The Treasury of Lives

Khonton Peljor Lhundrub ('khon ston dpal 'byor lhun grub) was born in 1561 into the famous Khon ('khon) clan, an ancient Tibetan family whose members include the founders and present-day throne holders of the Sakya school. Khontonpa was born in the village of Kyonggar (skyong gar) in the region of E. His father, Tsewang Norgye (tshe dbang nor rgyas), was an important figure in the transmission lineage of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, one of the most important tantric systems of the Nyingma school. According to Guru Tashi, the lineage came to him from Nyida Sanggye (nyi zla sangs rgyas, d.u.), who received it from the eighteenth abbot of Drigung, Rinchen Puntsok ('bri gung rin chen phun tshogs, 1509-1557), a disciple of the Fourth Zhamarpa, Chodrak Yeshe (zhwa dmar chos grags ye shes, 1453-1524). His mother, Gyelmo Dzom (rgyal mo 'dzom), had three children, of whom he was the eldest. His birth name is not known.

Later in life he was considered to have been a reincarnation of the great Nyingma scholar-saint Dropukpa (sgro phug pa, d.u.), the son of Zurchungpa (zur chung pa, d.u.).

As a child he learned to read and write and it is said that by the age of seven he had developed a strong sense of renunciation by secretly reading Lojong texts between lessons. His biographers also tell us that a sense of compassion for sentient beings never left him from the time when, as a child, he saw the suffering being experienced by a dog.

In 1570, at age ten, Khontonpa's parents took him to receive teachings on refuge and the altruistic mind from the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 03 bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588). At some point, either in 1570 or 1578, he took lay vows from the Third Dalai Lama, receiving the name Sonam Namgyel (bsod nams rnam rgyal).

In 1574, at age thirteen or fourteen, Peljor Lhundrub's father took him for a visit to Dakpo College (dwags po grwa tshang), a Geluk a teaching institution in southeastern Tibet founded by a student of Tsongkhapa, Lodro Tenpa (blo gros bstan pa, d.u.) or Lodro Gyatso (blo gros rgya mtsho, d.u.) in 1473. There he received a number of long-life empowerments and some teachings, including Nyingma teachings, from the master of the college, Kelzang Gyatso (skal bzang rgya mtsho, d.u.).

Peljor Lhundrub did not, however, enroll in the monastery at this time. Instead, he continued to live at home, where he was tutored by his father. Over the next several years Tsewang Norgye imparted to his son various important Nyingma lineages, including the empowerment and teachings on the Guhyagarbha Tantra. In his seventeenth year (1578) he met his other main Nyingma tutor, his father's own master Nyida Sanggye. Over the next two years Peljor Lhundrub received from this famous master a variety of teachings on Dzogchen, as well as other instructions of both the scriptural and treasure genres.

Not long after the death of his father, which occurred when he was nineteen or twenty, Peljor Lhundrub began to devote himself to Geluk scholastic studies. He officially entered Dakpo College in 1580, taking novice ordination at age of twenty under the abbot, Olkha Lobzang Gyatso ('ol kha blo bzang rgya mtsho, d.u.). Under this same teacher he also began his studies of the various subjects of the scholastic curriculum, and he began to compose his own works. He wrote his Teaching on the Middle Way View (dbu ma lta khrid) in his twenty-second year while he was still studying at Dakpo; the work is no longer extant.

Shortly after completing his initial studies at Dakpo, Peljor Lhundrub was appointed to an administrative position at his old home monastery of E Rigo Chode (e ri sgo chos sde). He served in this capacity for a year and then went into retreat for a short time. When he returned to Dakpo, he began to teach.

Finishing his initial studies at Dakpo College, with an advanced knowledge of the classical Indian texts, Peljor Lhundrub decided to travel to Lhasa to enroll in the Je College of Sera Monastery (se ra byes drwa tshang). At Sera, he deepened his knowledge of the Indian texts under the tutelage of Peljor Sonam Lhundrub (dpal 'byor bsod nams lhun grub, b. 1553) and Trinle Lhundrub ('phrin las lhun grub, d.u.), both abbots of the college.

