The Treasury of Lives

Getse Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub (dge rtse 'gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub) was born in 1761 into the Getse tribe of nomads. The Getse tribe spent at least part of the year in the highlands of northern Kandze County and likely spent other periods in the Serta region. Before Getse Paṇḍita's birth, his father Lobzang Tsultrim (blo bzang tshul khrims), a former monk, had many conflicts with his family, tribe, and the Derge government, to the point of being imprisoned for several years. By the time Getse Paṇḍita was born he had already returned to the good graces of the community and was the leader of the tribe. His mother, Dokhoma (rdo kho ma), was the daughter of the chief of the Chakmo clan of Golok (lcags mo 'gu log). Getse was the second child, following the birth of a sister. Four younger sisters followed.^[1]

In his autobiography, Getse wrote that as a young boy, he would play at being a monk and was very ethical. His family members took notice and at one point his paternal uncle asked, "Who are you?" to which replied, "I am Tsewang Trinle" (tshe dbang phrin las).^[2] His parents, suspecting he was a reincarnated lama, feared losing their son and heir to a monastery. It was indeed a fateful declaration, and one that pointed to his future at Katok Monastery (kaH thog dgon); Tsewang Trinle was a nephew of Longsel Nyingpo (klong gsal snying po, 1625–1672), the man whose revelations were central to the community, and had served as the manager of Katok after the death of Longsel Nyingpo's son Sonam Detsen (bsod nams lde'u btsan, early 1670s–1723).

The first lama to recognize the child as a tulku was Dzogchen Won Padma Kundrol Namgyel (rdzogs chen dbon pad+ma kun grol rnam rgyal, b. 1706), who visited the Getse tribe when the boy was about six or seven years old. Following a public initiation, the lama noticed Getse and, bestowing a Vidāraṇa cleansing ritual, said, "Certainly this one will benefit the teachings of Katok. He should not live at home. He should go there."^[3]

The two leaders of Katok at that time—Drime Zhingkyong Gonpo (dri med zhing skyong mgon po, b. 1724) and Moktsa Namkha Chowang (rmog rtse nam mkha' chos dbang, d. 1784)—subsequently confirmed the recognition. Moktsa is said to have had a vision indicating that the young son of the leader of the Getse tribe was indeed the reincarnation of Tsewang Trinle and formalized the recognition. Drime Zhingkyong and Moktsa named the boy Rigdzin Mingyur Yeshe (rig 'dzin mi 'gyur ye shes).^[4] The lamas overcame the reticence of the parents to accept the recognition with a threat that if the boy did not visit Katok that very year then disturbances would be visited on the family.^[5] Getse's father thus took him to Katok for the first time in 1767, when Getse was seven years old.

Getse and his father left Katok at the end of the year, stopping at Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon) on their way back home. They were received there by Padma Kundrol Namgyel, the lama who had initially recognized him. Getse would have close relations with Dzogchen lamas for his entire life.

Once back home, Getse met two more high lamas from Katok. The first was Zhichen Lama Kunzang Tenzin (gzhi chen bla ma kun bzang bstan 'dzin, d. 1776). Zhichen Lama cut Getse's hair, bestowed on him the vows of refuge, and gave him the name Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub ('gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub).^[6] Zhichen also gave Getse the reading transmission for Longsel Nyingpo's treasures, but time did not permit this lama to bestow the accompanying initiations. Chaktsa Kunzang Ngedon Wangpo (phyag tsha kun bzang nges don dbang po) also came to see the child.

In 1769 Getse's father went to see the king of Derge (or perhaps his representatives) in Horkhok (hor khog) to formally, if reluctantly, give his son to Katok and the Derge government, under whose control the monastery operated. The father's reticence was not merely for the loss of his son. He had reason to fear that the recognition would be taken as a tacit surrender of his tribe to Derge governance, functioning analogously to a marriage alliance between Derge and the previously restive Getse tribe.^[7] Soon after the negotiations were complete Getse moved permanently to Katok.

The First Phase of Getse's Training and Career

Two major phases can be seen in Getse's education and training, and eventual career as a high lama of Katok. The first phase spans from his childhood to the death of his master Zhingkyong in 1786, when Getse was twenty-six years old. During this formative part of his life, Getse's training in ritual and contemplation was centered on Longsel's treasures and the treasure cycles of earlier Nyingma lamas. The second phase of his career, by contrast, sees Getse devoting his considerable institutional resources towards reviving the kama (bka' ma), or received teachings, and establishing at Katok a balance between the traditions of kama and treasure (gter ma), or revelations.

