The Treasury of Lives

Little is known of Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo's life. Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam mgon kong sprul, 1813–1899) includes a brief biography in his Biographies of One Hundred Tertons (gter ston brgya rtsa), and there are several accounts of the revelations of The Wish-Fulfilling Gem, Hayagrīva and Vārāhī, which Matthieu Ricard summarizes in his short biographical sketch in The Life of Shabkar.

Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo was born in 1736 below Gokar La (rgod dkar la) near Samye Monastery (bsam yas dgon). He had a brother named Rigden Yinrik. As a youth he worked as a shepherd on the slopes of Jomo Kharak (jo mo kha rag) in Bartang (bar thang), on the south bank of the Brahmaputra in Tsang.

It is said that at the age of five or six he had a vision of Padmasambhava and that thereafter he was constantly accompanied by ḍākinī.

He was later identified as a reincarnation of Raton Terton Tobden Dorje (rwa ston gter ston stobs ldan rdo rje), himself an emanation of Lang Pelgyi Sengge (rlangs dpal gyi seng ge).

Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo studied at Samye and Pelri Monastery (dpal ri dgon) under teachers named Kunzang Wozer (kun bzang 'od zer), Chubri Drubchen Kunzang Rangdrol (lcub ri grub chen kun bzang rang grol), and his main teacher, Rigdzin Tukchok Dorje (rig 'dzin thugs mchog rdo rje).

At eleven or twelve he discovered the inventory for his revelations, which he began producing at age twenty-six, around 1761, when he revealed the Five Essential Cycles of the Five Families (rig lnga snying po'i skor lnga), from Rolpu on the border of Kongpo and Dakpo. This cycle appears to not be extant.

Several years later he revealed The Wish-Fulfilling Gen, Hayagrīva and Vārāhī (rta phag yi bzhin nor bu), which, according to Ricard, belongs to the larger cycle Secret Wisdom of the Ḍākinī (mkha' 'gro gsang ba ye shes). The cycle survives in unpublished manuscripts, most of which were photographed by the Nepal German Manuscript Project. According to Ricard's summary of the narratives of the discovery, Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo had repeated visions of a woman in 1767 while in retreat at Chowori (chu bo ri), who told him to go to a cave named Sang Yak Drak (gsang g.yag brag). He went there with his brother and had a vision of Padmasambhava, together with Mandāravā and Yeshe Tsogyel (ye shes mtsho rgyal). Padmasambhava told him that Yeshe Tsogyel would bring him the yellow scrolls for a treasure that had been destined for Raton Terton, who had been unable to retrieve it. Padmasambhava also instructed him to practice with a consort who was a reincarnation of Shākyadevi, one of his five main consorts.

Later, in 1769, at Yeshe Tsogyel's secret cave (ye shes gsang phug) at Drigung Terdrom ('bri gung gter sgrom), Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo received the treasure via direct transmission (snyan brgyud) from Padmasambhava. The first time he practiced the revelation he had a vision of traveling to Zangdok Pelri (zangs mdog dpal ri) and receiving transmissions from Padmasambhava in the form of his contemporary treasure revealer and student Tekchen Lingpa (theg chen gling pa, 1700–1775).

He kept the treasure secret for ten years, first transmitting it in 1778. Among his disciples were Orgyen Tenzin Rinpoche (o rgyen bstan 'dzin), who gave it to Chogyel Ngakyi Wangpo (chos rgyal ngag gi dbang po, d. 1807), who gave it to Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (zhabs dkar ba tshogs drug rang grol, 1781–1851). Ngakyi Wangpo wrote a commentary of the cycle, The Torch of Wisdom that Dispels the Darkness of Ignorance (rim ma rig mun sel ye shes sgron me). Shabkar made a copy of this text which was enshrined in his reliquary stūpa. When the stūpa was destroyed by the Chinese, Lobpon Khyentse (slob dpon mkhyen brtse) saved it and later gave it to Trulzhik Rinpoche ('khrul zhig rin po che, 1924–2011), in whose library it is preserved. 

He continued revealing treasures in Kongpo, Powo, Dakpo, Tsari, Samye, and Drigung. In all, he is said to have revealed eighteen treasures, as well as medicinal substances in Zurkhar Cave in Dakpo, which he reconcealed for future discovery. He is said to have revealed instructions on the four means of attraction (bsdu ba'i dngos po bzhi) concealed by Atisha (982–1055) at Tsechen Dolma Lhakhang (rtse chen sgrol ma lha khang) near Gyantse.

Aside from The Wish-Fulfilling Gem, Hayagrīva and Vārāhī, Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo's only surviving revelation appears to be the Profound Embodiment of the Three Roots (rtsa gsum zab mo kun 'dus), which was received by Jamgon Kongtrul, who included three texts from the cycle in the Treasury of Revelations.

During his revelations he is said to have flown through the air to reach a cliff face and to have left imprints of his hands and feet in rock. Among the other miracles he is said to have displayed was inspiring a statue of Gampopa (sgam po pa, 1079–1153) to speak to him, and, when visiting the Jowo statue in the Lhasa Tsuklakhang (gtsug la lhang), pea-sized substances known as ringsel (ring bsrel) flowed from the statue's chest into his head. He is also said to have done rituals to ensure the continuation of the Khon family ('khon) of Sakya (sa skya).

He lived for a while in a Padmasambhava cave named Dechen Puk (bde chen phug) on Jomo Karak, for which he became known as Karak Terton (kha rag gter ston).

In 1770 the Seventh Demo Rinpoche (de mo 07, d. 1777) commissioned Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo to perform a taming ritual (sa 'dul) at Samye in preparation for the monastery's reconsecration, and for the service Demo Rinpoche gave him the rank of National Preceptor (di shri). His main patron was a member of the Lhagyari family (lha gya ri) named Rikpai Jungne (rig pa'i 'byung gnas).

Choling Tulku Jikten Wangchuk (chos gling sprul sku 'jig rten dbang phyug) offered him Druktang Monastery ('brug thang dgon) in Kongpo, which he made his seat.

Among his disciples to whom he transmitted his revelations were the Thirteenth Karmapa Dudul Dorje (karma pa 13 bdud 'dul rdo rje, c.1733–c.1797); Zhamar Zurpa Garwang Gyatso (zhwa dmar zur pa gar dbang rgya mtsho, c. 1735–c.1792); Tekchen Lingpa; the Fifth Gampopa, Drodul Lingpa (sgam po pa 05 o rgyan 'gro 'dul gling pa, b. 1757); and the Second Shechen Gyeltsab, Pema Sang-ngak Tenzin Chogyel (zhe chen rgyal tshab 02 pad+ma gsang sngags bstan 'dzin chos rgyal, 1760–1817).

His reincarnation, who was identified as the son of the Fifth Gampopa, is said to have revealed some treasures but to have died young.