the Lake-Born Lord, བདེ་ཆེན་མནྡཱ་ར་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། dechen mendara la solwa deb And Great Bliss Mandarava, to you I pray. སྦྱོར་སྒྲོལ་བརྟུལ་ཞུགས་མཐར་ཕྱིན་རཀྵི་ཏ། ། jordrol tulshuk tarchin rakshi ta Rakshita, who perfected the yogic observances of union and liberation, གྲུབ་བརྒྱའི་སྤྱི་མེས་ཕ་ཅིག་དམ་པ་རྗེ། ། drub gyé chimé pa chik dampa jé Lord Dampa, who is the sole forefather of a hundred adepts, ཌཱཀྐིའི་རྗེ་མོ་དབྱིངས་ཕྱུག་ལབ་ཀྱི་སྒྲོན། ། daki jemo yingchuk lab kyi drön Labdron, who is the lady of the dakinis and the queen of space, ཞི་གཅོད་བརྒྱུད་པར་བཅས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། shi chö gyüpar ché la solwa deb Lineages of Pacification and Severance, to you I pray. ཨོ་རྒྱན་པད་བྱུང་བི་མའི་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་གར། ། orgyen pé jung bi mé gyutrul gar Dancing illusory display of Padmasambhava of Oddiyana and Vimalamitra, ཟབ་གསང་བསྟན་པ་གཞིར་བཞེངས་སློང་མཛད་རྗེ། ། zabsang tenpa shir sheng long dzé jé Lord who brought forth the foundation of the profound and secret teachings, ཌཱ་ཀིའི་གསང་མཛོད་ཆེན་པོར་དབང་བསྒྱུར་བའི། ། daki sangdzö chenpor wang gyurwé Master of the magnificent, secret treasury of the dakinis— གཏེར་ཆེན་འཇའ་ལུས་རྡོ་རྗེར་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། terchen jalü dorjér solwa deb The great treasure-revealer, Jalu Dorje, to you I pray. མཁའ་སྤྱོད་བདེ་ལྡན་ཞིང་ན་ཝཱ་ར་ཧི། ། khachö deden shing na varahi Vajravarahi in the blissful realm of Khecara རྔ་ཡབ་གླིང་དུ་མེ་ཏོག་མནྡཱ་ར། ། ngayab ling du metok mendara And Mandarava Flower in Chamaradvipa, སླར་ཡང་བསྟན་འགྲོའི་དོན་དུ་མི་རྫུར་བྱོན། ། lar yang ten drö döndu mi dzur jön You came once again in the guise of a human for the benefit of the teachings and beings; ཡི་དམ་གྲུབ་བརྙེས་དངོས་གྲུབ་རྣམ་གཉིས་ཐོབ། ། yidam drub nyé ngödrub nam nyi tob Discovering the attainments of the deities, you gained the two accomplishments— ཡུམ་ཆེན་ཌཱ་ཀི་མཆོག་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། yumchen daki chok la solwa deb Great Mother and supreme dakini [ Losel Drolma ], [ 3 ] to you I pray. སྣང་སྲིད་དབང་བསྒྱུར་གྲུབ་བརྒྱའི་ཞལ་སྐྱིན་མཆོག ། nangsi wanggyur drub gyé shal kyin chok Supreme successor of a hundred adepts with mastery over all appearing existence; ཡེ་ཤེས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསང་གསུམ་བྱིན་བརྒྱུད་མཛོད། ། yeshe dorjé sang sum jin gyü dzö Yeshe Dorje’s three secrets, blessings, lineage, and treasuries— ཡོངས་ལ་དབང་བསྒྱུར་སྐུ་གསུང་ཐུགས་ཀྱི་སྲས། ། yong la wanggyur ku sung tuk kyi sé Master of them all, a son of enlightened body, speech, and mind, བདེ་ཆེན་རིག་པའི་རལ་གྲིར་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། dechen rigpé raldrir solwa deb Dechen Rigpai Reltri , [ 4 ] to you I pray. བློས་བྱས་འདིར་སྣང་ཆོས་ཀུན་སྒྱུ་མའི་ངང་། ། löjé dir nang chö kün gyumé ngang In the state where all apparent, mind-made phenomena of this life are illusory, རྨི་ལམ་ཚུལ་གཟིགས་རེ་དང་དོགས་པ་བྲལ། ། milam tsul zik ré dang dokpadral You recognized their dream-like nature and were free from hope and doubt, ང་ཁྱོད་ཕྱོགས་རིས་ཀུན་བྲལ་འགྲོ་བའི་མགོན། ། nga khyö chokri kündral drowé gön Beyond all biased distinctions between self and other—protector of beings, སྐྱབས་མཆོག་བདེ་ཆེན་འོད་ཟེར་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། kyab chok dechen özer la solwa deb Supreme refuge, Dechen Ozer, [ 5 ] to you I pray. དྲི་མེད་མཁྱེན་པའི་ལྷ་ལམ་ཡངས་པ་ནས། ། drimé khyenpé lha lam yangpa né Through the vast, heavenly path of stainless knowledge, བརྩེ་བའི་སྙིང་རྗེའི་འོད་སྟོང་འབར་བའི་གཟིས། ། tsewé nyingjé ötong barwé zi You blaze brilliantly with the intense light of love and compassion འགྲོ་རྣམས་མུན་པའི་སྨག་རུམ་སེལ་མཛད་པ། dro nam münpé makrum sel dzepa And dispel the dense darkness of transmigrating beings, ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྡོ་རྗེར་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། tubten chö kyi dorjér solwa deb Tubten Chokyi Dorje, [ 6 ] to you I pray. སྤང་རྟོགས་རྒྱལ་བ་རྣམས་དང་རོ་གཅིག་ཀྱང་། ། pang tok gyalwa nam dang ro chik kyang Although you are experientially the same as the victorious ones in renunciation and realization, ཐུགས་རྗེས་རྗེས་འཛིན་སངས་རྒྱས་དངོས་ལས་ལྷག ། tukjé jedzin sangye ngö lé lhak In your compassionate care for disciples, you are actually superior to the buddhas— བཀའ་དྲིན་མཚུངས་མེད་བསྟན་པའི་སྒྲོན་མེ་མཆོག ། kadrin tsungmé tenpé drönmé chok Incomparably gracious and supreme lamp of the teachings, དཔལ་མགོན་བླ་མ་མཆོག་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། palgön lama chok la solwa deb Glorious protector, supreme guru, to you I pray. རླབས་ཆེན་ཐུགས་བསྐྱེད་ཟབ་ཡངས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ལས། ། lab chen tukkyé zab yang gyatso lé Great [blessing] waves from the extensive ocean of the profound awakening mind, སྨིན་གྲོལ་གདམས་པའི་ཆུ་བོ་རྣམ་པ་བཞིས། ། mindrol dampé chuwo nampa shi The four rivers of instructions concerning maturation and liberation, སྐལ་བཟང་གདུལ་བྱའི་ཞིང་ཀུན་ཁྱབ་མཛད་པའི། ། kalzang duljé shing künkhyab dzepé Pervade all realms containing disciples endowed with good fortune— དངོས་བརྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་ཚོགས་ལ་གསོལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། ngö gyü lamé tsok la sol solwa deb Assemblies of lineage gurus, to you I pray. སངས་རྒྱས་ཀུན་འདུས་བླ་མ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ། ། sangye kündü lama chö kyi ku Embodiment of all buddhas, dharmakaya guru, མ་ཅིག་ཡུམ་ཆེན་དབྱེར་མེད་བཀའ་དྲིན་ཅན། ། ma chik yumchen yermé kadrinchen Inseparable from the single, gracious Great Mother, སྙིང་ནས་གདུང་ཤུགས་དྲག་པོས་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། nying né dungshuk drakpö solwa deb I fervently pray to you from the depths of my heart! འཁྲུལ་སྣང་སྙེམས་བྱེད་བདུད་བཞི་ལས་རྒྱལ་ཞིང་། ། trulnang nyem jé dü shi lé gyal shing Bless me with victory over the four maras, creators of delusional perception and pride! སྐྱེ་མེད་ཆོས་སྐུ་རྟོགས་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་སློབས། ། kyemé chöku tokpar jin gyi lob Bless me to realize the unborn dharmakaya! རང་གི་ཐུགས་ཀའི་འོད་ཀྱིས་བསྐུལ་བས་ཕྱོགས་བཅུ་དུས་བཞིའི་སྐྱབས་གནས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་བདུད་འདུལ་ཁྲོས་མ་ལྷ་ལྔའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་གྱི་རྣམ་པར་མདུན་གྱི་ནམ་མཁར་བཛྲ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿ ཚོགས་ཞིང་མདུན་མཁར་སད་པར་བྱས་ནས་མཐར་ཛཿཧཱུྃ་བྃ་ཧོས་ཚོགས་ཞིང་རང་ལ་བསྡུ་པར་བྱའོ།། Light issues from my heart, invoking in the space before me the oceanic sources of refuge from the ten directions and three times in the aspect of the mandala of the five deities of the demon-subduing Fierce Mother [ 7 ] —Vajra Samaya Jah. The field of merit is thus awakened in the space before me. Finally, with Jah Hum Bam Hoh, the field of merit dissolves into me. COLOPHON None NOTES [1] This is an epithet for Samantabhadra. [2] This is the sixth of the twelve foundational teachers (ston pa bcu gnyis) of Dzogchen in this world-system. [3] Losel Drolma (1802–1861) was Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje’s half-sister and spiritual consort, as well as a custodian of his teachings and a respected Dzogchen teacher in her own right. BDRC P1GS138134 [4] Dechen Rigpai Reltri (1830–1896) was the second son of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje. See: Treasury of Lives [5] Dechen Ozer Taye of Tsering Jong, the residence of Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798), was a student and scribe for Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje. [6] The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (1872–1935). See: Treasury of Lives [7] The Fierce Mother, or Tröma Nakmo (khros ma nag mo). Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources Thanks to Adam Pearcey at Lotsawa House for his editing. Published: April 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Ye shes rdo rje. Edited by Rgyal dbang nyi ma. 1978. ' Dzin pa rang 'grol brgyud pa'i gsol 'debs bzhugs . In Gcod 'dzin pa rang grol gyi 'don cha'i skor, pp. 43–45. Paro: Ngondrub and Sherab Demy. BDRC W26033 Abstract This lineage prayer for Do Khyentse's treasure cycle of the Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdröl) is found in a liturgical compilation arranged by Galwang Nyima. The prayer comprises verses from the supplication prayer and Tröma practice as located in the revealed treasure texts as well as a short transmission lineage. BDRC LINK W26033 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 03:42 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE Jigme Lingpa HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century TEACHERS The Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang, Mingyur Namkhe Dorje The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub Dola Jigme Kalzang Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Mahā Kyilung Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery Tseringjong STUDENTS Losal Drölma Tsewang Rabten Nyala Pema Dudul The Second Dodrubchen, Jigme Puntsok Jungne Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Ranyak Gyalse Nyoshul Luntok Tenpe Gyaltsen Özer Taye Kalzang Döndrub Pema Sheja Drime Drakpa Kunzang Tobden Wangpo Gyalse Zhenpen Taye Özer Chöying Tobden Dorje Rigpe Raltri AUTHOR Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Gyalwang Nyima (Editor) A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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A mysterious letter from the Ninth Paṇchen Lama's secretary to Hotoktu Rinpoche, now preserved in a French private collection - its acquisition history remains unknown. A Letter to Hotoktu Rinpoche I offer this at the feet of the incomparable glorious protector of the doctrine and beings, the venerable lord and excellent being, Hotoktu Rinpoche. [ 1 ] In these exceedingly virtuous times, I [hope] your supreme body, the singular eddy flowing from the pure conduct of your primordial and immense resolve to attain enlightenment and the source of precious jewels, is entirely brilliant. Moreover, the garland of your incomparable, marvellous deeds brings about the benefit and welfare of the teachings and beings in an all-pervasive manner, as if it is rising to the summit of existence. We are grateful for your loving care! I am also well, both mentally and physically. We humbly request that the precious emanation of the supreme protector, [the Paṇchen Lama], take up all the lifestyles of previous reincarnations and diligently engage in studying and conducting deeds beneficial for religious and secular matters. The main point of this letter is connected with an enquiry made by the head personal attendant Nomin Han . [ 2 ] Here, we have made good preparations for the long-life offering to the refuge protectors, victorious lords, father and son (the Paṇchen Lama and the Dalai Lama) and to serve and venerate the sangha. However, it has not been possible to obtain permission to do this in the last three years. Hence, [the Panchen Lama], like a thirsty person desires water, very much wishes to visit you. However, in addition to his old age, recently, from the beginning of the second month, he has developed an illness that is combined with phlegm, blood pressure, and bo disease. [ 3 ] It is increasingly worsening. Not only that, but the divination that was conducted last year indicated that the obstacles of his sixty-second year would be significant. This divination also indicated that there would be a slightly greater obstacle on the way. Subsequently, we do not have the hope that he will recover for a while or for you both to come together. At this time, the treasurer, master, and servants were specially delegated to offer gifts without delay to everyone, especially the government, in reciprocity with the gifts received. Apart from that, we have no choice but to take leave for a few years until his health is completely restored. Also, as the head personal attendant himself has [already] sent a separate detailed letter requesting permission to serve you, the Excellent Protector, when you come to Tibet, if you are definitely going to come, I hope his request will be answered with a positive result. Please keep us informed of your visit and, as per your wishes, we can choose and appoint suitable and new personal attendants. Please keep [these words] in the deep expanse of your mind. In the future, for the excellent benefit of the doctrine and beings, please spontaneously establish your precious feet in the everlasting nature. Moreover, may your enlightened resolve and beneficial activities be even better than before, and from that state, may you also keep your compassionate deeds uninterrupted like the Ganges river. I send this request and my regards along with a pair of ceremonial scarfs. [ 4 ] Sent on an auspicious date. COLOPHON None NOTES [1] If the letter is from the secretary of the Ninth Paṇchen Lama, then Hotoktu Rinpoche is khal kha rje btsun dam pa 08 ngag dbang blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma, or rje btsun dam pa ho thog thu rin po che, 1870/1871–1923/1924, BDRC P4945 [2] byabs khrus mkhan po no min han [3] 'bo nad [4] lha rdzas Photo Credit: Wikipedia Published: September 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY paN chen bla ma 09 thub bstan chos kyi nyi ma (purported). Date unknown. Private Collection. London: Tib Shelf W003 Abstract This letter is purportedly from the secretary of the Ninth Paṇchen Lama to Hotoktu Rinpoche. It was purchased and is now conserved in a private collection in France. The means of the initial acquisition is unknown. We are happy to receive any information concerning this letter. TIB SHELF W003 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 03:35 TRADITION Geluk INCARNATION LINE Paṇchen Lama HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century TEACHERS The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso Ngawang Tsültrim Dönden Tenzin Wanggyal TRANSLATORS Rachael Griffiths Tib Shelf INSTITUTION Tashilhünpo Monastery STUDENTS Pema Chok Palsangpo The Fifth Jamyang Shepa, Lobsang Jamyang