The Treasury of Lives

Khandro Bumo Trinle Peldron was born in 1865 or 1866 into the noble house of Khangsar (khang gsar) in the region of Gonjo, eastern Tibet, where her father was a chieftain. She had a privileged upbringing, and when she reached her late teens, as was the custom, she was expected to marry an aristocratic man. It is said that she resisted the arrangements made for her, threatening her family with becoming a nun.[1]

In 1887, when she was twenty-three, a dreadlocked and uncouth treasure revealer from Nyarong appeared at her family's door and asked for her hand in marriage. This was Lerab Lingpa (las rab gling pa, 1856–1926), also known as Terton Sogyel (gter ston bsod rgyal), a close disciple of many of the most famous Nyingma lamas of the era, including Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpai Nyima (smyo shul lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1829–1900) and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820–1892). According to legend, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo had told Lerab Lingpa that the young Gonjo woman was an emanation of Vajravārāhī or Vajrayoginī and that she was his destined female partner who would help him with his treasure work. Khyentse warned Lerab Lingpa that missing the opportunity to partner with her would spoil his spiritual and material good fortune in that life. Moreover, he instructed Lerab Lingpa to bestow on the "Girl from Gonjo"—her name before meeting Lerab Lingpa is not known—the name Trinle Peldron, which was inspired by the name of Khyentse Wangpo's own root guru, Minling Jetsunma Trinle Chodron (smin gling rje btsun ma 'phrin las chos sgron).[2] Nevertheless, she seems to have been known more familiarly simply as Khandro Bumo, meaning "Ḍākinī Girl."

Having earlier been a bandit in one of Tibet's most rough-and-tumble regions, and famously severe in appearance, Lerab Lingpa must have cut an exceedingly ungentlemanly figure in the eyes of the gentry he hoped to win over. However, after presenting a recommendation letter from Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and performing an impressive public treasure revelation, the family allowed the marriage, and in 1888, the couple moved to a camp in Drikok ('bri khog), along with many of Lerab Lingpa's disciples.

That year, Lerab Lingpa received a summons from the young Thirteenth Dalai Lama Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933) telling him he was needed in the Tibetan capital. Khandro Bumo arranged the packing and logistics for the long journey, but she did not accompany her husband, who stayed in Lhasa for more than a year.[3]

In 1891, when she was twenty-seven, Khandro Bumo and Lerab Lingpa had their first son, whom they named Rigdzin Namgyel (rig 'dzin rnam rgyal, 1891–1950s). That year, Lerab Lingpa was obliged to return to Lhasa to continue working with the Dalai Lama. With the newborn, Khandro Bumo again stayed behind in Drikok. Lerab Lingpa returned less than half a year later, and the couple was together until 1895. 

When Lerab Lingpa was home, Khandro Bumo and the wider community of devotees assisted him in his work while continuing their meditation practice based on his instructions. While he was away, most of them settled into periods of retreat to deepen their understanding and experience.[4] Lerab Lingpa is said to have often relied on Khandro Bumo's clairvoyance when he was uncertain about his own intuitions.[5]

In 1896, Lerab Lingpa returned to Lhasa, and yet again in 1898. This time Khandro Bumo and their son accompanied him as far as Kongpo, where they stayed for an extended period before going to Kelzang Monastery (bskal bzang dgon) in Nyarong to wait for his return in late 1899.[6]  At the end of that year, Khandro Bumo and her husband traveled to Tromtar to pay their respects to Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpai Nyima and receive teachings from him. Nyoshul Lungtok was ill, however, and after waiting some time for him to recover, they returned to Kelzang Monastery where Lerab Lingpa fell ill and was nursed back to health by Khandro Bumo and other disciples.[7]

In 1901, while Khandro Bumo and their son were encamped in Dzak (dzag) in the Derge region of Kham, Lerab Lingpa returned to Lhasa and remained for three years. This was a tumultuous time, culminating in the British 1904 invasion of Tibet led by Colonel Francis Younghusband. During that time in Lhasa, the Nechung Oracle, with whom Lerab Lingpa was close, instructed him to tell Khandro Bumo to relocate to the safer Kelzang Monastery in Nyarong, where they were reunited in 1903.[8]

