The Treasury of Lives

Lobzang Dorje was born in the water-snake year, 1893, in Akyong Khanggen (a skyong khang rgan) in Golok. His father was Arkung Golo (ar skung rgo lo) and his mother was Linglu (gling lu) of the Baro (sba rod) clan, which claims descent from of the seventh-century imperial minister Gar Tongtsen (mgar stong btsan).

In his fifth year the young Lobzang Dorje began to learn to read, chant prayers, and perform ritual practices with his paternal uncle, Arla Jigme Zangpo (ar bla 'jigs med bzang po). Later, from the head lama of Khanggen, Kachenpa (khang rgan dbus bla dka' chen pa), he received the lay ordination vows of an upāsaka and received the name Lobzang Dorje (blo bzang rdo rje). His uncle Jigme Zangpo also taught him calligraphy and various scripts including Rañjanā, also known as Lantsa.

At the age of six he was taken to meet the treasure revealer Chaktrul Rolwai Dorje (lcags sprul rol ba'i rdo rje, 1847–1915), who was renowned as an emanation of Gyelwa Chokyang (rgyal ba mchog dbyangs). The terton asked the boy's uncle, "Who is this tulku?" to which the uncle replied that the boy was not a tulku but that he was called Lobzang Dorje. The terton insisted, "Well, he is a Lobzang all right, but not Dorje.” Then, after a pause: "What was Baro Wangdar Lama's (sba rod dbang dar bla ma) personal name?" The uncle replied, "Lobzang Gyaltsen." "Yes," said the terton, "The boy should be called Lobzang Tenpai Gyeltsen. He is the incarnation of Baro Wangdar and will become a great holder of the teachings." The uncle then requested an empowerment of Black Hayagriva with an iron sword (rta nag lcags ral can), which prompted the terton to remark, "This one is a little Hayagriva himself!" The terton conferred a simple text-based entrustment, but said, "Now you have received all the empowerments and the transmissions in their entirety."

Lobzang Dorje went on to study with Garwa Terton Pema Dudul Wangchuk Lingpa (mgar ba gter ston pad+ma bdud 'dul dbang phyug gling pa, 1857–1911), from whom he received instruction on the preliminary practices (sngon 'gro) and transmissions for the terton's own revelations. On several occasions he acted as the terton's scribe and committed revelations to writing. He also again received the vows of an upāsaka and the name Kunzang Sherab (kun bzang shes rab).

In 1907, following the terton's instruction, he took śramaṇera ordination of a novice, or getsul (dge tshul), from Geuli Lama Pelyang (sge'u li bla ma dpal dbyangs) and received the name Tubten Gyurme Trinle Rabten Pel Zangpo (thub bstan 'gyur med phrin las rab brtan dpal bzang po).

He studied several treatises with Detso Khenpo Sonam Pelden (sde tso mkhan po bsod nams dpal ldan) of Dartang Monastery (dar thang dgon), including the Bodhicaryāvatāra, texts on Madhyamaka, the five treatises of Maitreyanātha, the Vinaya, Lochen Dharmashri's (lo chen d+harma shrI) Wish-Fulfilling Grain (dpag snye) commentary on the three sets of vows, and commentaries on Jigme Lingpa's ('jigs med gling pa, 1730–1798) Treasury of Qualities (yon tan mdzod). He studied astrology with Zigak Drime (gzi 'gags dri med) and painting with the artist Pema Wangchen (pad+ma dbang chen).

In 1915 he received the bhikṣu vows of a fully ordained monk, or gelong (dge slong), from Katok Situ Chokyi Gyatso (kaH thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880–1925). He maintained these vows throughout his life and went on to transmit both getsul and gelong ordination to more than a thousand others, including Khangsar Tenpai Wangchuk (khang sar bstan pa'i dbang phyug, 1938–2014) and Kusum Lingpa (sku gsum gling pa, 1934–2009). He also received from Katok Situ the bodhisattva vows and the empowerment of Lama Gongdu (bla ma dgongs 'dus), a popular treasure cycle revealed by Sanggye Lingpa (sangs rgyas gling pa, 1340–1396).

Around 1916 he went to stay at Dodrubchen Monastery (rdo grub chen dgon), where he received teachings from the monastery's four great khenpos: Lushul Khenpo Konchok Tenpai Dronme (klu shul mkhan po dkon mchog bstan pa'i sgron me, 1859–1936), Garwa Khenpo Jigme Wosel (mgar ba mkhan po 'jigs med 'od gsal), Amnye Khenpo Pema Damcho (a myes mkhan po pad+ma dam chos) and Sershul Khenpo Ngawang (ser shul mkhan po ngag dbang).

At the time, nobody was permitted to visit Dodrubchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima (rdo grub chen 03 'jigs med bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1865–1926), who remained for the latter part of his life in retreat in his hermitage. Still, Lobzang Dorje felt compelled to try and meet the master, whom he felt was his karmic guru from previous lives. The opportunity arose when he demonstrated his skilled penmanship and was invited to copy two volumes of the Drigung Gongpa Yangzab ('bri gung dgongs pa yang zab) for the master's library. Shortly thereafter Jigme Tenpai Nyima granted him several reading transmissions and answered his questions on some difficult points related to both sūtra and tantra.