Yeshé Tenpé Gyaltsen Jigme Trinle Gyatso Lobsang Lungtok Jikmé Tenpé Gyaltsen Ngawang Tsültrim Dönden Jigme Tenpé Gyaltsen The Fifth Maṇipa, Lobsang Chöpel Gyatso AUTHORS The Secretary of The Ninth Paṇchen Lama Tubten Chökyi Nyima A Letter to Hotoktu Rinpoche VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Jetsun Tamdrin Wangmo Kalzang Chökyi Nyima (1836–1896) was an exceptional female master of the Sakya tradition who received extensive tantric training from renowned masters of her time. Recognized as an embodiment of Vajravārāhī, she devoted her life to preserving and transmitting the sacred teachings of the Sakya lineage. The Legend of the Venerable Tamdrin Wangmo of the Sakya Lineage Mother Nyida Wangmo, the second queen of the esteemed mantra holder Kunga Rinchen [ 1] , gave birth to two sons and three venerable daughters—five siblings in total. Among them, the oldest, my only saviour and the sovereign of hundreds of buddhas, was Jetsün Tamdrin Wangmo Kelsang Chökyi Nyima, born in the Fire Monkey Year (1836). From a young age, together with her elder brother Dorjé Rinchen (1819–1867) [ 2 ] , studying under my tutor Matimitra, who had been appointed as their resident teacher. Through this, despite being a venerable figure, she engaged in recitation and liturgical practices, [unmoving] as if a corpse. Furthermore, she mastered the visualisation maṇḍala of Sarvavid Vairocana, the Vajrayoginī teachings of Nāropa, Hevajra, and Vajrakīla. She also mastered the rituals and liturgical music of minor Phurba cycles, grand bali cake rituals, mending rituals, Go [ 3 ] style concise praises, and Vajrakīla repelling rituals. At intervals, she received many empowerments including Vajrakīla, Black Cakrasaṃvara, and Khecarī cycles from Yabje (spiritual father) brothers and Ngawang Kunga Gyeltsen. From Lord Dorjé Rinchen, she received the complete empowerment, transmissions, and instructions of the assembled explanation of Lamdré, Bhairavas, and Mahākāla cycles. She also studied The Ocean of Sādhanas and initiations and transmission instructions for teachings as if a vase filled to the brim. Apart from the Cycles of Thirteen Red Deities and the Vajra Garland, the Red Scripture Trilogy, the Collected Sakya School writings and other collected works, and almost all the cycles by the Lord Dorjé Rinchen are still extant. From Ewam Chöden Phankhang Khen Rinpoche Shempa Kunga Tenpé Lodro, she studied the explanation of the entire text of the Record on the Transmission of the Lamdré [Sungngak Rinpoché] and forty-five great empowerments on general instructions of the Vajra Garland. From Jamgön Khyentsé Wangpo, she received the empowerment and transmission of the twenty-five lion-faced Ḍākinī; from Ponlob Ngawang Rinchen, the entire initiation of the Trilogy of Red; and from Sawang Lama, transmissions of many related texts. She perfected her studies in One-Tenth fire offering to the personal deity Hevajra, Ḍākinī, Vajrakīla, Pañjaranatha, goddess Kurukullā, Vajrapāṇi, and the ones taming the elemental forces. No matter if someone was of high or low status, strong or weak, she never rejected anyone who requested empowerment, transmission and teachings, unless she had not received them herself. Like scooping water, she made it exceptionally easy for others. When not preoccupied with such tasks, she dedicated herself to study [and] read The Kangyur [ 4 ] in its entirety twice. During this time, when reading the amazing biography of the Buddha in the Vinaya approach, she perpetually shed tears. Furthermore, when reading the great genealogy of the biography of great tantric adepts and amazing achievements of other great sages of the past, she was moved to tears, rendering her speechless. These activities arise from a mind blessed by bodhicitta as a sign of exceptional devotion and renunciation, one naturally saturated with serenity from the innermost part of oneself. Previously during the lifetime of the venerable Sri Atisha, Geshé Tönpa [ 5] received an ordained disciple of Kham Lungpa and three siblings. Geshé Tönpa enquired, "What is Potowa doing?" [The disciples replied,] "He is teaching Dharma to hundreds of the Sangha." "That is amazing, that's really something!" [Geshé Tönpa exclaimed then asking,] "What is Geshé Puchungwa doing?" "He is dedicating himself to constructing three types of sacred objects by gathering objects from oneself and others." [As] before, [Geshé Tönpa enquired,] "What is Gonpawa doing?" [The disciple answered,] "He is meditating." Again Geshé Tönpa replied, "What is Khampa Lungpa doing?" He said, "Dwelling in rural areas always covering his head and weeping excessively." Tönpa took off his hat and with hands joined at the heart whilst weeping profusely said, "That is extremely amazing. He has truly practiced the Dharma. I have many things to say about his good qualities, but it seems he is unhappy about it. This story must be known as people who weep from devotion and renunciation nowadays are extremely rare unless ash happens to enter their eyes, so it is indeed amazing behaviour." These days, many lamas and tulkus feign knowledge they do not possess and claim attainments they have not realised. They even profess prophetic powers they do not possess. In this way, they act without the slightest hesitation. My own lama was quite the opposite, always presenting herself as if she knew nothing. Even when we asked her about particular points of meaning, she would return the question to us saying, ‘I’m not clairvoyant.’ If we continued to entreat her, she would perform the seven-planets dice divination giving clear predictions. Whatever she foretold would always accord perfectly with what she had predicted. Empowerment practice, instruction, and so on—all these things she had to extract from scattered old books, which she would then tell us without omission or obstruction, not doubting herself in the slightest. On the occasion of giving transmissions, her speech was neither too quick—which obscures language, nor too slow—which obstructs flow. Rather her pronunciation was always accurate with clear and appropriate pauses. Sometimes she would teach the Dharma whilst smiling, looking at the audience, speaking lucidly, in one small instant— a whole volume without interruption. A true Jetsünma like her, I’ve never seen in all Ü, Tsang, and the Kham regions of Tibet. For elaborate empowerments, practice initiations, and blessings, she never simplified them, but prepared them from the offering at the beginning to the ritual at the end, strictly following the liturgical texts. For major empowerments and so on, she stood up and followed the previous practices, such as the distribution of empowerment articles, by gathering them into one but giving them individually to every single student. She was truly the embodiment and inseparable from Vajra Dakmema [ 6 ] and the queen-consort Vajravārāhī. These were some of the things observed by disciples like me, who are only ordinary beings. This was previously prophesied by