Getse's main teachers were the four prominent reincarnate lamas of Katok, all of whom were in the first generations of their tulku lines. His education in rituals, meditation, and tantra began at age twelve. In 1772, Chaktsa Tulku gave him the reading transmission for nine volumes of an Eight Commands (bka’ brgyad) cycle of treasures. Chaktsa Tulku also taught him the strenuous subtle body yogic practices (rtsa rlung) from Dudul Dorje's (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672) treasures. Getse says he mastered the practice of heat yoga in just one month of training. That same year Moktsa Tulku gave him the reading transmissions for the liturgies of Nyangrel Nyima Wozer's (nyang ral nyi ma 'od zer, 1124/1136–1192/1204) Eight Commands cycle called the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde gzhegs 'dus pa) and all thirteen volumes of the Gathering of the Guru's Intention (bla ma dgongs 'dus).

Early in 1772, Getse joined a delegation of Katok lamas on a trip to Pelpung Monastery (dpal spungs dgon) to meet the Thirteenth Karmapa Dudul Dorje (karma pa 13 bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1734–1798). Getse was presented to Situ Paṇchen Chokyi Jungne (si tu paN chen chos kyi 'byung gnas, 1700–1774), the founder of Pelpung, who was impressed with the child.^[8] Getse also initiated a friendship with Belo Tsewang Kunkhyab ('be lo tshe dbang kun khyab), Situ Paṇchen's great student and biographer. Situ Paṇchen was renowned as a great scholar (paṇchen) in part because of his uncommon mastery of classical studies, including Sanskrit, the translation and editing of canonical works, poetics, medicine, and art. Situ is arguably the lama most responsible for Derge becoming a bastion of arts and literature in the last centuries of the premodern period.

Owing to the importance he placed on these subjects, Situ Paṇchen directed Moktsa Tulku to see to it that the young Getse received training in the literary arts. Getse would ultimately study Sanskrit grammar and poetics under several different masters and later became a sought-after teacher of the subjects. The final volume of his Collected Works contains, for example, his nearly 300 folia-side-long commentary on the Sarasvatī Sanskrit grammar. Getse also composed a masterful "exercise book" of the ornaments and sub-ornaments (poetic figures) as laid out in the Kāvyadarśa. In this exercise book Getse unites erudition and devotion by making Padmasambhava the subject of every single verse, of which there are over 125.

The following year, 1773, Getse reunited with Zhichen Kunzang Tenzin. This was a lama whom Getse had met years before while still a child living with his parents, and who had just completed a nine-year retreat. Zhichen seems to have been the most learned of the Katok tulkus and Getse began a short but formative tutorial under him. This lama taught the young Getse multiple important treasure-based liturgies and contemplations, in addition to Mahāmudra and the stories of the Buddha's previous lives.

In 1774 Zhingkyong gave Getse the initiation for one of the central kama tantras, the Gathering of the Guru's Intention (dgongs 'dus).^[9] Zhingkyong also gave him the reading transmission for Lochen Dharmaśrī's (blo chen dharma ShrI, 1754-1717) General Exposition of the Sūtra Initiation (mdo dbang spyi don). Additionally, Zhingkyong gave Getse the reading transmission for an important sub-commentary of the Guhyagarbha Tantra: Rabjam Orgyen Chodrak's (rab 'jam o rgyan chos grags, b. 1676) General Exposition of Lochen Dharmaśri's Ornament of the Lord of Secrets' Intention. Zhingkyong told Getse to memorize the text because later he would have to teach the Guhyagarbha to many assemblies.

At only fourteen years old, Getse gave instructions on the practice of Longsel Nyingpo's treasures (klong gsal khrid) to monks in Golok.^[10] This was the first of a lifetime of teachings on Longsel's treasures that Getse would give throughout Kham and Golok. The next year, 1775, Zhingkyong gave many more reading transmissions to Getse, including those for Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wanggyel's (ngari paN chen padma dbang rgyal, 1487–1542) Ascertaining the Three Vows (sdom gsum rnam par nges pa), Dudul Dorje's Triad of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities and Kīlaya (zhi khro phur gsum), Longsel Nyingpo's Inner Heart of Great Compassionate One (thugs chen yang snying), and the Mindroling liturgical collection Excellent Vase of Wish-fulfillment ('dod 'jo bum bzang).

In 1775, Zhichen gave Getse instruction on the Guhyagarbha Tantra, one of the central tantras of the Nyingma tradition. Zhichen taught him the content of Lochen Dharmaśri's Ornament of the Lord of Secret's Intention, the shorter of his two Guhyagarbha commentaries. These recently composed treatises of Mindroling (smin grol gling) had replaced commentaries written by past Katok masters, and Getse would affirm that he stood in a lineage that stemmed from Mindroling rather than the original Katok lineage, which presumably had been abandoned in the period following Longsel Nyingpo's administration of the monastery.^[11]

That same year, at the age of fifteen, Getse taught his first hundred-day training session on Longsel's treasures. This occurred in the Sangshar Valley (gsang shar mda') in Dralak (grwa lag) as part of an alms tour of his home region. He would lead similar training sessions throughout Kham over the course of his career.