Not long after arriving at Sera, he did the traditional monastic “debate rounds” within the monastery and was awarded the lingse (gling bsre) degree, one of the degrees of geshe (dge bshes). This did not bring an end to his studies, however, for he continued to receive teachings from Trinle Lhundrub on various texts not normally covered in the standard Geluk curriculum, such as the four additional works of Maitreya.  He also received various tantric initiations and teachings form his master during the breaks between the formal teaching periods. Shortly after completing the study of these additional texts, Peljor Lhundrub sat for an additional set of examinations covering this broader corpus of literature at Tsetang (rtse thang) Monastery, obtaining the higher title of rabjampa, (rab 'byams pa); “master of myriad treatises.”

After completing his formal scholastic studies, Peljor Lhundrub began to travel and to take teachings from some of the more famous scholars in the region. For example, he went to Kyisho (skyid shod) to study Lamrim  literature under the Twenty-fourth Ganden Tripa, Jampa Gyatso (dga' ldan khri pa 24 byams pa rgya mtsho, 1516-1590).  He also spent considerable time at Lhetak Monastery (lhas ltag dgon), where he studied under Chennga Chopel Zangpo (spyan snga chos dpal bzang po, d.u.). From this renowned master he received instruction on Tsongkapa's Lamrim Chenmo (lam rim chen mo) and on a wide range of topics of both sutra and tantra. His biographers tell us that he devoted himself to single-pointed contemplation on these texts until “he made realizations appear.”

The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617-1682), whose biography of his teacher is one of the main sources for his life, records an interesting episode in Peljor Lhundrub's life that occurred while he was studying under Chenngapa. One day, he asked his teacher to engage in a prognostication to determine how long he (Peljor Lhundrub) would live. The master told his young student that he should engage in the practice of the deity Lhamo Śramaṇa (lha mo śramaṇa) so as to receive this information through his own dreams. The Fifth Dalai Lama records what transpired:

A woman appeared to him [Peljor Lhundrub] in his dream at dusk. She said, “You only have seven more years to live.” Fearing that there were obstacles to accomplishing his many religious goals, he became worried and prayed again, asking her, “What will help to eliminate these interferences [to my lifespan]?” During a dream he had at dawn, she replied, “If you have eight statues of Amitābha and White Tārā built, you will be able [to live to the age] of seventy-seven. But there is nothing you can do [to lengthen your lifespan] beyond that.

Peljor Lhundrub commissioned these statues on a yearly basis, and he lived to the precise age of seventy-seven.

Peljor Lhundrub's other teachers during this somewhat peripatetic period of his life include the great Gomde Namkha Gyeltsen (sgom sde nam mkha' rgyal mtshan, 1532-1592), the eleventh abbot of Sera Je, from whom he received the empowerment and instructions on the generation and completion stages of the deity Yamāntaka. (He later wrote a history of the masters in the Yamāntaka lineage entitled 'Jam dpal gzhin rje gshed skor gyi bla ma brgyud pa'i chos 'byung gdul bya'i re 'dod skong ba yid bzhin nor bu'i phreng ba, a work that is still extant and that has been recently published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.) He also studied under Choje Rinchen Shenyen (chos rje rin chen bshes gnyan, d.u.) at Pabongkha Hermitage (pha bong kha ri khrod) above Sera.

In 1594, when he was thirty-four years old, at Ganden Monastery (dga' ldan rnam par rgyal ba'i gling), Peljor Lhundrub received full ordination from Peljor Gyatso, the Twenty-fifth Ganden Tripa (dga' ldan khri pa 25 dpal 'byor rgya mtsho, 1526-1599) and Gendun Gyeltsen, the Twenty-eighth Ganden Tripa (dga' ldan khri pa 28 dge 'dun rgyal mtshan, 1532-1605/7). It was at this time that he received his ordination name, Peljor Lhundrub. He then entered Gyume College (rgyud smad grwa tshang), where he studied for four years under the renowned Khedrub Namgyel Pelzang, also known as Namkha Pelzang (mkhas grub rnam rgyal/mkha' dpal bzang, 1541-1602), mastering all of the major tantric texts and rites of the Geluk tantric tradition.

During breaks in his studies at Gyume he would often go to other monasteries, like Ganden and Drepung, for other tantric teachings and to engage in retreat. Despite several illnesses, he continued his practice with great perseverance, and his fame as a scholar and practitioner began to spread.

In 1599 Peljor Lhundrub received word that his mother had taken seriously ill, and he decided to go home to see her. He learned that she had passed away while he was staying at Chonggye ('phyong rgyas) on the road to E. He continued his journey home to perform his mother's funerary rituals.