the spiritual father, the accomplished Lord Padma Dudul Wangchuk, who said that since she is the unifying embodiment of hundreds and thousands of Ḍākinīs, she will benefit the Dharma and sentient beings. From the 34th abbot of Sakya Monastery, Champa Tashi Chophel and Dzingphu Khenpo Kunga Tenpé Lodro, she studied three levels of ordination gradually and uninterruptedly practiced the Four Unbreakable Practices [Chakmé Namshyi] of Sakya: the practices of Hevajra [Lamdu], the profound path of Guru Yoga [Lamzab], Virūpa protection meditation [Birsung], and Vajrayoginī [Naljorma] and other longevity practices. People saw her making uninterrupted fulfillment and offerings [Kangtrin] to the protective deities of Tibetan Buddhism on the 8th, 14th, 23rd, and 29th days of each month. She delivered complete explanations of Lamdré multiple times including twice for me and many others. [We received] the universal Vajra Garland empowerment three times, three cycles of Khachöma, and many others, particularly blessings of the Vajrayoginī Sadhana, according to Nāropa’s oral transmission, and many greater empowerments, such as three Cakrasaṃvara traditions of Lūhipāda, Kṛṣṇācārin, and Ghantāpāda; Eight Cycles of Bhairava Vetālasukha; and thirteen deities of Vajrabhairava, five deities of Rakta Yamāri, Rwa’s Ḍākinī Transmission Lineage, Transmissions of Ra and Pö, four commissioned transmissions of Hevajra, five great empowerments of the Mahākāla, twenty-seven Sitātapatrā, Nine Akṣobhya, Twelve Mandalas of the Purification Tantra, as well as blessed empowerment and teachings of the Six Doctrines of Niguma, according to the Shangpa tradition. Moreover, she delivered numerous transmissions and teachings of protector deities such as Pañjaranātha Mahākāla and Queen Pārvatī and wealth gods such as fifteen types of Vaiśravaṇa to a vast number of disciples in Ü, Tsang, and Kham; including lamas, monks, and ordinary people. At this monastery, abbots who came after Tashi Chophel, the great throne-holder and great master Kunso’s brothers and his consort Jetsünma, father Dorjechang’s brothers and the consort Jetsünma, the great throne-holder and great master Jamyang’s brothers and his consort Jetsünma, and teachers and monks, old or young, though they lack the practices, they are devoted to her and pray to her and disciples like me and indirect disciples are spread all over the earth. Thus venerable Jetsün, the one revered by all of us, passed away at 61 years of age, on the 21st day of the 5th/6th month of the Fire Monkey Year (1896) in Phelgyi Labrang; she passed away with pure perception, saying, “I have arrived [in] Tushita heaven,” passing into Nirvāṇa. Her memorial service and prayer ceremony were prepared by Punde and Phunpo and others. For offerings and welcoming her bodily remains and relics, [these were] done by following all the traditions. When she was alive, she was the royal tutor for the [Sakya] lineage. Though there was no preexisting tradition, it was decided to have ritual umbrellas and trumpets that were the size of her bodily remains. The inner receptacle, a silver statue of Nāroḍākinī, presently resides in the great Orgyen Temple. The Queen Mother’s second daughter was Jetsün Kelsang Tenzin Wangmo. She resided in Tritsek Residence, her descendants were those who went to Glangnag Monastery in Amdo to construct a memorial stupa for her younger brother. NOTES [ 1 ] Kunga Rinchen (1794–1856) was the founder of Phuntstok Podrang and the first Sakya Dachen (“Kunga Rinchen,” Rigpa. Shedra, accessed April 05, 2024, https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Kunga_Rinchen ). [2] He was the older half-brother who later became the 34th Sakya Tridzin. [3] Wylie 'Gos. [4] The Buddhist Cannon. [5] An alternative name for Atisha Jowo Jé’s pupil Dromtönpa Gyalwé Jungné. [6] One of Marpa's nine wives and principal consort. Published: January 2026 BIBLIOGRAPHY Mkha’ ’gro’i chos mdzod chen mo . 2017. gangs can rig pa’i bud med kyi rnam thar (C). Vol. 14. Larung Gar: Ārya Tāre Publishing Committee. Supplementary reference Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). 2022. Women’s works in the BDRC archive . December 1. https://www.bdrc.io/blog/2022/12/01/womens-works-in-the-bdrc-archive/ Abstract This biography recounts the life of Jetsun Tamdrin Wangmo Kalzang Chökyi Nyima (1836–1896), an exceptional female master of the Sakya tradition, born into the family of the esteemed mantra holder Kunga Rinchen. Distinguished by her profound devotion, scholarly dedication, and mastery of ritual practices, she generously transmitted empowerments and teachings to countless disciples across Tibet, regardless of their status. After a life devoted to preserving and transmitting the sacred teachings of the Sakya lineage, she passed away in 1896, recognized as an emanation of hundreds of ḍākinīs who greatly benefited the Dharma and beings. TIB SHELF W3CN2459 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 00:27 TRADITION Sakya HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century REGION Ü-Tsang TEACHERS Kunga Rinchen TRANSLATOR Coco Picard INSTITUTIONS Tarlam Lhundrubteng Langna Sakya Monastery Puntsok Podrang STUDENTS Pema Trinle Dragshul Trinle Rinchen AUTHOR Unknown The Legend of the Venerable Tamdrin Wangmo of the Sakya Lineage VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Alongside our own publications, Tib Shelf peer reviews and publishes the works of aspiring and established Tibetologists. If you would like to publish with us or request our translation services, please get in touch , our team would be pleased to help. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British library with the International Standard Serial Number - ISSN 2754-1495 TIB SHELF Contact ​ 40 Okehampton London NW10 3ER ​ shelves@tibshelf.org +44 (0) 203 983 7265 Follow Us ​ Subscribe ​ Instagram Facebook ​ Support Us RETURN TO ALL PUBLICATIONS As it says in the Noble Verses on the Collection of Precious Qualities [1 ] concerning the formation of the outer container, the foundation of the earth and the mountains: “The wind [element] depends on space and aggregations of the water [element] depend on the wind [element]. This great earth, supporting sentient beings, depends on the water [element].” Furthermore, the former constituents of that world system, having been destroyed by fire, water, and wind of an eon then for twenty intermediate eons, will all together become nothing. It is after this [period of time], the constituents of the world system will form.[2 ] ​ The initial cause of this world system depends upon the collective karma of sentient beings. Known as the Pure Mind,[3 ] it is a white space that radiates light and develops into a sizable container[4 ] capable of supporting a three-thousandfold world system.[5 ] Atop that space forms a wind mandala, and a blue rippling wind rises forth known as the Great Churning Wind.