The Treasury of Lives

The Seventh Ganden Tripa, Trichen Lodro Tenpa (dga' ldan khri pa 07 khri chen blo gros brtan pa) was born at Shangdron Khang in Tsang (gtsang gi shangs mgron khang) in 1402, the water-horse year of the seventh sexagenary cycle. He was given the primary monastic vows (rab byung) at a young age in Nenying (gnas rnying).

Lodro Tenpa became a disciple of Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (rje tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357-1419) and Gyeltsabje Darma Rinchen (rgyal tshab dar ma rin chen, 1364-1432) and received various teachings on both sutra and tantra from them. Lodro Tenpa became a great scholar in the teachings of Maitreya, which became central works in the Geluk monastic curriculum.

Lodro Tenpa served as the teacher at Sangpu Khupe Dratsang (gsang phu khu spe grwa tshang) for few years. Shortly after Tsongkhapa’s completion of his masterpiece, the Lamrim Chenmo (lam rim chen mo), Lodro Tenpa paid a visit to Tsongkhapa, who gave him a copy of the text and exhorted him to establish a monastery in the southern region of Tibet where the teachings contained in the text would be taught, studied, and put into practice. Lodro Tenpa gathered a number of his students and established a community in Dakpo with monastic environment. This was Dakpo Dratsang (dwags po grwa tshang), also known as Dakpo Shedrubling (dwags po bshad grub gling) and Lamrim Dratsang (lam rim grwa tshang) because of its connection with the Lamrim Chenmo. It became one of the main monasteries for educational center in the region of southern Tibet in the mid-fifteenth century.

Lodro Tenpa then travelled to Yarto (yar stod) and so forth and gave teachings as in response to the requests of his followers. He composed commentarial texts on all the five treatises of Maitriya except the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. He also composed texts on logic and other topics.

He had a number of disciples including Yabzang Chennga Dorje Rinchen (g.ya' bzang spyan lnga rdo rje rin chen, d.u.), Dakpo Lodro Taye (dwags po blo gros mtha' yas, d.u.), Drakpa Taye (grags pa mtha' yas, d.u.), and Ngawang Drakpa (ngag dbang grags pa).

Lodro Tenpa appointed Ngawang Drakpa to serve as the education master of Dakpo Dratsang and subsequently travelled to Lhasa and joined Ganden Jangtse Monastery (dga' ldan byang rtse grwa tshang). At the age of seventy-two Lodro Tenpa was enthroned to abbatial seat as the Seventh Ganden Tripa in 1473, and serving for about six years, until 1478. During his tenure he gave many comprehensive teachings on the topics of both sutra and tantra. Finally at the age of seventy-seven, in 1478, the earth-dog year of the eighth sexagenary cycle in 1478, Trichen Lodro Tenpa passed into nirvana.