The Treasury of Lives

Dampa Rinpoche Ngawang Lodro Zhenpen Nyingpo (dam pa rin po che ngag dbang blo gros gzhan phan snying po) was born in Rong Mentang (rong sman thang), Tsang, in 1876, the fire-mouse year. His family belonged to the Nub clan (gnubs rigs), which counts Namkhai Nyingpo (nam mkha'i snying po, eighth century) and Nubchen Sanggye Yeshe (sangs rgyas ye shes, ninth century ) as members. An elder brother was an abbatial candidate (zhabs drung) who lived for a time at Gozi Monastery  (mgo zi dgon) in Lingtsang, an important affiliate institution of the Khangsar Labrang (khang gsar bla brang) at Ngor Ewaṃ Choden Monastery (ngor e waM chos ldan).

The Fifty-Ninth Ngor Khenchen, Khangsar Ngawang Lodro Nyingpo (ngor mkhan chen 59 khang gsar ngag dbang blo gros snying po, d. 1905/1906) gave him his novice vows. This lama presumably also gave him the name by which he was known, Ngawang Lodro Zhenpen Nyingpo, and selected him as an abbatial candidate for the Khangsar Labrang at Ngor. He is described as having been devout and accomplished in his youth.^[1]

In order to stand for the abbacy of Ngor Dampa Rinpoche had to pass the standard four minor examinations (rgyugs chung bzhi) on four "small" tantric texts (rgyud chung bzhi). These texts were the Hevajra Tantra, the Tenth Ngor Khenchen Konchok Lhundrub's (ngor mkhan chen 10 dkon mchog lhun grub, 1497–1557) Ornament to Beautify the Jeweled Tree (ljon shing mdzes rgyan) and Ornament to Beautify the Three Means (tshul gsum mdzes rgyan), and Sakya Paṇḍita's (sa skya paN Di ta, 1182–1251) Distinguishing the Three Vows (sdom gsum rab dbye). In addition he had to memorize seven treatises: Sachen Kunga Nyingpo's (sa chen kun dga' snying po, 1092–1158) Fragments of the Tantras (rgyud sde'i dum bu); Sonam Tsemo's (bsod nams rtse mo, 1142–1182) General System of Tantras (rgyud sde spyi'i rnam gshag); Drakpa Gyeltsen's Tree of Realization (mngon rtog ljon shing), Summarizing Outline (stong thun), Eulogy to the Father Hevajra in Daṇḍaka Metre (yab kyi bstod pa daNDa ka), and Immaculate Ornament Eulogy to the Mother Nairātmyā (yum gyi bstod pa dri ma med pa'i rgyan); and Sakya Paṇḍita's Commentary on the Eulogy to Nairātmyā (bdag med bstod pa'i rnam 'grel).[2]

Around the year 1890, at the end of his nearly ten-year tenure as abbot of Ngor, Ngawang Lodro Nyingpo lost a court case against the Tartse Labrang (thar rtse bla brang) and was forced to pay a heavy fine, impoverishing the Khangsar Labrang. As a result, he went on an extensive fund-raising tour of Kham, Amdo, and Mongolia, and he seems to have brought Dampa Rinpoche with him for the first leg of the journey. In Derge, Dampa Rinpoche had the good fortune to have encountered both Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam mgon kong sprul, 1813–1899) and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820–1893), who inspired him with their ecumenical approach to the teachings of the Buddha.^[3] He was able to meet the famous seminarian Khenpo Zhenga Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa (mkhan po gzhan dga' gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba, 1871–1927), who was then serving as the nineteenth abbot of Śrī Siṃha College of Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon).

Khenpo Zhenga posed questions about Sakya doctrine which Dampa Rinpoche, who had yet to study scripture, was ashamed to be unable to answer. This incident inspired the young man to train under Khenpo Zhenga, but when he asked to be admitted Khenpo Zhenga told him that since he had been sent to Kham to raise funds for Khangsar, he ought to do so. The master further told the young man that he doubted he had the stamina to pursue studies. Khenpo Zhenga was then instructing his disciples in challenging circumstances in the hills above Dzogchen Monastery, across a large swamp from the monastery.^[4]

Dampa Rinpoche went to his elder brother at Guzi Monastery ('gu zi dgon), and also spoke to his nephew (sku tsha), a man named Drakra Dorjechang Chokyi Nyima (brag ra rdo rje 'chang 'jam dbyangs chos kyi nyi ma), who was a close disciple of Jamyang Loter Wangpo ('jam dbyangs blo gter dbang po, 1847–1914). His brother, approving of Dampa Rinpoche's aspirations to study, offered to supply him with provisions and to send donations to Khangsar on his behalf.^[5]