As he began to teach, he continued receiving instructions and transmissions from multiple lamas. He also trained in public rituals, including the Great Tenth Day Festival (tshes bcu chen mo).^[12] He had earlier studied the Tse tradition (rtse lugs) of the Great Tenth Day liturgies under a lama from Dorje Drak Monastery (rdo rje brag dgon). Getse would later institute this festival as an annual occurrence at Katok, with the initial funding coming from the Derge royal court. In 1778, the newly renovated Kumbum Ringmo (sku 'bum ring mo) edifice at Katok was consecrated. The year before, Getse had composed an inventory (dkar chag) of it, which was painted by the side of the main door.

In the fall of 1778, Getse's father ordered him to return to Dralak to teach, apparently in response to a conflict between the locals and Moktsa Tulku. The next year, he established Dralak Monastery (grwa lag dgon), which would be his second home for the rest of his life—an act that seems to have eased the tensions. In the spring, Zhingkyong visited Dralak and declared the site to indeed be Getse's main seat. He gave the monks of his new monastery the reading transmission of the Vinaya before returning to Katok at the onset of winter.^[13]

In 1780, Getse, now aged twenty, made his first trip to southern Kham, down to Litang and Batang. From this point on, Getse traveled to southern Kham every few years, making it a major venue for his fundraising and teaching activities. The occasion for this first visit was the funeral of the chief of Zhaksar (gzhag gsar) in Litang. Longsel Nyingpo had come from this area and had taught at Zhaksar, and during this trip, Getse visited several of his treasure sites. He led a 100-day training session at Dechen Monastery (bde chen dgon) in Batang in the early months of the year, and he returned to Katok before the year was out.

Customarily, men are ordained at the age of twenty, and although Getse referred to himself in some of this writing as a monk, he failed to record any details of his ordination. It is probably the case that he never actually took full monastic ordination.

In the winter of 1780–81, Getse began to cement his close relations with the Derge royal court. At some point during this season, Getse accompanied Zhingkyong to an elaborate ceremony at the royal residence, the Changra Palace (lcang ra pho brang), in which blessed pills known as Maṇi Bumdrub (ma Ni bum sgrub) are produced and consecrated. The chief royal involved was the crown prince Sawang Zangpo (sad bang bzang po). Two years later, Getse would attend this prince's marriage and act as one of the chief chaplains to him and his wife. His bride, Tsewang Lhamo (tshe dbang lha mo, d. 1812), a daughter of the chief of Garje, in far southern Derge, became a stalwart supporter of Nyingma lamas in Derge and one of Getse's chief sponsors.

In 1785, Qingwang (親王) Sonam Dorje (bsod nams rdo rje), the leader of the Banner of the Left Side of the Ma River (rma chu),^[14] requested Katok to send a lama to the Mongolian regions of Amdo. Qingwang was the highest rank of Mongolian nobility, a rank given to princely descendants of Gushri Khan who were leaders of tribes around Lake Kokonor. Like some other Oirat Mongol leaders, Sonam Dorje was a patron of Nyingma lamas. Getse accepted the invitation and spent over a year touring monasteries and nomad communities in Qinghai and Gansu, returning to Dralak in 1786.^[15]

In the eleventh lunar month of that year year, Zhingkyong passed away. Zhichen had died in 1776, and Chaktsa and Moktsa sometime after that. Upon the death of Zhingkyong, therefore, the twenty-six-year-old Getse found himself in charge of Katok Monastery.

The year after Zhingkyong's death, 1787, Getse traveled to central Tibet to perform merit-making activities on behalf of his master. This would be his sole journey to the region. While there, he met with Jigme Lingpa ('jigs med gling pa, 1729–1798), the single most influential terton (gter ston), or treasure revealer, of the era. Getse spent only two days with Jigme Lingpa but during that time the treasure revealer initiated him into all of his treasures.^[16] Despite being an accomplished terton, Jigme Lingpa devoted much time to compiling an edition of the Collected Nyingma Tantras (rnying ma rgyud 'bum), a core section of the kama, and it is likely that Getse's emerging resolve to revive the kama was inspired by this meeting. Years later, when Getse edited the Derge edition of the Collected Nyingma Tantras, his primary source of texts and model of arrangement was Jigme Lingpa's manuscript edition.^[17]

Getse would later be a close collaborator of Jigme Lingpa's main student Dodrubchen Jigme Trinle Wozer (rdo grub chen 'jigs med 'phrin las 'od zer, 1745–1821), and would be a key teacher to Jigme Lingpa's reincarnation Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, 1800–1866). Getse had hoped to visit Mindroling Monastery on this trip but was unable due to an epidemic in the area. He returned to Katok late in 1788 after a journey taking more than a year, during which he met with Chankya Rolpai Dorje (lcang skya rol pa'i rdo rje, 1717–1786).[18]

The spring following his return from central Tibet, Getse became close with the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche Ati Tenpai Gyeltsen (rdzogs chen 03 a ti bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, 1759–1792), his eventual partner in the campaign to revive the kama in Kham. Both men were called to Derge in 1790, together with the other court chaplains, to conduct the funeral services for the young king, Sawang Zangpo.

