The Treasury of Lives

The First Tukwan Lobzang Rabten (thu'u bkwan 01 blo bzang rab brtan) was born into the Tukwan (thu'u bkwan) clan in Tso-ngon (mtsho sngon; Kokonor) in Amdo in the beginning of seventeenth century. In his youth, with a firm desire to lead a religious life, Lobzang Rabten escaped from his home when he came to know that his parents were arranging for his marriage. Soon after he arrived in Gonlung Jampa Ling (dgon lung byams pa gling), an important Geluk monastery in northeast Amdo, he ordained as a monk.

Lobzang Rabten then travelled to Tsang and enrolled in Tashilhunpo Monastery (bkra shis lhun po) where he got chance to study under the Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (paN chen bla ma 04 blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1567-1662). He received from him teachings on both sutra and tantra and studied the texts in length and depth, becoming an expert in the field of Pramana (tshad ma), logics and epistemology. According to sources Tukwan Lobzang Rabten received title Qingxiu chanshi (cing zhi'u chan zhi), meaning something like "Clear Practing Chan Master," from the Emperor of China in 1652. If this is accurate it would have been during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (1638-1661) who was the second emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and officially the first Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1644 to 1661.

Tukwan Lobzang Rabten then returned to Amdo and initially served as the lama at Tetung Monastery (tas thung dgon chen). In 1672, the year of water-mouse of the eleventh sexagenary cycle, he was enthroned to the seat of the seventeenth abbot of Gonlung Jampa Ling and served as both religious as well as secular head of the region. Because of his skillful performances some of the wealthy leaders in the Tso-ngon region became sponsors of Gonlung Jampa Ling Monastery.

The dates of his birth and death are not known, but it can be presumed that he was born in the beginning of the seventeenth century and passed away in or before the year 1679, as his reincarnation Ngawang Chokyi Gyatso was born in 1680. His reincarnations continued in the name of Tukwan and based in Gonlung Jampa Ling.