[6] The All-Pervading Wind[7 ] spreads it in all directions amassing like fog in the sky. The Wild and Rough Wind[8 ] noisily scatters that wind like clouds in the sky, which is collected by the Colossal Gathering Wind,[9 ] becoming vast and thick. ​ Through the burning of the fire that spreads from the orange Ripening Fire Wind,[10 ] the wind mandala becomes smooth with an even surface. The multi-coloured Wind of the Dividing Wind[11 ] rises up in a rush, dispersing the wind mandala, and the Churning Wind mixes it into its proper formation. ​ The colour of the wind takes the aspect of a sapphire jewel, shaped like a crossed vajra and surrounded by a round rim. As for its size, its thickness is 1,600,000 yojanas[12 ] and has an immeasurable width. Since its inherent quality is solid and firm, it supports the [elements] such as water. ​ A water mandala forms on top of that, and clouds possessing the essence of gold gather in the space above the wind mandala. A stream of rain descends about the size of a chariot’s axel. From its swirling centre a shape like a full circular moon forms called the Calm and Clear Water.[13 ] As for the size of the water mandala, its thickness is 120,000 yojanas and has an immeasurable width. ​ On top of that a golden foundation forms: The Churning Wind arises from the wind mandala that is underneath the water, churning the water mandala. Out of the cream that is produced from the churning of the water mandala, a golden foundation is established, like the ice that forms on a lake. It is square with a yellow gold-like hue, as for the size, its thickness is 220,000 yojanas and has an immeasurable width. ​ Mountains, oceans, and continents form on top of that. Moreover, in the space above the golden foundation clouds of various constituents amass, and a stream of water descends from them for a significant duration. ​ After this, the Gathering and Sorting Wind[14 ] separates the elements: a billion Mt. Sumerus are established from the best elements, a billion mountains of the seven rings are established from the mediocre elements, and billions of iron mountains of the outer rim, billions of the four continents, and billions of the sub-continents are established from the inferior elements. The manner of this formation is stated in the sutra. ​ In that way, when the four continents and sub-continents are formed with the inferior elements, the head of the four great rivers and the great Mt. Kailash are also established in the centre of the southern Jambudvipa [continent]. This should be known. [1] ārya prajñāpāramitāratnaguṇasaṃcayagāthā [2] According to Buddhist cosmology, the cycle of the world system consists of four periods: 1. eon of formation (chags pa'i bskal pa, vivartakalpa), 2. eon of abiding (gnas pa'i bskal pa, vivartasthāyikalpa), 3. eon of dissolution ('jig pa'i bskal pa, saṃvartakalpa), and 4. eon of nothingness (stong pa'i bskal pa, saṃvartasthāyikalpa). The Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (Chos mngon pa'i mdzod kyi bshad pa), attributed to the famous master Vasubhandu (c. 4th–5th CE), states that each of the four eons consists of twenty intermediate eons (bar bskal pa, antarakalpa). This initiatory section of the text describes the cycle of these four eons. For more information see: The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism 2014: kalpa. [3] yid rnam par dwangs pa [4] snod [5] A three-thousandfold world system is the largest universe or cosmological container capable of containing upwards of a billion world systems each with their own central Mt. Sumeru and geological and continental structures. For more information see: The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism 2014: trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu [6] rnam par srub byed kyi rlung [7] kun tu khyab byed kyi rlung [8] rtsub 'gyur gyi rlung yam [9] rnam par sdud byed kyi rlung [10] smin byed me'i rlung [11] 'byed byed rlung gi rlung [12] Yojana – An ancient Indic measurement of distance said to be the distance that a pair of yoked oxen can travel in a single day. There are various modern measurements estimating this distance ranging from four to ten miles. For more information see: The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism 2014: yojana. [13] zhi ba gsal dag [14] 'byed sdud kyi rlung NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY 'Bri gung chos kyi blo gros. 1998. Phyi snod sa gzhi ri bcas chags tshul . In Gnas yig phyogs bsgrigs, pp. 136–139. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang. BDRC W20820 COLOPHON None The Formation of the Outer Container Abstract The Formation of the Outer Container is a description of the formation of the universe according to Buddhist cosmogony. ​ English | བོད་ཡིག BDRC LINK W20820 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION VIEW TRANSLATION AUTHOR Drigung Konchok Tendzin Chokyi Lodro TRADITION Kagyu INCARNATION LINE TBC HISTORICAL PERIOD TBC TEACHERS TBC TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS TBC The Formation of the Outer Container TIB SHELF SUBMIT A TRANSLATION SUBSCRIBE ALL PUBLICATIONS BIOGRAPHICAL GOVERNMENTAL MISCELLANEOUS CONTEMPORARY INSTITUTIONAL BUDDHIST

RETURN TO ALL PUBLICATIONS གོང་མས་ལུང་བསྟན་སྤྲུལ་པ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ཀུན་གྱི་སྐྱབས་སུ་བཟང་། ། འཆད་པའི་ངག་གི་དབང་ཕྱུག་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ལེགས་བཤད་འབྱུང་ཁུངས་བཙུན། ། ​ Forefathers’ foretold emanation is I— I am the magnificent refuge of all beings. The sovereign speech of exposition is I— I am the respected source of eloquent discourse. བདུད་དཔུང་འཇོམས་པའི་དཔའ་བོ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་འབྲུག་པར་བརྫུས་རྣམས་བཅོམ། ། རྩོད་པའི་མཐུ་སྟོབས་བདག་པོ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ལྟ་ལོག་མཁན་སུན་འབྱིན། ། ​ The hero who conquers demon hordes is I— I am the destroyer of the Drukpa’s imposters. The powerful master of debate is I— I am the repudiator of those with wrong views. མཐའ་བྲལ་ལྟ་བའི་བདག་པོ་ང་། ། ང་མདུན་མི་འདར་རྒོལ་བ་སུ། ། རྩོམ་པའི་དབྱངས་ཅན་གྲུབ་པ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་རིག་གནས་ཀུན་ལ་མཁས། ། ​ The lord of the unlimited view is I— I am the one before whom all challengers tremble. Sarasvati’s accomplished wordsmith is I— I am the learned scholar in all fields of knowledge. ​ དཔལ་ལྡན་འབྲུག་པའི་བསྟན་འཛིན་ང་། ། ང་ནུས་བཟློག་པའི་མཐུ་ཆེན་སུ། ། ལུགས་གཉིས་འཁོར་ལོས་བསྒྱུར་བ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་འདྲ་མིན་སྤྲུལ་བའི་གཤེད། ། ​ The Glorious Druk’s doctrine holder is I— I am almighty, no sorcerer can defeat me. The dual system’s[1 ] Wheel-wielding Monarch[2 ] is I— I am the enemy of diverse apparitions. ​ ​ ཕྱག་དམ་འདི་གཞུང་གི་བཀའ་རྒྱ་གལ་ཆེན་རིགས་དང་། གཞུང་གི་ཁྲ་དེབ་ཁག་ལ་ངེས་པར་དུ་ཕྱག་དམ་འདི་ཐེབས་ཡོད་ན་ཀུན་གྱིས་བརྩི་མཐོང་ཆེན་པོ་བྱ་དགོས་པ་སྔར་སྲོལ་གལ་གནད་ཅན་ཞིག་ཡིན། ཞབས་དྲུང་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་རང་གིས་ཕྱོགས་ལས་རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བའི་རྟགས་མཚན་དུ་ཕྱག་དམ་ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མ་འདི་མཛད་པ་ནས་བཟུང་སྟེ་འབྲུག་གཞུང་གི་མངའ་འབངས་ཆབ་སྲིད་ཡོངས་རྫོགས་ལ་ཕྱག་དམ་དེས་དབང་བསྒྱུར་ཆོག་པ་ཡིན། དེ་བཞིན་ད་ལྟ་ཡང་འབྲུག་གཞུང་གི་ (དཔལ་ལྡན་འབྲུག་པ་ཕྱོགས་ལས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ) གཞུང་རྟགས་སུ་བཀོད་པ་འདི་ཡང་། ཞབས་དྲུང་རིན་པོ་ཆེས་ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མའི་དོན་བསྡུས་ཏེ་གཞུང་རྟགས་སུ་བཀོད་པ་ཡིན། དཔེར་ན། རྒྱ་གར་གཞུང་རྟགས་སེངྒེ་མགོ་ལྔ་པ་ཅན་ལ་རྩིས་མཐོང་བྱ་དགོས་པ་ཆོས་རྒྱལ་ཨ་ཤོ་ཀའི་མཛད་རྗེས་མཚོན་པ་དང་འདྲ་བ་ཡིན། ​ If this seal is visibly stamped onto the official documents of the government and important government orders, everyone will hold them in high regard, because this tradition is of essential importance. Zhabdrung Rinpoche (1594–1651)[3 ] composed this seal, "Sixteen Self-Assertions," as a symbol of the Complete Victor in all Regards.