The Mature Period: Getse's Merging of Kama and Terma at Katok

Over the last three decades of his life, Getse spearheaded a thorough transformation of Katok that was to have a long-term impact on the future of the institution. The Nyingma kama tradition had fallen out of favor ever since Longsel Nyingpo's treasures had been made central a century earlier. Getse revived the kama teaching at Katok in large part through importing the Mindroling tradition of kama practice and study. This began in 1791 with an invitation to Mindroling lamas, jointly issued with the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, to teach at Katok and Dzogchen. The Mindroling lamas arrived at Katok in the middle of 1791 and taught a class of fifty Katok monks over several months. Getse himself did not stay for the course but instead traveled to his personal monastery, Dralak Gon. At his monastery Getse led another training session on Longsel Nyingpo’s treasures and also composed a monastic customary for its retreat center.^[19]

The Guhyagarbha teachings enjoyed pride of place in Getse’s new formulation of the kama tradition at Katok. In the summer of 1793, he traveled to Batang for more training in the exegetical tradition of this tantra. He studied at Kacho Tsera Monastery (mkha' spyod rtse ra dgon) with a lama whom he did not name but whom he referred to as the "scholar's scholar and excellent lama" (mkhas dbang bla ma mchog),^[20] and who he noted had been a classmate of Zhingkyong's. This session seems to mark the last of his training in the kama; from this point on he began to transmit the tradition's initiations and tantric exegesis. The first time Getse is recorded to have delivered teachings on the kama, his audience included a minister in the Gyarong principality of Tsakho (tsa kho).

At the beginning of the next year, 1794, Getse gave his first teachings on the Guhyagarbha to monks at Katok Monastery. That spring, he began teaching the tantra to the reincarnations of Zhingkyong and Chaktsa.^[21]

Another facet of Getse's revival of the kama was his composition of commentaries on important rituals and tantras. A notable example is his treatise on the Guhyagarbha Tantra, written in 1814, called Set of Notes [To Be Consulted When Giving] Explanations on the Overview of the Guhyagarbha. Getse composed the work after teaching the tantra to the Nyingtrul (snying sprul) incarnation, his nephew Pelden (dpal ldan), and others. The text reads like a lecture on the text and is interspersed with many interlinear annotations. Some of the annotations are didactic and tell the reader—who might be a junior teacher—which elements of general dharma preaching need to be interspersed at those points. Other annotations spell out the contents of lists named in the main body of the text. The colophon is explicit that this work is a manual on the teaching in the Mindroling tradition.

Alongside his importation of the Mindroling tradition of the Nyingma Kama, Getse revised the treasure tradition of Longsel Nyingpo in a way that made the two more compatible. He reworked Longsel Nyingpo's treasures into a substantial repertoire of rituals and contemplative manuals that he placed in a dominant role within Katok's religious program. Although contemporaries of Getse’s who engaged in Longsel Nyingpo's revelations would not have lacked texts upon which to meditate and perform these terma, the existing liturgies were generally not written for performance by large monastic assemblies like at Katok and some of its new branch monasteries such as Getse's own monastery of Dralak Gon. Therefore, if Getse wanted to perform the Longsel Treasures at large festivals and rituals at Katok and at the Derge court, then new ritual expressions of the treasures would need to be composed. Thus Getse embarked on a composition project that updated Longsel Nyingpo's treasure corpus to suit the needs, as he saw them, of the Katok community. To integrate the revised material into the monastery's community he instituted them as part of the monastery's liturgical calendar and used them to consecrate major new projects at the monastery such as enormous statues of deities and new buildings. 

In addition to training Dodrubchen and Do Khyentse, Getse taught Shechen Wontrul Gyurme Tutob Namgyel (zhe chen dbon sprul 'gyur med mthu stobs rnam rgyal; b. 1787) of Shechen Monastery, who stayed at Getse's retreat center, Bango (sbra 'go), for three years.

Getse Mahāpaṇḍita passed away in 1829. His incarnation was identified as a boy born the following year, Tsewang Rigdzin Gyatso (tshe dbang rig 'dzin rgya mtsho, 1830–1885).