According to Dampa Rinpoche's hagiography, the night before he arrived at Dzogchen, with an attendant and several pack-mules laden with supplies, Khenpo Zhenga had a dream in which five variously-colored ḍākini told him that the next day a student would arrive who would achieve great heights of religious accomplishment. Thus when Dampa Rinpoche approached he was welcomed with a formal reception by the master and his disciples.^[6] It was Khenpo Zhenga who gave him his title, Dampa Rinpoche.^[7]

While at Dzogchen he received instruction according to Khenpo Zhenga's curricula based on thirteen Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures. He was also committed to training in Sakya epistemology, using Sakya Paṇḍita's Treasury of Valid Reasoning (tshad ma rigs gter), for which he was teased by the other monks. Nevertheless he made sure that the other Sakya monks who were then studying with Khenpo Zhenga, including Dezhung Anjam Jamyang Kunga Tenpai Gyeltsen (sde gzhung a 'jam 'jam dbyangs kun dga' bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, 1885–1952), Ga Lama Jamyang Gyeltsen (sga bla ma 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, 1870–1940), and Lama Gendun Zangpo (bla ma dge 'dun bzang po, c. 1880–1940) all trained in the topic as well.^[8]

Dampa Rinpoche studied with other lamas in Kham, including Gaton Ngawang Lekpa (sga ston ngag dbang legs pa, 1864–1941, Nyiga Kunga Nyima (nyi dga' kun dga' nyi ma, 1846–1925), and the abbot of Derge Gonchen (sde dge dgon chen), Khenchen Samten Lodro (bsam gtan blo gros, 1886–1931). Jamyang Loter Wangpo, assisted by Drakra Dorjechang, gave him the Lamdre transmission. They also transmitted certain oral transmissions of the Sakya tradition, and the Mahākāla Cycle (mgon po'i chos skor) of Karma Chakme (karma chags med, 1613–1678) and Loter Wangpo's important scriptural collections, the Compendium of Sādhanas (sgrub thabs kun btus) and the Compendium of Tantras (rgyud sde kun btus). This occurred at Loter Wangpo's hermitage Lhundrub Yangtse (lhun grub yang rtse).^[9] The latter works were inspired by Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kongtrul's textual collections, which as a group represent the ecumenical spirit of the region at that time.

Dampa Rinpoche appears to have participated in the founding of Dzongsar's Khamshe College (khams byed grwa tshang) in 1918, a project headed by his teacher Khenpo Zhenga. According to his hagiography, he battled local demonic forces to permit the construction.^[10] David Jackson speculates that Shugden (shugs ldan) may have been among the figures he subjugated, and that later, when the Ngor monastic college was established, Shugden again created obstacles that needed to be cleared.^[11]

On returning to Ngor in the Spring of 1922 Dampa Rinpoche ascended to the abbacy of the monastery. On the occasion of his enthronement, Khenpo Zhenga sent a verse spoken by the five ḍākini in his dream.^[12] He served two terms as the Sixty-Fifth Ngor Khenchen (ngor mkhan chen 65), from 1922 to 1924, and again in 1926, when his successor, Sharchen Gyelse Jamyang Chokyi Nyima (shar chen rgyal sras 'jam dbyangs chos kyi nyi ma, 1872–1926) passed away while giving the annual Lamdre teachings. Dampa Rinpoche stepped in to complete the teaching and, possibly, the remainder of the term of office.^[13]

During his service at Ngor his former classmate, Lama Gendun, traveled to the monastery with his nephew, Ngawang Yonten Gyatso, who would later be known as the Bhutan Abbot ('brug mkhan po ngag dbang yon tan rgya mtsho, 1902–c.1963). Dampa Rinpoche gave the young man his ordination, and the name by which he is known to history—Jamgon Kongtrul's ordination name—and he later appointed him as an abbatial candidate from the Khangsar palace. Ngawang Yonten Gyatso later served as the  Sixty-Ninth Ngor Khenchen.^[14] Jackson surmises that it was Lama Dampa who inspired the Bhutan Abbot's crusade against Shugden.^[15]

