The Treasury of Lives

The Ninetieth Ganden Tripa, Jampa Chodrak (dga' ldan khri pa 90 byams pa chos grags) was born at Drango in the Trehor region of Kham (tre hor brag 'go) in 1849, the earth-bird year of the fourteenth sexagenary cycle. His parents are not known but at a young age he was admitted in the local monastery, Ganden Rabten Namgyel Ling (dga' ldan rab brtan rnam rgyal gling) where he was given training in monastic life and basic education in reading, writing, and memorization of daily prayer texts. He was also trained in the rites and rituals of the monastery.

In his youth Jampa Chodrak travelled to Lhasa and matriculated in Trehor House of Loseling College of the Drepung Monastic University ('bras spungs blo gling tre hor khang tshan) where he started his education with memorization of root-verses of the traditional philosophical and related texts. He received his śrāmaṇera (novice monk) and bhikṣu (fully ordained monk) vows from the Third Purchok, Jampa Gyatso (phur bu lcogs 03 byams pa rgya mtsho, 1825-1901) who was then serving as tutor to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan mtsho, 1876-1933).

Jampa Chodrak commenced his systematic studies starting with logic and epistemology and related topics, and then studied the great texts of Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Madhyamaka, Abhidharmakośa, Pramāṇavārttika, and Vinaya, the five major subjects of Geshe Lharampa (dge bshes lha ram pa) curriculum. He stood for the examination of Geshe Lharampa in the midst of tens of thousands of monks during the annual Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa (Monlam Chenmo) and attained the title of Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree or title awarded in the Geluk Tradition.

Jampa Chodrak next enrolled in Gyume College in Lhasa where he studied tantra and trained in the rites and rituals of the Vajrayāna practice according to Gyume tradition. He then stood for the traditional examination and attained the title of Ngakrampa (sngags rams pa), Master in Tantra. Subsequently he served various positions, including abbot of Gyume College, and was then enthroned as Jangtse Choje (byang rtse chos rje) at Ganden Jangtse College (dga' ldan byang rtse grwa tshang), positioning him to be elevated to the Golden Throne of Ganden.

During his tenure on the seat of Jangpa Choje he participated in a government-sponsored trip to Kathmandu to restore either the Swayambhunath Stupa ('phags pa shing kun) or the Boudhanath Stupa (mchod rten chen po bya rung kha shor) – sources vary on which stupa was worked on.

In 1921, the year of iron-bird in the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, Jampa Chodrak was elevated from Jangpa Choje to the Golden Throne of Ganden as the Ninetieth Ganden Tripa. He served for the customary seven years, until 1927. During his tenure he performed the standard duties of the office such as teachings and leading important religious ceremonies, including the annual Great Monlam Festival. He introduced the tradition of the autumn study session, and he donated to Ganden Monastery all the monastic estates (chos gzhis) that were the property of the office of the Ganden Tripas to fund it.

Following his retirement in 1927 he donated a sum of ten thousand ngulsang (dngul srang), the Tibetan currency, to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama to fund a large statue of Maitreya together with statues of Atiśa and Tsongkhapa in gold gilt. According to legend, after the Thirteenth Dalai Lama reshaped the face of Maitreya several times it miraculously changed into the face of Trichen Jampa Chodrak; the Dalai Lama was pleased and accepted that as the right face for that particular statue of Maitreya.

His only known composition is the Hagiography of Khangsar Kyabgon Lobzang Tsultrim Tenpai Gyeltsen (khang gasar skyabs mgon blo bzang tshul khrims bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan gyi rnam thar).

At the age of eighty-eight in 1937, the fire-ox year of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle Jampa Chodrak passed into nirvana in Lhasa.

There is some variation in the sources regarding his dates. Both 1849 and 1876 are given for his birth, and three different years – 1926, 1937, and 1947 are given for his death, but 1876 and 1926 are almost certainly incorrect.

Lobzang Gyeltsen (blo bzang rgyal mtshan d.u.) succeeded him as the Ninety-first Ganden Tripa.