The Treasury of Lives

Lha Lama Yeshe Wo (lha bla ma ye shes 'od) was born in 947 towards the end of the turbulent period of fragmentation (sil bu'i skabs; 847-1264) in the region of Ngari (mnga' ris), western Tibet. His birth name was Song Nge (srong nge) which, according to Katok Rigdzin Tsewang Norbu (kaH thog rig 'dzin tshe dbang nor bu, 1698-1755), is an archaic word meaning "sage class" (drang srong lde).[1] Later, as he became ruler of the Guge Kingdom (gu ge), it was lengthened to Tri Desong Tsuktsen (khri lde srong gtsug btsan). Yeshe Wo's bloodline can be traced back to the Yarlung Kings of central Tibet via the lineage of O Sung ('od srung), one of the sons of the last emperor Lang Darma (glang dar ma). Their great empire had toppled in 841 following Lang Darma's assassination, leaving the Tibetan lands fractured without a central ruling authority and the Buddhist teachings without royal patronage. It was out of this political and religious turmoil that Lha Lama Yeshe Wo would famously rise to power in the Western kingdom of Guge and work to revitalize Buddhism. 

Yeshe Wo was born to his father Detsuk Gon (lde gtsug mgon) and mother Zang Khama (zangs kha ma). While virtually nothing is known of his mother, his father's history is described in great detail, although accounts differ. The most widely accepted is in Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa's (dpa' bo gtsug lag phreng ba) A Feast for Scholars (chos 'byung mkhas pa’i dga’ ston). According to this source, Detsuk Gon was one of the three sons of Kyide Nyima Gon (skyid lde nyima mgon), who had fled from central Tibet following the assassination of his father Pal Khortsen (dpal 'khor btsan, 893-923)[2] and traveled to Ngari where, in 947, he took control of this western kingdom. As a result, his three sons—Rikpa Gon (rig pa mgon) the elder, Tashi Gon (bkra shis mgon) the middle, and Detsuk Gon the younger—would come to inherit his kingdom. Hence, these three sons became known as the three upperland protectors (stod kyi mgon gsum), with uplands (stod) being a term often used to describe Ngari, as in the renowned phrase "the three districts of the uplands of Ngari" (stod mgna' ris skor gsum). Each of Nyima Gon's three sons were to inherit one section of his kingdom. Rikpa Gon took over Ladakh (la dwags), Tashi Gon took over Purang (spu hreng), and Detsuk Gon took control of Guge.

As the heir to the Guge Kingdom Yeshe Wo took two wives. The first was Princess Sengkarma (btsun mo seng dkar ma) who bore two children, Tride Gontsen (khri lde mgon btsan) and Lhakhor Tsen (lha 'khor btsan). These two sons would also later ordain taking the names Devarāja (de ba rA dza) and Nāgarāja (nA ga rA dza) respectively. The other wife whose name remains unknown bore a daughter by the name of Lhai Metok (lha'i me tog). 

In the earth ox year of 989 that, at the age of thirty-one, Song Nge ordained and received his religious name of Yeshe Wo (lit. "wisdom light"). The preceding title of Lha Lama indicates that he was of divine (lha), that is, royal descent and a religious figure (bla ma) in his own right. Hence, it is clear that he was simultaneously recognized as being a political and religious authority. In fact, Yeshe Wo is perhaps the first monastic political leader, a model that would become common in later Tibetan political systems. Thus, with both political and religious standing, Yeshe Wo set about rekindling the embers of the Buddhist teachings that had suffered greatly with the loss of royal patronage during the collapse of Imperial Tibet.

