The Treasury of Lives

Kharakpa Dulwa Wo (kha rag pa 'dul ba 'od) was born into the Kyi (kyi) clan in the region of Dra (grwa). His family was famed for its hereditary practice of many Nyingma tantras. After his half-brother died in a fire, he went, in his grief, to join Tsel Gungtang (tshal gung thang), the monastery of Zhang Yudrakpa Tsondru Drakpa (zhang g.yu brag pa brtson 'grus grags pa). He completed a three-year sealed retreat and obtained all the esoteric instructions. Although he was given a dharma name at his ordination ceremony, Ngodrub Lama (dngos grub bla ma), a name given to him later on by his teacher Lama Zhang is the one by which he would become best known: Dulwa Wo ('dul ba 'od). He was also known by the name Togden Nyagpo Sengge (rtogs ldan nyag po seng ge).

His two younger brothers served as Lama Zhang's librarian and attendant. Dulwa Wo himself followed and faithfully served his teacher for twenty-seven years, compiling and transmitting Lama Zhang's "sealed teachings" known as the Kagyama (bka' rgya ma). Lama Zhang prophesied that Dulwa Wo would be beneficial to many sentient beings in a future life, while in the present life he would have only a select few suitable students that would come to him between the ages of fifty-nine and sixty-one. To them alone he was to confer the entirety of the esoteric instructions.

According to legend, while Dulwa Wo performed sadhana practices at Kharak (kha rag), a hermitage he founded in 1181 or 1193, he was disturbed by a snake-like naga spirit. He converted the naga, giving it the name Gawa Wo (dga' ba 'od) along with the vows of a layperson. An image of this protector was kept at Kharak Bondruk (kha rag bon drug). Later on at that same hermitage at Kharak, his nephew, named Sengge Tsondru (seng ge brtson 'grus, d.u.) would found an actual monastery, eventually gathering there more than ten thousand monks.

Kharakpa is said to have displayed a number of miracles as signs of his accomplishments. These all involve the elements of fire and water. These include extinguishing a forest fire with a single gesture and capturing a bolt of lightning inside his cloak and then slamming the whole package up against the side of a cliff.

According to legend, when Kharakpa died there were many signs of saintly death such as are noted with some frequency in Tibetan biographies. Two signs that emerged from Kharakpa's cremation fire were quite out of the ordinary. One was a victory banner and the other was an image of his yidam, or personal deity, both made entirely of the crystalline substance known as ringsel (ring gsal).