The Treasury of Lives

Pelden Tsultrim (dpal ldan tshul khrims) was born in 1333 as the only son of Lama Darma Gyeltsen (bla ma dar ma rgyal mtshan, d. 1340), the head of Uri Monastery (dbu ri dgon), and Rinchen Kyong (rin chen skyong). He was born at Drekhud Gangkya ('bras khud sgang skya) of Dringtsam Mungzang ('bring mtshams mungs zangs) near the Tibetan-Sikkimese border. It was said that he behaved like a lama from early age on, and so the disciples of his father treated him with respect, and he became known as Lama Buchung (bla ma bu chung), or Little Lama Boy.

In 1336, at age four, he received from his father the empowerments of Hevajra and Vajrapāṇi and also mastered reading. When he was eight years old, in 1340, his father passed away and subsequently his father's students and relatives requested that he take over Uri Monastery. The boy repeatedly declared to his older maternal half brother, Lama Gyelrinpa (bla ma rgyal rin pa), that he would not be happy living in the countryside, but intended to become a monk. Thus his brother advised him that it would be best to become a monk at Sakya (sa skya) because one Joden Tsokpa (jo gdan tshogs pa) was in residence there. Consequently, the young boy made his way to Sakya to, on the one hand, deliver a share of offerings for performing meritorious actions on behalf of his late father and, on the other, to take monastic ordination.

At the Lhakhang Chenmo (lha khang chen mo) of Sakya, he encountered the Gendun Gangpa (dge 'dun sgang pa), one of the four monastic communities in the Vinaya tradition of the Kashmiri scholar Śākyaśrībhadra (1127/40s-1225), and received from this community's abbot, Yardrokpa Jamyang Dondrub Pel (yar 'brog pa 'jam dbyangs don grub dpal), both monastic ordination (rab tu byung: pravrajyā) and the name Pelden Tsultrim. He also obtained from him Vinaya teachings such as on the Vinayamūlasūtra, Prātimokṣasūtra, and the Mūlasarvāstivādiśrāmaṇerakārikā.

At age eleven, in 1343, Pelden Tsultrim met his first major teacher, Choje Ritropa Lodro Tenpa (chos rje ri khrod pa blo gros brtan pa, 1316-1358). From this important disciple of Drapukpa Sonam Pel (brag phug pa bsod nams dpal, 1277-1350), he received teachings on the tantric Mahāmudrā instruction known as Chagya Chenpo Lencig Kyejor (phyag rgya chen po lhan cig skyes sbyor). Perceiving a connection with Choje Ritropa from a previous life, he made up his mind to study under him and forwarded through his older brother his request to become his disciple. Choje Ritropa delightedly accepted with the words "[I will] make this [one] my son" ('di la nga'i bu byed dgos), and Pelden Tsultrim thus became his attendant. As another teaching, he bestowed on him the initiation into the colored sand maṇḍala of Hevajra.

At first, Pelden Tsultrim stayed at Sakya and engaged himself in studying the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra (kye rdor rgyud gsum). But after Choje Ritropa had gone ahead to Naza Drapuk (na bza' brag phug), he was called to come to this cave hermitage as well. He was instructed to stay there and was told that it would be best to become a serious practitioner of meditation.

Subsequently, he received from Choje Ritropa the entire Lamdre (lam 'bras), and engaged himself for six years in practice in a small hut that he had built at the uppermost point of the cave. As the result of his practice, he is said to have developed a high level of both meditative experience and concentration. Choje Ritropa was also pleased with his result, praising him in the following way: "A good [level of] meditation has arisen for you. [You] are a capable meditator" (khyod la sgom dga' mo cig skyes 'dug |sgom chen pa pher ba 'dug). So saying, he completely bestowed on Pelden Tsultrim uncommon oral instructions such as for the removal of impediments (gegs sel). Moreover, Pelden Tsultrim received from him many additional instructions, such as on the Sixfold Yoga of Kālacakra (dus 'khor sbyor drug), and the complete cycle of Cakrasaṃvara, including the empowerment of the three Cakrasaṃvara traditions of Lūhipāda, Kṛṣṇacārin, and Ghaṇṭāpāda.

He also obtained the empowerments of Vajrabhairava, Red Yamāntaka (i.e. Raktayamāri), Guhyasamāja, and Tārā, and the authorization (rjes gnang) for the major and minor Mahākāla forms, that is, Vajrapañjara and Four-faced Śrīmahākāla.

