The Treasury of Lives

Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (rdzong gsar mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros) was born in sa-ngan, in the Derge region of Kham, in 1893. His father was Rigdzin Gyurme Tsewang Gyelpo (rig 'dzin 'gyur med tshe dbang rgyal po, d.u.) and his mother was Tsultrim Tso (tshul khrims 'tsho, d.u.). His clan was Chakgong (lcag gong). His paternal grandfather was Serpa Tengen (gser pa gter rgan, d.u.), a lineage holder of the treasures of Dudul Dorje (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615-1672). He was given the name Jamyang Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros).

Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam mgon kong sprul, 1813-1899/1900) recognized the young Chokyi Lodro as the activity incarnation ('phrin las kyi sprul pa) of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820-1892) at the request of the Third Katok Situ Chokyi Gyatso (kaH thog si tu 03 chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880-1923/1925), who was the nephew of Khyentse Wangpo. Kongtrul named the boy Lodro Gyatso (blo gros rgya mtsho) and he was installed at Katok Monastery (kaH thog dgon).

Chokyi Lodro received his novice vows at Katok and began his education there. He was given the name Tsuglak Lungrik Mawai Sengge (gtsug lag lung rigs smra ba'i seng ge). Tartse Zhabdrung (thar rtse zhabs drung byams pa kun bzang bstan pa'i nyi ma, d.u.) also gave him the name Jamyang Chokyi Lodro Rime Tenpai Gyeltsen ('jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros ri med bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan). He enrolled in Katok's new monastic college, studying the great treasuries compiled by his predecessor and Kongtrul, and the standard Indian and Tibetan Mahāyāna commentaries.

Seven years later, at the age of fifteen, Chokyi Lodro was summoned to Dzongsar Monastery (rdzong sar) at the behest of Kelzang Dorje (skal bzang rdo rje, d.u.), Khyentse Wangpo's nephew and trustee. Jamyang Chokyi Wangpo ('jam dbyangs chos kyi dbang po, 1893-1908), Khyentse Wangpo's "body" incarnation, who had been installed at Dzongsar, had suddenly passed away, and Chokyi Lodro was sought as a replacement. In 1909 Chokyi Lodro  transferred to Dzongsar and was installed as the head of the monastery. That same year Chokyi Wangpo's reincarnation, Jamyang Chokyi Wangchuk ('jam dbyangs chos kyi dbang phyug, 1909-1960) was identified as the child of Khyentse Chokyi Wangpo's sister Samdrub Dronma (bsam grub sgron ma). The child was educated at Dzongsar and Adzom Gar and is said to have had a warm relationship with Chokyi Lodro. However, their respective estates competed for control of Dzongsar and eventually, in 1929, Chokyi Wangchuk was forced to transfer to Derge Gonchen (sde dge dgon chen).

Over the course of his life Dzongsar Khyentse, as Chokyi Lodro came to be studied with many of his predecessor's most eminent disciples. Regarding the Sakya teachings, Jamyang Loter Wangpo ('jam dbyangs blo gter dbang po, 1847-1914) transmitted the Lamdre and Hevajra, and gave him most of the empowerments of Gyude Kundu (rgyud sde kun 'dus), the Compendium of Tantra that he and Khyentse Wangpo had compiled. Drakra Zhabdrung Tashi Gyatso (brag ra zhabs drung bkra shis rgya mtsho, d.u.) taught him the Mitra Gyatsa (mi tra brgya rtsa), the Ngor Lamdre lineage of Ngawang Chodrak (ngag dbang chos grags), and the Ra (rwa) and Tsar (tshar) lineages of Vajrabhairava.

At Gonchen Chokyi Lodro studied with Khenchen Samten Lodro (mkhan chen bsam gtan blo gros, 1863-1931), receiving the transmission and empowerment of the Compendium of Sadhana (sgrub thabs kun 'dus) which Jamyang Khyentse and Loter Wangpo compiled. Shar Lama Jamyang Khyenrab Taye (shar bla ma 'jam dbyangs mkhyen rab mtha' yas, 1862–1937) gave him the Kālacakra in Buton's (bu ston, 1290-1364) lineage, and Tartse Zhabdrung completed the transmission of the Compendium of Sadhana.

At Pelpung (dpal spungs) Chokyi Lodro received teachings in the Sakya, Kadam, and Shangpa Kagyu traditions from Lama Tashi Chopel (bla ma bkra shis chos 'phel, d.u.), namely the Khon ('khon) lineage of Vajrakila, the Kālacakra of Atiśa, and the entire corpus of the Shangpa Kagyu. Gaton Ngawang Lekpa (rga ston ngag dbang legs pa, 1867-1941) also transmitted additional Lamdre cycles. Tai Situ gave him Marpa Kagyu teachings of Hevajra and White Tara, and the son of Fifteenth Karmapa Kakyab Dorje (kar+ma pa 15 mkha' khyab rdo rje, 1870/1871-1921/1922), the reincarnation of Jamgon Kongrul, Karse Kongtrul Khyentse Ozer (kar sras kong sprul mkhyen brtse 'od zer, 1904-1953/1954), gave him Ratna Lingpa's (rat+na gling pa, 1403-1479) Vajrakila treasure cycle as well as Jamgon Kongtrul's own revelations. The Tenth Zurmang Trungpa, Karma Chokyi Nyinje (zur mang drung pa 10 kar+ma chos kyi nyin byed, 1879?-1939) gave him additional Marpa Kagyu teachings, including Cakrasaṃvara, Mahāmudrā, and the Naro Chodruk (na ro chos drug).