On his return to Lhasa, he continued tantric studies at Sera under Peljor Sonam Lhundrub. He also turned his attention to poetics and prosody. During this period he accumulated 100,000 circumambulations of Lhasa's most famous temple, the Jokhang, and engaged in a variety of other merit-making practices on behalf of a patron, Nyangdren Rinchen Tselpa (nyang bran rin chen tshal pa, d.u.). Throughout this entire time he continued to study both tantric and exoteric scholastic subjects under a variety of different masters.

In 1601, at the age of forty, Peljor Lhundrub was appointed chief teacher, or lobpon (slob dpon), of the Nyima Tang College (nyi ma thang) of Sangpu (gsang phu) Monastery. He held this position for five years. Four years into his term at there, Trinle Lhundrub, then the abbot of Sera Je, became gravely ill. Trinle Lhundrub instructed the monks of the college to appoint his disciple as his successor; Peljor Lhundrub was installed as the fifteenth abbot of Sera Je in 1605.

Even during his time as abbot, Peljor Lhundrub continued to receive instructions from the famous masters of the Geluk tradition. For example, in 1611 he went to Drepung to take teachings on the Vajra Garland Tantra (rdo rje phreng ba) and other tantras under the Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (paṇ chen bla ma 04 blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662), one of the greatest scholars of the day. Peljor Lhundrub developed a close relationship with the Paṇchen Lama, who, it is said, praised him profusely, pronouncing him to be an extremely learned and holy being, and even prophesizing his later ascension to the position of Lord of Pabongkha, presumably the abbot of the hermitage.

During his years as master of Sera Je, Peljor Lhundrub continued, whenever possible, to meet and to study under the greatest teachers of other schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Jonang, Sakya and Kagyu. As the Fifth Dalai Lama states, “although he already possessed a great wealth of erudition, his thirst for knowledge was never quenched.”

Life as an abbot of Sera in the early seventeenth century was far from easy. The Fifth Dalai Lama mentions some petty opposition that Peljor Lhundrub faced from his fellow monks during his tenure as head of the College, a reminder that the great Geluk seats of learning were not immune from internal squabbles. The greatest challenges that he faced, however, were not from within the walls of the monastery but from the outside world of Tibetan realpolitik. Over the previous decades the former rulers of Tibet, the Rinpungpas (rin spungs pa), had gradually lost power to the kings of Tsang. By the time Peljor Lhundrub ascended to the abbacy of Sera Je, the new political force, the rulers of Tsang, had substantial control of central and western Tibet, and were nervously watching the Mongolian presence associated with the Fourth Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 04 yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589-1616), who had been born in Mongolia and installed in Lhasa in 1603. Tensions were increased by the Kagyu affiliation of the Tsangpa rulers, which meant that all Geluk monasteries in Lhasa were under Kagyu control, a fact that occasionally curtailed their religious freedoms.

In 1616 the Fourth Dalai Lama died. The following year, the Paṇchen Lama became titular head of Sera and Drepung. The monks of these two Geluk institutions, resentful of being under the control of the Tsang king, began to plan, in conjunction with Khalkha Mongolian troops, an armed attack against the Tsangpa forces stationed in Lhasa. Peljor Lhundrub tried his best to keep Sera monks from taking part in this uprising, and especially from resorting to violence, but his pleas were ignored. In their revolt of 1618, the Geluk monks and their Mongolian supporters proved no match for the Tsangpa troops under the leadership of Karma Tenkyong Wangpo (karma bstan skyong dbang po, d. 1642), the son of Karma Puntsok Wangyel (karma phun tshogs rnam rgyal, 1597-1632). Many monks were killed, and those that managed to avoid being massacred had to flee to Taklung (stag lung), northeast of Lhasa. The Paṇchen Lama himself fled to Ngari in northwestern Tibet, and Peljor Lhundrub, fearing that he might have to become a refugee in Mongolia, went to Yerpa (yer pa) to wait as events unfolded. Eventually, the Geluk monks were allowed to return to their monasteries, and Peljor Lhundrub returned to Sera, which he found sacked and in a state of chaos. He did his best to restore order, but the task was a mammoth one.

It was probably as a result of these political problems, both internal and external to Sera, that, after teaching at monastery for about fourteen years, Khonton Peljor Lhundrub stepped down as master of the Je College. In 1619, at the age of fifty-eight, he moved from Sera to the nearby Pabongkha Hermitage, where he devoted himself to more intensive practice. There he devoted himself chiefly to meditation, and he made that ancient hermitage his base of operations for most of the rest of his life, staying mostly in his retreat throughout one of the most turbulent periods of Tibetan history, during which Mongolian and Tibetan factions from Tsang and Lhasa battled for control of Tibet.