The following year Lobzang Dorje joined the retreat to have more opportunities to meet Jigme Tenpai Nyima. Indeed, he was able to receive from the master several empowerments of the Three Roots according to the Heart-Essence (snying thig) tradition. When Jigme Tenpai Nyima granted the empowerment of the energy of awareness (rig pa'i rtsal dbang) by fiercely uttering the syllable "Phaṭ!", Lobzang Dorje described experiencing what felt like the dissolution of his dualistic mind and the dawning of pristine awareness. He remained in retreat and completed the mantra accumulations for the Three Roots according to the Longchen Nyingtik.

Sometime around 1928 he returned to Dartang Monastery where he served as abbot for three years during the rainy season retreat, teaching both sūtra and tantra. Dartang Monastery at the time was following a largely Geluk-based curriculum, and, wanting to study the material further, in 1931 he traveled to Amchok Tsennyi (a mchog mtshan nyid), a Geluk monastery in southeastern Ngawa, Amdo, where he received a thorough training in the basic texts of Madhyamaka and prajñāpāramitā from a Geluk perspective. With great diligence he mastered the writings of Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357–1419) and his disciples, as well as the treatises of Jamyang Zhepai Dorje ('jam dbyangs bzhad pa'i rdo rje, 1648–1721/1722). He also received empowerments from Sangkok Jigme Gyatso (gsang khog 'jigs med rgya mtsho) and Amchok Khyenrab Gyatso (a mchog mkhyen rab rgya mtsho, 1849–1944), and he served as a scribe for the latter.

After returning to Dartang, he received several empowerments, reading transmissions and instructions from Jigme Chokyi Dawa (P8297 'jigs med chos kyi zla ba, 1894–1958/1959), also known as Jampel Gyepai Dorje ('jam dpal dgyes pa'i rdo rje). He then went to Labrang Tashikhyil (bla brang bkra shis 'khyil), where he studied Abhidharma and other topics with Muge Tubten Gyatso (mu ge thub bstan rgya mtsho) and clarified any lingering doubts about the scriptural tradition.

He traveled to central Tibet to make offerings and donations at the major monasteries and pilgrimage sites. While visiting Drakmar Drinzang (brag dmar mgrin bzang) near Samye Monastery (bsam yas) he experienced what he took to be vivid memories of having meditated there in a previous lifetime.

In 1950 or thereabouts he was enthroned as the abbot of Dogyu Tosam Ling (mdo rgyud thos bsam gling), the monastic college (grwa tshang) at Dartang, where he taught the Bodhicaryāvatāra, prajñāpāramitā, logic and epistemology, the Vinaya and Abhidharma.

It was during this time that he began to compose his commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra, entitled The Circle of the Sun (nyi ma’i dkyil 'khor), which took him five years to complete. This important work was initially published in two volumes and was reproduced in four volumes as part of the 2004 edition of his collected writings. This is possibly the longest commentary on Śāntideva's famous text and takes as its basis Patrul Rinpoche's (dpal sprul rin po che, 1808–1887) structural outline (sa bcad), the Mirror of Clear Meaning (don gsal me long). The text draws upon all the major Indian and Tibetan commentaries and explains the ninth chapter according to the tradition of Tsongkhapa and his heirs. Lobzang Dorje began writing it in the iron-hare year, 1951, but soon became daunted by the scale of the task. He finished it in the year of the fire-monkey, 1956, after receiving encouragement from Dodrubchen Rigdzin Tenpai Gyaltsen.

At the age of sixty he gave away all his possessions to his fellow monks and adopted the lifestyle of a renunciant in solitude. He taught disciples and granted empowerments and transmissions in the breaks between periods of meditative retreat.

At the age of sixty-five he received several empowerment and transmissions from the Fourth Dodrubchen, Rigdzin Tenpai Gyeltsen (rdo grub chen 04 rig 'dzin bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan 1927–1961). Then, following the results of divination, he went to stay with Wangda Gyangtrul Dondrub Dorje (dbang mda' gyang sprul don grub rdo rje) in Ari near Dodrub. During the turmoil of the late 1950s he was forced to spend a few months in prison but was then able to spend four years in retreat at Sanglung Monastery (gsang lung dgon). When he returned to Dartang in 1962 he once again taught extensively.

During the Cultural Revolution, he remained in a small hut among nomads. He was thus able to retain his monastic lifestyle and avoid any transgression of his vows. In secret, he continued to ordain monks and to give empowerments, transmissions, and teachings. It is said that some people attempted to spy on his activities at this time, but they were either overcome with devotion or unable to find him. There were accounts of his hut appearing entirely deserted, and of people being confronted by terrifying visions or rotten smells.

From his eighty-sixth year, he reduced all activity and hardly spoke. He spent his time in meditation and barely ate except at the prompting of his attendant. Whenever visitors came, he recited the aspiration for rebirth on the Copper-Colored Mountain, before returning to silent meditation.

In addition to his commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatārta, he wrote several shorter works, including a treatise on taking refuge, an introduction to epistemology that offers definitions of the fifty-one mental states, a text on the four causes for gaining rebirth in Sukhāvatī, a guide to Ratna Lingpa's (ratna gling pa, 1403–1479) Vajrakīla practice, texts of advice, and praises and liturgies on rituals such as cremation.

He died at the age of ninety (or ninety-one by Tibetan reckoning) during the second month of the water-pig year, 1983.

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