[4 ] Since then, this seal was permitted to exercise power over all citizens and political territory of the Bhutanese government. Accordingly, even today, the name of the Bhutanese government, “The Glorious Drukpa: The Victor in All Regards,”[5 ] is also established as an administrative symbol since it is the condensed meaning of Zhabdrung Rinpoche’s "Sixteen Self-Assertions." Take for example the governmental symbol of India, the five-headed lion. The reason it is held in high regard is that it is the representation of the achievements of the Dharma King, Ashoka. This seal is comparable to that symbol. ​ [1] This is referring to the dual system of politics and religion. [2] A Wheel-wielding Monarch (cakravartin) is the de facto ruler of the entire universe, bring all under their control single-handedly. They tend to govern the world system in accordance with the spiritual and or universal law, the dharma. For more information, please refer to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. [3] zhabs drung 01 ngag dbang rnam rgyal, BDRC P509 [4] phyogs las rnam par rgyal ba [5] dpal ldan 'brug pa phyogs las rnam rgyal Photo Credit: Kidekhar College of Buddhist Higher Learning ​ Published: May 2021 NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY Slob dpon gnag mdog. 1986. Nga bcu drug ma . In 'Brug dkar-po : 'brug rgyal-khab kyi chos-srid gnas-stangs, pp 94–95. Thurpaling Monastery Bumthang: Lopon Nado. COLOPHON None ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མ། Sixteen Self-Assertions ​ Abstract The first rendition of the seal was written in 1619 by the First Drukpa Zhabdrung, Ngawang Namgyel, after seizing military victory over Puntsok Namgyel, the ruler of Tsang in Tibet. It is purported that Zhabdrung accomplished this triumph through his tantric powers of ritual sorcery. The lines translated here are in a different order in comparison to other editions. Nevertheless, this epic declaration not only helps to establish the emerging country of Bhutan but centralizes Zhabdrung's power in a talismanic nature. SOURCE DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION VIEW TRANSLATION AUTHORS Drukpa Zhabdrung, Ngawang Namgyel & Lopon Nadok TRADITION Drukpa Kagyu INCARNATION LINE Zhabdrung Sungtrul HISTORICAL PERIOD 16th Century 17th Century TEACHERS Tenpai Nyima Lhawang Lodro ​ TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Ralung Monastery STUDENTS The First Druk Je Khenpo Pekar Jungne The Second Druk Je Khenpo, Sonam Wozer The Third Druk Je Khenpo, Pekar Lhundrub The Fourth Druk Je Khenpo, Damcho Pekar The Fifth Druk Je Khenpo, Zopa Trinle Ngawang Samten Zopa Pekar ​ ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མ། Sixteen Self-Assertions Alongside our own publications, Tib Shelf peer reviews and publishes the works of aspiring and established Tibetologists. If you would like to publish with us or request our translation services, please get in touch , our team would be pleased to help. TIB SHELF Contact ​ 40 Okehampton London NW10 3ER ​ shelves@tibshelf.org +44 (0) 203 983 7265 Follow Us ​ ​ ​ Subscribe ​ Instagram Facebook TIB SHELF SUBMIT A TRANSLATION SUBSCRIBE ALL PUBLICATIONS BIOGRAPHICAL GOVERNMENTAL MISCELLANEOUS CONTEMPORARY INSTITUTIONAL BUDDHIST

Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three As potent as it is pithy, this short text outlines three sets of qualities required respectively by sages, bodhisattvas, and practitioners of the Mantrayāna. There is obvious overlap in the advice contained at each level, particularly ascending from the initial to the final qualities, which mirrors the central training of the three Buddhist vehicles essential to the Tibetan tradition. Butön Rinchen Drub Advice A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping This lineage prayer for Do Khyentsé's treasure cycle of the Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdröl) is found in a liturgical compilation arranged by Gelwang Nyima. The prayer comprises verses from the supplication prayer and Tröma practice as located in the revealed treasure texts as well as a short transmission lineage. Do Khyentsé Yeshé Dorjé Lineage Prayer The Hook Which Invokes Blessings: A Supplication to the Life and Liberation of Knowledge-Holder Jalü Dorjé This concise biographical prayer of Do Khyentsé Yeshé Dorjé was written by the master himself at the request of a king, most likely Namkha Lhündrup of Trokyab. Do Khyentsé Yeshé Dorjé Biographical The Truthful Words of a Sage This aspirational prayer of Do Khyentsé is the last text in his Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdröl) treasure cycle located within the Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī treasure cache. Do Khyentsé Yeshé Dorjé Asprational Prayer The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemokö The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemokö is a revealed treasure text included in Jatsön Nyinpo’s Embodiment of the Precious Ones, the Könchok Chidü. It is a prediction text about the future degenerate times and purportedly the first guidebook to the hidden land of Pemokö. Jatsön Nyingpo Guidebook The Vajra Verses: A Prayer of the Fierce Inner Heat This supplication, filled with instruction for the completion stage practice of fierce inner heat, was written by Jigmé Lingpa in his renowned work of The Heart Essence of the Great Expanse, or Longchen Nyingtik. It is traditionally sung after the lineage supplication and before the fierce inner heat practice. Jigmé Lingpa Prayer An Aspiration to Travel to the Hidden Land of Pemokö A prayer to take rebirth in the hidden sanctuary of Pemakö, where obstacles such as sickness and conflict are scarce or nonexistent and favourable conditions may aid progress on the Dharma path. Lelung Shepé Dorjé Aspiration Prayer Chapter Narrating the Pure Vision of Gesar The Fifth Lelung Rinpoche, Shepé Dorjé (1697–1740), is unusual among senior Geluk figures for having taken a personal interest in the figure of Gesar of Ling, eponymous hero of the Tibetan epic. The text translated here narrates his ‘pure vision’ of Gesar, which took place near his monastic seat at Lelung, in Olga, in 1729. Please see the full abstract in the note section of the translation. Lelung Shepé Dorjé Pure Vision