Chokyi Lodro received extensive Nyingma teachings. His father, Rigdzin Gyurme Tsewang Gyelpo, transmitted a large part of Jamgon Kongtrul's Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod), and the treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa (mchog 'gyur gling pa, 1829-1870), which he also received from the two Choling tulkus, Neten (gnas brtan) and Tsike (rtsi ke). At Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen) he received numerous "spoken word" and treasure traditions associated with that monastery, and at Shechen (zhe chen) he received the Northern Treasures (byang gter) and Mindroling (smin grol gling) teachings from Shechen Gyeltsab Pema Namgyel (zhe chen rgyal tshab padma rnam rgyal, 1871-1926). Shechen Kongtrul transmitted the complete works of the Second Shechen Rabjam (zhe chen rab 'byams, 1713-1769).

The Third Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima (rdo ba grub chen 03 'jigs med bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1865-1926) and Adzom Drukpa (a 'dzom 'brug pa, 1842-1924) both transmitted Nyintik teachings to Chokyi Lodro in the Dzogchen tradition, both becoming his primary Nyingma lamas. Sogyal Terton Lerab Lingpa (bsod rgyal gter ston las rab gling pa, 1856-1926) transmitted his treasures, as well as the teachings he had received from Khyentse Wangpo.

In visions and dreams he received teachings and blessings from countless other lamas.

In his twenties Chokyi Lodro followed in Khyentse Wangpo's footsteps, travelling to Ngor Ewam Chode (ngor e waM chos sde), the mother monastery of Dzongsar in Tsang, and used the opportunity to seek instructions from a wide variety of teachers along the way. He elected to take higher monastic ordination in the Nyingma tradition at Mindroling (smin grol gling).

Also in his twenties Chokyi Lodro established a monastic college at Dzongsar, Kham Shematang, (khams byed ma thang), commonly known as Khamshe, in collaboration with the famous Khenpo Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa (mkhan po gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba, d.u.) and Wonto Khenpo Jamyang Chenrab (dbon stod mkhan po 'jam dbyang mkhyen rab, d.u.), and installed a huge Maitreya statue in the five-storey Riksum Lhakang (rig gsum lha khang). The Khamshe college has survived as a center for the rime (ris med), or nonsectarian, ideal that he and his teachers embodied, a place for the study of the multiple religious traditions of Tibet. The college was founded on the site where Khyentse Wangpo had taught in 1871, following a prophesy that he and Chokgyur Lingpa received regarding the need for a college there. Chokyi Lodro also founded a retreat center for the college at Rongme Chime Karmo Taktsang (rong me 'chi med dkar mo stag tshang), a site that Jamyang Khyentse and Chokgyur Lingpa opened in the 1860s. He also reformed the monastic college at Katok, revising the curricula and building a Zangdokpelri (zangs dog dpal ri) temple.

In the late 1940s, the age of fifty-six, Chokyi Lodro married Tsering Chodron (tshe ring chos sgron, 1929-2011), whom he had met when she was seven and he was a young man. The union was the result of certain prophecies that it would promote his activities and dispel obstructions to his life. There was some criticism when he returned his prātimokṣa vows, but it did not significantly impact his activity.

Chokyi Lodro is said to have spent most of his fifties and sixties in retreat, completing the practical accomplishment of the myriad Vajrayāna instructions he had received. He nevertheless was able to maintain a prodigious schedule of teaching and writing, giving numerous transmissions of Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu teachings to disciples of various traditions. He gave the transmission of the entire Treasury of Instructions (gdam ngag mdzod) twice, the Compendium of Sadhana four times, the Lamdre Tsokshe (lam 'bras tshogs bshad) three times and the Lamdre Lobshe (lam 'bras slob bshad) twice. He further transmitted the Ngor Kyildun (ngor dkyil bdun) four times, the Nyingma Kama (rnying ma bka' ma), three times, and the Treasury of Revelations once.

In 1952 Chokyi Lodro and Tsering Chodron opened the sacred site called Chungchen Pelzong (khyung chen dpal rdzong), on a mountainside above Dzongsar and wrote a description of it. Chokyi Lodro's personal physician, Tsering Puntsok (tshe ring phun tshogs, d.u.) built a retreat center associated with the practice cave of the site and resided there. Chokyi Lodro himself installed statues of Padmasambhava. The building was destroyed in 1958 with the entire Dzongsar monastic complex. It was rebuilt in 1984.

Khyentse Chokyi Lodro left Dzongsar in 1955 when he saw the signs of the imminent devastation that would engulf Kham, once armed resistance to the Communist occupation was ignited. He spent a year or so on pilgrimage in Tibet before going into exile in Sikkim with his wife, Khandro Tsering Chodron. He made the chapel of the palace of the king of Sikkim his main temporary residence, and continued to give endless teachings and transmissions to students.

Before passing away, he is said to have asked whether Dilgo Khyentse (dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 'byor, 1910-1991), then known as Tulku Selga (an abbreviation for Rabsel Dawa) had managed to escape from Tibet. Upon hearing that he had, he commented: “In that case, the Nyingma teachings are safe.” On that same occasion he predicted that the dharma would flourish again in Tibet, and that it would also spread vastly in the West. He passed away in Sikkim, where his remains are preserved in a small golden stupa.

Two reincarnations were identified. They were Tubten Chokyi Gaytso (thub bstan chos kyi rgya mtsho, b.1961), also known as Khyentse Norbu (mkhyen brtse nor bu), born in 1961 in Bhutan, and Jigme Khyentse ('jigs med mkhyen brtse, b. 1963), the son of Kangyur Rinpoche Longchen Yeshe Dorje (bka' 'gyur rin po che klong chen ye shes rdo rje, 1897-1975) born in 1963.