Afterwards, Pelden Tsultrim was instructed by his master as follows: "If you practice as a genuine meditator, [you] will have to study the sutric and tantric volumes. Thus, since this Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra is the 'paternal dharma' of us rock cave hermits, study [it]. I will teach [you]."

So saying, Choje Ritropa also conferred the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra on him, and they completed the study session in about one and a half years. In general, Pelden Tsultrim received the entire teachings that Choje Ritropa himself possessed, such as the ones that were transmitted from Drapukpa Sonam Pel, and resided at Naza Drapuk from his thirteenth until his twenty-second year (i.e. from 1345 until 1354).

Already at age twenty-one, in 1353, Pelden Tsultrim had taken full monastic ordination (bsnyen par rdzogs pa: upasaṃpadā) in the Zimkhang (gzims khang) of Naza Drapuk. In this ceremony, Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen (bla ma dam pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan, 1312-1375) had acted as presiding abbot (mkhan po: upādhyāya), Choje Ritropa as ceremony master (las kyi slob dpon: karmācārya), Drung Konchok Gyelwa (drung dkon mchog rgyal ba) as secret revealing preceptor (gsang ste ston pa: raho'nuśāsaka), and Dulchang Khenpo Gyelzarwa ('dul chung mkhan po rgyal bzar ba) as timekeeper (grib tshod pa).

At age twenty-three, in 1355, Pelden Tsultrim went to Jangchub Dzong (byang chub rdzong) in Tsamorong (tsha mo rong), where he engaged himself for a period of three years in religious practice. The hermitage of Tsamorong was apparently an important retreat site of eminent Sakya masters such as Lama Dampa and particularly of Choje Ritropa, who supervised it and, shortly before his passing, entrusted the site to the care of Pelden Tsultrim.

After Choje Ritropa passed away at Jangchub Dzong in 1358, Pelden Tsultrim fulfilled his last wishes, performing meritorious actions on his behalf, and commissioning his "inner reliquary" (nang rten). In accord with his late master's instructions, he remained at Jangchub Dzong and engaged himself exclusively in meditative practice, achieving an extreme increase in experience and realization.

Some time between 1358 and 1364, Pelden Tsultrim travelled to the Ripuk (ri phug/sbug) hermitage above Zhalu Monastery (zhwa lu) to study under Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290-1364). While there, he received from Buton the empowerments for the cycles of the Yoga tantric system – which played an important role within the monastic tradition of Zhalu and had been revived owing to the special efforts of Buton himself –, numerous empowerments of yidam (yi dam) deities such as Guhyasamāja and Red Yamāntaka (i.e. Raktayamāri), and many esoteric instructions of the completion stage such as of the Five Stages of Guhyasamāja (gsang 'dus rim lnga) and Shin tu spros med, a special practice of Red Yamāntaka.

At one time, Pelden Tsultrim also approached Shangkarpo Drakpa Khedrub Rinchen Sengge (shangs dkar po brag pa mkhas grub rin chen seng ge). With this master, he spent three years during which he completely obtained the Lamdre teachings along with its esoteric instructions as Rinchen Sengge himself had received them from Choje Nyenchen Sonam Tenpa (chos rje nyan chen bsod nams brtan pa, 1222-1317). At another time, he obtained from Choje Walungpa Sonam Drakpa (chos rje ba lung pa bsod nams grags pa) in its entirety the cycle of Shangpa Kagyu teachings such as the instructions for the Six Dharmas of Niguma (ni gu chos drug).

At age twenty-six, in the horse year of 1358, Pelden Tsultrim approached Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen, whom he followed from that time on for seventeen years as attendant until his master’s demise in 1375. For instance, we know that in 1372 Lama Dampa returned to Sakya from his famous teaching session at Bodong (bo dong), where he had taught a gathering of more than thirty thousand monks. Subsequently, he bestowed on a couple of geshe, who had received the meditative instructions of the Six Yogas of Kālacakra, his own exegesis, the Great Introduction (ngo sprod chen mo). At that time, Pelden Tsultrim acted as manager of those instructions (khrid gnyer), overseeing whether one had obtained those prerequisites and thus being allowed to attend the teaching.