The Magical Lasso – A Prayer of Aspiration to Accomplish Khecara This aspirational prayer calls upon all the ḍākinīs of the three worlds to grant their blessings, so that the practitioner may complete the vajrayāna path and bring benefit to all beings. Lelung Zhepé Dorjé Aspirational Prayer A Song on the Merits of Kyangpen Namkhé Dzong This meditative or spiritual song was composed by Milarepa (1040–1123), Tibet’s most famous yogi and poet. With an almost Wordsworthian rhapsody, Mila describes the inconceivable qualities of Kyangpen Namkhé Dzong, and explains why it is so favourable for meditative retreat. Strikingly, he identifies the natural world itself, rather than past Buddhist masters, as the wellspring of blessings for this holy place. Milarepa Song In Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī One of the most famous poems in Tibetan history in which Tsongkhapa calls out and praises the goddess Sarasvatī. This poem is not only chanted in monastic halls but also sung by performing artists and taught in literature classes. ​ Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa Praises ALL PUBLICATIONS BIOGRAPHICAL GOVERNMENTAL MISCELLANEOUS CONTEMPORARY INSTITUTIONAL BUDDHIST

RETURN TO ALL PUBLICATIONS The monastery sits in the Khorlo Valley[1] in the district of Dege. Initially, after killing the Tibetan King Lang Darma (r. 838–842),[2 ] Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje (early 9th cent. – mid 9th cent.)[3 ] fled to Do Kham in the year 1005/6[4 ] and built a square meditation building without a central pillar. Later, Lord Ling Repa (1128–1188)[5 ] of the Kagyu [order] came and restored that meditation building. Then, while Ga Anyen Dampa (1230–1303)[6 ] was traveling to China, he constructed a protectors’ temple called Utter Victory Over Mara .[7 ] At a later time during the eleventh calendrical cycle (1600), the dharma lord Tenpa Tsering (1678–1738)[8 ] established an entire monastery, primarily building The Completely Victorious Teachings of the Buddha Assembly Hall along with its sacred objects and shrine rooms. Ga from the name Ga Ling[9 ] is a sub-category of the six principal Tibetan clans. In ancient times, there was a region that was cut off from the Ga clan and was known as the Land of Asha.[10 ] Due to the fact that the people [in that region] were not able to [properly] pronounce Ling, the word corrupted to Len.[11 ] ​ Legend has it that when Anyen Dampa was travelling to China, he removed his saddle [to rest] at Galenteng and over time, the meaning of Galen[12 ] was said to derive from this [anecdote]. ​ However, concerning this statement, Namkhai Norbu (1938–2018)[13 ] comments, “Since Anyen Dampa was riding a horse while traveling to China and while returning to Tibet, he would have unsaddled his horse every day. If [it is like the legend asserts], then all those areas in China and Tibet would be called Galenteng!” Consequently, since this place is in the center of the Land of Asha, the principal area of the ancient Ga descendants, it is conventionally known as Galing. ​ After Lang Darma was set upon the throne the Buddha’s doctrine greatly diminished, and it was at this time that Lhalung Pelgi Dorje murdered him and then rode out in the direction of Do Kham [to escape]. ​ When he [arrived and] set his lotus feet upon Galingteng, he saw that it was a marvelous place and constructed a square meditation building without a pillar. There he practiced for a few months. Since the families of the Asha [region] were well-disposed toward the teachings, they paid great respect and service toward Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje. ​ However, he did not continue to reside in the area, and he travelled to the nearby cave of the Secret Lord, which had been blessed by Guru Pema. This place is in the central mountain of the supreme secret site of the peaceful and wrathful deities of the three families. This is where he spent the rest of his life, later passing into a body of rainbow light. ​ [In a later period], Lord Ling Repa (of the Pakdru Kagyu) arrived at Galingteng and restored the meditation building of Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje. It is also where he taught the excellent teachings to the people of that land for a few months and built an additional square meditation building equal in size to the [other] meditation building. In that place, he accepted a few disciples, and their lineage holders resided there until [very] recently. ​ Thereafter, when the teacher Ga Anyen Dampa was travelling from China to Tibet, he set his lotus feet upon Galingteng in Do Kham, arriving at the meditation building of Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje. There he constructed a protectors’ temple called Utter Victory Over Mara . It was from that period that the transmissions of the secret mantra of the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya [traditions] were continued without partiality. These teachings became the tradition of Lhalung Pelgyi [Dorje] of Galing. ​ At a later time when the dharma lord Tenpa Tsering was building twenty-five temples[14 ] in Derge, he built Galingteng’s Completely Victorious Teachings of the Buddha Assembly Hall . [At that time] there were Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje’s meditation building and the outer and inner meditation [sections] of the lord of adepts Ling Repa’s meditation building. Frescos of the Kagyu and Nyingma [traditions] could be seen in the central and left shrine halls of the temple. Up until recently the shrine hall to the left, in particular, was set with statues of the peaceful and wrathful guru as well as the twenty-five disciples consisting of the lord and his subjects.[15 ] That shrine hall was widely known as The Nyingma Shrine Room .[16 ] ​ Following the example of the prayer festival[17 ] in Lhasa, the king of Dege inaugurated the practice of The Great Six Assemblies of the Convocation [18 ] at Lhundrubteng’s Gonchen Monastery[19 ] and its seven subsidiary monasteries within which Galing Monastery is included. ​ Later, the tradition of appointing an abbot from Ngor Tartse, [a guru’s residence at Ngor Ewam Choden Monastery],[20 ] at [Galingteng Monastery] flourished. This abbot was known as Rongpo Yarmar.[21 ] Many excellent and great beings came including: Sanggye Lhundrub[22 ] a guru of scholars and adepts, Ronpo Sherab Chozang,[23 ] and guru Nawang Pelden.[24 ] As the teachings from the previous tradition of Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje diminished, the people there considered it to be a monastery of the glorious Ngor [tradition]. ​ More recently, many gurus of the Nyingtik , or Heart Essence, lineage came including the teacher-student pair of Galing Guru Kunga Pelden [25 ] and Khyentse Chokyi Wangchuk.