In 1905, the Qing general Zhao Erfeng, intent on bringing eastern Tibetan regions fully under Manchu administration, marched an army through Kham and threatened to move north into Nyarong where Khandro Bumo, Lerab Lingpa, and their community were living. Wishing to save their guru from harm, Khandro Bumo and Lerab Lingpa's longtime attendant, Trinle Namgyel (phrin las rnam rgyal)—more commonly known as Atrin (a phrin)—prepared horses, supplies, and a disguise to spirit him away to the highland forests of Tromtar. Once they were safe, Khandro Bumo and the others went on to Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon) while Lerab Lingpa scouted sacred sites, did intensive practice, and revealed treasure maps to the isolated haven of Pemako in southeastern Tibet.[9]

In 1907, Khandro Bumo and her son reunited with Lerab Lingpa at Dzogchen Monastery where, as a family, they requested and received the Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod) from the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935). In 1910, with the threat of political violence still hanging over all of Tibet, the family found refuge with the stubborn warriors of Golok. Khandro Bumo, the child, and Atrin settled with a Buchung (bu chung) family that were devotees of Dudjom Lingpa's (bdud 'joms gling pa) son, the Third Dodrubchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima (rdo grub chen 'jigs med bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1865–1926), while Lerab Lingpa continued his itinerant work. This would be their base for most of the next decade.[10] At this time, Dodrubchen Rinpoche was infirm and anchoritic, only ever seeing a handful of attendants and his closest disciples. Zealous in his monastic vows, he especially kept his distance from women. Nevertheless, Khandro Bumo felt immense faith in Dodrubchen Rinpoche, and she asked her husband to request an audience with him on her behalf. Demonstrating the esteem in which he held Lerab Lingpa and his wife, Dodrubchen agreed, on the condition that she not cross the threshold of his retreat house. The next day, Dodrubchen came to his doorway and gave unspecified teachings to Khandro Bumo. She may have been the only woman he taught in the cloistered latter period of his life.[11]

In the sixth month of 1915, Khandro Bumo accompanied Lerab Lingpa to Serta (gser rta) for the consecration of an enormous new stupa dedicated to the protection of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. Khandro Bumo then returned to Golok and Lerab Lingpa embarked on a busy three-year tour of eastern Tibet, teaching and revealing new treasures. In 1920, Lerab Lingpa determined it was time to return to Lhasa to meet with the Dalai Lama. This time, he intended to bring Khandro Bumo and Atrin, who met him at Dzogchen Monastery to prepare for the journey. Dodrubchen Rinpoche also agreed to come to Lhasa, leaving directly from Golok by palanquin. After a short distance, however, Dodrubchen turned back, unwilling to cause suffering for his caravan's pack animals. At this same time, Atrin died from an illness and the journey to Lhasa was canceled.[12]

In 1924, Khandro Bumo and Lerab Lingpa traveled from their home in Golok to stay at Shukjung Monastery (shugs 'byung dgon) at the invitation of his disciple Tulku Tsullo (sprul sku tshul lo) and Dodrubchen's nephew, Kunzang Nyima (kun bzang nyi ma, 1904–1958), an incarnation of Dudjom Lingpa. While they were there, the chief of Washul (wa shul) offered them a new home in the Nyakyi Peldeu (snyags kyi dpal de'u) valley near Serta.[13] Accepting the gift, in 1925, the family set out toward Serta. En route, Lerab Lingpa fell ill, and they set up camp to let him rest. In the first month of 1926, Lerab Lingpa passed away, attended by Khandro Bumo and other close disciples.[14]

A few months after Lerab Lingpa's cremation, Khandro Bumo, her son Rigdzin Namgyel, his wife and son, and a few others gathered Lerab Lingpa's things and traveled to their former home at Kelzang Monastery in Nyarong. Khandro Bumo stayed in Nyarong for a time, mostly practicing in seclusion and gaining a reputation as a siddha of her chosen deity, Vajrakīlaya, whose mantra she is said to have recited at least three-hundred million times. She continued seeing her son, his wife, and her grandchild, Pema Chopel Gyatso (pad+ma chos 'phel rgya mtsho) who became a respected lama and died in a Communist prison in 1959. She also remained available to visitors, who often appealed to her for blessings and clairvoyant predictions. According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche (smyo shul mkhan, 1931–1999), who met her in Nyarong, she had a special cave where she would do rituals to protect the people's crops from frost. Similarly, she would regularly retire to a cabin dedicated to practices that would bring rain to the fields.[15]

She passed away in 1949 at the age of eighty-five in Gonjo. A reliquary stupa, which still stands, was built for her at Kelzang Monastery.[16]

 

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