Following the completion of his tenure, Dampa Rinpoche continued to transmit the Sakya scriptures, primarily the Lamdre Lobshe (lam 'bras slob bshad) and Tsokshe (lam 'bras tshogs bshad) and the two great collections compiled by Loter Wangpo. He was one of the main transmitters of the two later works. He gave the Compendium of Tantras for the first time at Ngor in the late 1920s. In 1936 he gave the transmission of the Compendium of Sādhanas for the first time at Tanak Tubten Monastery (rta nag thub bstan dgon), where the recipients included Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso (ngag dbang mkhas grub rgya mtsho, b. 1917), who would serve as the Seventieth Ngor Khenchen, and Chobgye Trichen Rinpoche Tubten Lekshe Gyatso (bco brgyad khri chen rin po che thub bstan legs bshad rgya mtsho, 1920-2007).^[16] At the same monastery, in 1938, he gave the Compendium of Tantras for the second time. He gave the Lamdre Lobshe transmission at Mu Takmo Lingkha (mus stag mo gling kha) in 1947 and again at Tsedong (rtse gdong dgon) that same year.^[17]

Dampa Rinpoche lived at Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon) for three years, from 1944 to 1946. During that time he gave the Compendium of Tantras for the third time.

In the late 1940s, while living at Serdokchen Monastery (gser mdog chen dgon) he transmitted the Compendium of Sādhanas for the second time, and he gave the Third Dezhung Rinpoche, Kunga Tenpai Nyima (sde gzhung rin po che 03 kun dga' bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1906–1987) an Avalokiteśvara transmission which the latter in turn gave to Jamyang Chokyi Lodro Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959) in the mid-1950s at Dzongsar.

In 1952, at Ngor, he gave the Lamdre transmission, together with part of the Compendium of Sādhanas, to a host of prominent Sakya figures, including the eight-year-old Ngawang Kunga Tekchen Pelbar (ngag dbang kun dga' theg chen dpal 'bar, b. 1945), who would later serve as the Forty-First Sakya Trizin. He was able to complete only the first half of the transmission before his death that year.^[18]

Dampa Rinpoche, in addition to his abilities in subjugating obstructive spirits, was also skilled in rainmaking. He lived at Pelkhor Chode (dpal 'khor chos sde) for a year, during which time a drought affected the region. According to the hagiography multiple lamas attempted to bring rain, but only Dampa Rinpoche was successful, which apparently impressed the British soldiers who were then stationed there.^[19]

He was also actively involved in the construction of temples, such as at Ngor, in 1943, where he supervised the installation of the Śākyamuni Buddha image. The temple was sponsored by his predecessor, the Sixty-Fourth Ngor Khenchen, Jamyang Kunzang Tubten Chokyi Gyeltsen (ngor mkhan chen 64 'jam dbyangs kun bzang thub bstan chos kyi rgyal tshan, 1903–1960).^[20]

Dampa Rinpoche had many prominent disciples. They included Khangsar Zhabdrung Dorje Dzinpa Ngawang Tendzin Nyinpo (khang gsar zhab drung rdo rje 'dzin pa ngag dbang bstan 'dzin snying po); the Seventieth Ngor Khenchen, Pende Khenchen Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso (ngor mkhan chen 70 phan bde mkhan chen ngag dbang mkhas grub rgya mtsho, b. 1917); the Seventy-Second Ngor Khenchen, Luding Khenchen Sharchen Jamyang Thubten Luntok Chokyi Gyeltsen (ngor mkhan chen 72 klu sding mkhan chen shar chen 'jam dbyangs thub bstan lung rtogs chos kyi rgya mtsho), Sakya Lhakhang Khenchen Jampel Zangpo (sa skya lha khang mkhan chen 'jam dpal bzang po, 1901–1960); the Seventy-Third Ngor Khenchen, Khangsar Khenpo Ngawang Khyentse Tubten Nyingpo (ngor mkhan chen 73 khang gsar mkhan po ngag dbang mkhyen brtse thub bstan snying po, 1913–1988), the Seventy-Fourth Ngor Khenchen, Tartse Khenchen Ngawang Sonam Gyatso (ngor mkhan chen 74 thar rtse mkhan chen ngag dbang bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1933–1987); and Tanak Khenchen Mipam Ngagi Wangchuk (rta nag mkhan chen mi pham ngag gi dbang phyug, 1902–1960).

He gave full ordination to Chobgye Trichen Rinpoche in 1939.^[21] His disciple Tanak Khenchen Mipam Ngakgi Wangchuk is said to have begun a biography of Dampa Rinpoche but left it unfinished in 1959.^[22]

Dampa Rinpoche passed away on the eleventh day of the fourth month of the water-snake year, May 24, 1953. He is said to have several times extended his life in response to the pleading of his disciples, each time crediting his success on his refuge in the Three Jewels, and instructing his students that there was no greater practice than this.^[23]

 

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