During the long period of time he served as Lama Dampa's attendant, Pelden Tsultrim received from his master all the Lamdre teachings that he possessed and became his chief disciple. He obtained for a third time the complete Lamdre cycle as well as the remaining Eight Cycles of the Path (lam skor brgyad). According to the Sakya system, he also received various empowerments along with minor esoteric instructions and the cycle on the major and minor forms of Mahākāla, that is, Vajrapañjara and Four-faced Śrīmahākāla. Moreover, he received explanations on the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra: eight times the Dvikalpa based on Lama Dampa's own commentary; one time the Vajrapañjara based on its commentary by Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen (rje btsun grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147-1216), the Gurgyen (gur rgyan); and once the Sampuṭa based on its commentary by Lobpon Sonam Tsemo (slob dpon bsod nams rtse mo, 1142-1182), the Nekyi Selche (gnad kyi gsal byed), and also thrice based on Buton's commentary.

Furthermore, he obtained the complete Indian and Tibetan teachings on the Six Yogas of Kālacakra (dus 'khor sbyor drug) and, in particular, through his expertise in the esoteric instructions and teachings for the removal of impediments of the Sonpa Cycle (sron pa'i skor) of Kālacakra, he became an outstanding master in instructing disciples that cultivated the religious experience of those teachings through meditative practice. Based on Lama Dampa's own commentary, he also received the exposition of the Vimalaprabhā. Along with that, he obtained teachings on all the other texts that Lama Dampa had written on Kālacakra.

Pelden Tsultrim later composed a biography of Lama Dampa. He also wrote biographies of Choje Ritropa Lodro Tenpa and Zhang Konchok Pel (zhang dkon mchog dpal, 1240-1307).

Pelden Tsultrim's biography names also other teachers such as Kazhipa Sherab Gyeltsen (bka' bzhi pa shes rab rgyal mtshan), Lama Drakgon (bla ma grags mgon), Lama Gonpo Bum (bla ma mgon po 'bum), Lama Gungpa Tashi Zangpo (bla ma gung pa bkra shis bzang po), and Lama Zungkyi Pelwa (bla ma gzungs kyi dpal ba, 1306-1389). From the teaching lineages listed in the record of teachings received by his disciple Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (ngor chen kun dga' bzang po, 1382-1456), we know that Lama Tsultrim Gyeltsen (bla ma tshul khrims rgyal mtshan) and Ripa Zhonnu Gyeltsen (ri pa gzhon nu rgyal mtshan, 1311-1390) were teachers of Pelden Tsultrim as well.

At one point later in his life, after 1377, Dakpo Jamyang Namkha Rinchen (bdag po 'jam dbyangs nam mkha' rin chen, b. 1348) invited Pelden Tsultrim to Lato Jang (la stod byang). This ruler provided him with a manorial estate of a monastery, and in doing so seemingly secured Pelden Tsultrim's livelihood, for he appears to have remained for a long time in that ruler's domain, bestowing teachings on a large scale. One of his disciples from that time was Ngorchen’s master Buddhaśrī (sangs rgyas dpal, 1339-1420). Buddhaśrī approached Pelden Tsultrim at the monastery of Kacho (mkha' spyod) to request teachings on the Lamdre.

About one year before he passed away, Pelden Tsultrim put down his testament in writing and instructed his disciples on his last wishes. Concerned about the future development of Jangchub Dzong, which had been plundered, his testament included an instruction to an unnamed disciple to take care of the hermitage.

Afterwards, he travelled to Tsamorong Jangchub Dzong to bestow on his local disciples yet unfinished teachings and, similarly, granted the remainder of other teachings to individual disciples as well. Prior to his passing, he seemingly resided at Sakya because it was there in the Shartokyi Zimkhang (shar stod kyi gzims khang) that he gave his last instructions, passing away at age seventy-seven on the tenth day of the fifth month of the hare year of 1399.

Two of Pelden Tsultrim’s most eminent disciples were Sharchen Yeshe Gyeltsen (shar chen ye shes rgyal mtshan, 1359-1406) and Buddhaśrī. The former is considered as his chief disciple that upheld the tradition of explaining the Buddha’s doctrine and the latter as the one that upheld the tradition of applying those teachings in religious practice. It was also on those two that Pelden Tsultrim bestowed the complete Lamdre. Since a few of his disciples could not finish their Lamdre studies while Pelden Tsultrim was still alive, he advised them to request the remaining teachings from either Sharchen or Buddhaśrī. A third master who had also received the complete Lamdre was Minyak Rinchen Dorje (mi nyag rin chen rdo rje), but he passed away at an early age in Kham (khams). Since Sharchen passed away before his eighteen-year restriction on bestowing the Lamdre had expired, Buddhaśrī became the chief lineage master of Pelden Tsultrim's Lamdre transmission, which he passed on to Ngorchen.