[26 ] Once again the teachings of Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, spread. ​ Thus, for over nine-hundred years since the founding of this monastery, excellent and great beings who continued to come to [Galingteng] built many sacred objects and shrine rooms. Yet most importantly, during the time of the previous Galing Khyentse, a list was arranged containing names of the [sacred buildings and objects] that had been [at the monastery]. As mentioned beforehand, there is the four-pillared Completely Victorious Teachings of the Buddha Assembly Hall constructed by the dharma lord Tenpa Tsering, Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje’s meditation building, the lord of adepts Ling Repa’s meditation building that has outer and inner [sections], the temple of Rongpo Yarmar, the temple shrine room which is of the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya [traditions], Ga Anyen Dampa’s protectors’ temple called Utter Victory Over Mara , a giant prayer wheel, another shrine room, Galing Khyentse’s palace, and living quarters for over eighty monks. When it comes to the principal sacred objects, they include a pair of statues of the Buddha about a cubit high made of the Indian alloy called li khra ,[27 ] a statue of the Mahakala’s Warm Bird[28 ] handcrafted by teacher Ga Anyen (It is widely known that at the heart of this statue remains the warmth of a bird.), three statues of a peaceful guru, a wrathful guru, and a lion guru, a statue of Vajrabhairava, a statue of Derge’s protector Nyenchen Getok Buzik Je, [29 ] a golden reliquary inlaid with precious stones, and cymbals called Dzamling Yezhag , which were famously brought by a garuda (These are said to be imprinted with the beak of the garuda.). ​ Concerning the source of offerings such as the expenditure for conducting practices at this monastery: Previously, the followers[30 ] of the monastery were from six settlements—three settlements of Gyachu and three from Lezil .[31 ] Now, there are only the three settlements of Lezil (The other set of three does not exist.). They present offerings such as grains, butter, and cheese. The local Tibetan governing regimental commanders known as Khyung and Ton[32 ] respected Galing Guru Kunga Pelden as their main guru. As such, there are many taxed farmlands from places such as Korlo Valley, Khar Sum Valley, and Mar Rongnang,[33 ] which have been collected together. ​ This monastery has four main administrators and around twenty service workers. Each of the main administrators hold their responsibilities for seven years. However, during the Cultural Revolution, the monastery’s sacred objects and shrine rooms were completely destroyed, and only the name remained. ​ These days the temple, the statues of the Buddha and his principal retinue as well as the statues of Guru [Rinpoche] and his principal retinue have been newly constructed. More than forty monks [currently] reside at the monastery. [1] 'khor lo mdo [2] glang dar ma or u'i dum bstan/'u dum bstan (Tri Üdum Tsen), BDRC P2MS13219 There are various dates put forth concerning the time period of Lang Darma, but here we are presenting from Dates in Tibetan History and Key Events in Neighboring Lands in The Tibetan History Reader, edited by Tuttle Gray and Schaeffer Kurtis R., Xv–Xxiii. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. [3] lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje, BDRC P6986 [4] The script in the text is unclear if it is 1005 or 1006. Regardless, these dates need to be taken into consideration with the proposed dating of Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje and Lang Darma. See note above. [5] gling ras pa pad+ma rdo rje, BDRC P910 [6] sga a gnyan dam pa kun dga' grags pa, BDRC P2612 [7] bdud las rnam rgyal. [8] sde dge rgyal po 10 bstan pa tshe ring, BDRC P4095 [9] sga gling [10] 'a zha'i yul [11] len [12] sga len [13] nam kha'i nor bu [14] The clause here is: dus phyis chos rgyal bstan pa tshe ring gis sde dge las dgon nyi shu rtsa lnga bzhengs pa'i du|. We have consulted a handful of Tibetan and Western Tibetologists concerning las dgon and have not yet come to a definitive answer. According to Jann Ronis’ work The Deeds of the Dergé King in Sources of Tibetan Tradition edited by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Matthew T. Kapstein, and Gray Tuttle, 607–614, New York: Columbia University Press, 2013, Tenpa Tsering constructed seventeen temples during his reign. There are, additionally, twenty-five major Sakya temples in Dege; however, the translators have not found a corroborating list. It has also been suggested that these are statues of the Raven-Faced Mahākāla (las mgon, Kakamukha Mahākāla), a retinue protector figure of Catubhuja Mahākāla. If you are able to provide any help in this matter, please contact Tib Shelf. [15] rje 'bangs nyer lnga [16] snying ma'i lha khang [17] smon lam [18] 'dzoms pa’i drug 'du chen mo [19] lhun grub steng, BDRC G193 [20] ngor thar rtse and Ngor e waM chos ldan, BDRC G211 [21] rong po yar mar [22] sangs rgyas lhun grub [23] rong po shes rab chos bzang [24] ngag dbang dpal ldan [25] kun dga' dpal ldan, BDRC P6963 [26] mkhyen brtse chos kyi dbang phyug [27] This is said to be made from gold, silver, zinc, and iron. [28] mgon po byi'u drod ma [29] gnyen chen gad thog bug zig rje [30] lha sde [31] brgya chu shog and Le zil shog [32] khyung, BDRC C11MS134 and ston [33] 'khor lo mdo, mkhar sum mdo, and dmar rong nang NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY 'Jigs med bsam grub. 1995. Sga len dgon pa (sde dge rdzong) . In Dkar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so so'i lo rgyu gsal bar bshad pa, vol. 1, pp. 240–241. Beijing: Khrung go'i bod kyis shes rig dpe skrun khang. BDRC W19997 COLOPHON None The History of Galenteng Monastery Abstract A short text concerning Galenteng Monastery purportedly initially established by Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje. Its construction, linage affiliation, pronunciation, and orthography changed over time lending itself to a multitude of modifications. BDRC LINK W19997 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION VIEW TRANSLATION AUTHOR Jigme Samdrup TRADITION Nyingma | Kagyu | Sakya FOUNDED 1005/1006 REGION Derge ASSOCIATED PEOPLE Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje Ling Repa Anyen Dampa The Tenth Derge King, Tenpa Tsering Sanggye Lhundrub Ronpo Sherab Chozang Guru Nawang Pelden Kunga Pelden Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Wangchuk TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INCARNATION LINES – The History of Galenteng Monastery Alongside our own publications, Tib Shelf peer reviews and publishes the works of aspiring and established Tibetologists. If you would like to publish with us or request our translation services, please get in touch , our team would be pleased to help. TIB SHELF Contact ​ 40 Okehampton London NW10 3ER ​ shelves@tibshelf.org +44 (0) 203 983 7265 Follow Us ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Instagram Facebook TIB SHELF SUBMIT A TRANSLATION SUBSCRIBE ALL PUBLICATIONS BIOGRAPHICAL GOVERNMENTAL MISCELLANEOUS CONTEMPORARY INSTITUTIONAL BUDDHIST