To reestablish Buddhism's standing in Tibetan society, he oversaw the construction of the Toling Golden Temple (mtho lding gser gyi lha khang) in the fire monkey year of 996, which would become a major center of Buddhist activity. Following this, Yeshe Wo, mirroring the activities of Emperor Tri Song Detsen (khri srong lde'u btsan, 742-796), sent twenty-one young and bright-minded Tibetans to study in India (in actuality Kashmir). Of these twenty-one, nineteen died on the journey due to the foreign climate, disease, and other conditions, leaving only Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po, 958-1055) and Drakjor Sherab (grags 'byor shes rab) also known as Lekpai Sherab (legs pa'i shes rab) to return. Similar to how the mass translation of Buddhist texts help fuel the early dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet (bstan pa'i snga dar), the great translation efforts of Rinchen Zangpo among other lotsāwa was a major condition in bringing about the latter dissemination (phyi dar). As Buddhism slowly regained footing, two different vinaya lineages emerged, the western vinaya (stod 'dul) in Ngari and the eastern vinaya (smad 'dul) in Amdo. 

The visits to Tibet of Indian teachers and the return of Tibetans who had studied in India to set up monasteries  largely occurred on the local level. With the lack of a centralized authority controlling how these new transmissions were to be interpreted and practiced, numerous instances of unorthodoxy and charlatanism sprung up. This was particularly the case with the tantras and the antinomian practices they detailed, more so than with the sutras. Seeking to counter what he considered to be a degeneration, Yeshe Wo composed his famous decree Refutation of Unorthodox Tantra (sngags log sun 'byin). There are several other texts he is said to have composed but this is the only one that survives. Several passages are worth quoting:

Presently, with our karma exhausted and the royal laws in decline,
Heretical teachings bearing the name of the Great Perfection have spread in Tibet.
Wrong and unorthodox views have completely taken over the land.
Fraudulent tāntrikas calling themselves Dharma practitioners have spread in Tibet.
…
Local gods and nāgā are glorified with smoke offerings,
Is such behavior the Great Vehicle or what?
…
The killing of living beings with "liberation" will karmically ripen
Into being reborn as a flesh eating rākṣa—O what a shame!
The escalating of lustful desires through "union" will karmically ripen
Into being reborn as bacteria in the womb—O what a shame!

It is clear from these passages that Yeshe Wo's primary concern was how the tantric methods of "union and liberation" (sbyor sgrol), that is sexual yoga and ritual violence, were being misunderstood and misused to the detriment of the teachings and, additionally, how indigenous Bon practices were becoming mixed with the Buddhism. Indeed, there was at this time great discussion over whether the tantras were intended to be taken literally. While Yeshe Wo did not explicitly forbid the practice of tantra, his legal systems did issue punishments for forsaking the three jewels, engaging in heterodox practices, and so forth. Indeed, we can see at this time the beginning of the Kadam movement's emphasis on ethical conduct and reservations about tantric practices emerging with Yeshe Wo. 

As a further step in his reformation of religion in Tibet, Yeshe Wo sought to invite an Indian master to Tibet. The legend states that he conferred an abundance of gold upon Tsondru Sengge (brtson 'grus seng ge) of the Gya clan (rgya) with the hopes of inviting the renowned master Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna (982-c. 1055). The invitation of Atiśa to Tibet, however, was not successful. As Lha Lama persisted in summoning the great master, the kingdom of Karluk (gar log), a powerful confederacy of nomadic Turkic tribes, brought war upon Guge. The Karluks sought his ransom asking for his weight in gold, at which Yeshe Wo instructed his nephew Jangchub Wo to not use the gold on him, but to continue to use it to invite Atiśa. Despite how widespread this martyr myth has become, it is a historical inaccuracy that comes from conflating Yeshe Wo with his nephew, Lhade (lha lde). Given that the earliest biography, The Detailed Life Story of Lha Lama Yeshe Wo (lha bla ma ye shes 'od kyi rnam thar rgyas pa) by Guge Paṇḍita Drakpa Gyeltsen (gu ge paN+Di ta grags pa rgyal mtshan), does not chronicle his death, it may be safe to assume that he passed away naturally in the kingdom of Guge.