It was as a result of his long stay at Pabongkha that Khontonpa is also known under the title Pabongkhapa (pha bong kha pa). Although some contemporary scholars have claimed that the controversial Pabongkhapa Dechen Nyingpo (pha bong kha pa bde chen snying po, 1878-1941) was Khontonpa's reincarnation, this is a misunderstanding. Dechen Nyingpo was identified in his lifetime as the reincarnation of a minor abbot (mkhan sprul). He in fact never lived at Pabongkha but rather meditated for a period of time at the nearby hermitage of Takten Drubpuk (rtags brtan sgrub phug). It was the Changkya lamas (lcang skya) who were considered the reincarnations of Khontonpa.

Shortly after moving to Pabongkha, Peljor Lhundrub began to teach Zurchen Choying Rangdrol (zur chen chos dbyings rang grol 1604-1669), also known as Zur Peljor Trinle Rabgye (zur dpal 'byor phrin las rab rgyas). Like his teacher, Zurchen is considered a major lineage holder in both the Nyingma and Geluk traditions, and was himself one of the teachers of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Peljor Lhundrub taught Zurchen from 1621 to 1637, often giving him two daily teaching sessions on Yungton Dorje Pelwa's (g.yung ston rdo rje dpal ba, 1284-1365) commentary on the Guhyagarbha as well as Dzogchen. Interestingly, Zurchen is also considered the next lineage lama following Khonton Peljor Lhundrub in the Geluk Lamrim lineage.

In 1622 the young Fifth Dalai Lama was enthroned at the Ganden Podrang (dga' ldan pho brang), located at Drepung Monastery. He took novice vows two years later. In 1628 there was a lunar eclipse, and Khonton Peljor Lhundrub interpreted this as an omen of bad things to come. Although he did not travel much while at Pabongkha, he did receive many visitors, imparting empowerments and instructions to an entire generation of young incarnate lamas and ordinary monks. In 1632 he became very ill. When his disciples showed concern, he told them that there was nothing to fear, reassuring them that he still had about five years left to live. After recovering, he traveled the following year (1633) to the Ganden Podrang, where he gave his new student a variety of empowerments and instructions in both the Nyingma and Geluk traditions. According to the Fifth Dalai Lama's regent, Desi Sanggye Gyatso (sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, 1635-1705), the Dalai Lama repeatedly asserted that Khonton Peljor Lhundrub and the latter's student, Zurchen, “were his two chief tutors during the early part of his life.”

In 1634 Khontonpa once again became quite ill, and different rituals were done on his behalf at various institutions in and around Lhasa, indicating the prestige that he had achieved by this point. As on previous occasions, he recovered. In the following year (1635), another year of great political upheaval in Tibet, the Fifth Dalai Lama spent a fortnight at Pabongkha receiving empowerments, oral transmissions, and teachings from Khontonpa on a variety of subjects of both the Nyingma and New traditions.

Nevertheless, the Fifth Dalai Lama is clear to situate his teacher firmly in the Geluk tradition, even defend him from those who would disparage teachers who engage in other traditions. In his biography of Khontonpa, the Dalai Lama writes of his firsthand experience of the great reverence that Khontonpa had for the teachings of Tsongkhapa, to the point that tears would well up in his eyes at the thought that the political turmoil of his day might lead to the decline of Tsongkhapa's tradition. The Fifth Dalai Lama also adds that “because of his great knowledge of the nonsectarian tradition, even during his own lifetime there were many individuals who described his philosophical position as impure.” “However,” he continues, “the measure of having a really pure philosophical view is whether or not one respects this very master [Khontonpa] who had authentic respect for the teachings of the victor Tsongkhapa.” Khontonpa's great faith in Tsongkhapa is attested to in his own works. For example, in the final lines of his History of the Yamāntaka Lineage, Khontonpa refers to himself as “Peljor Lhundrub, a Khon monk, who, though born into the Mañjuśrī Khon lineage of the glorious Sakyapas, came to understand and to have faith in the texts of the omniscient Lobzang Drakpa [i.e., Tsongkhapa].” The Dalai Lama also asserted that Khontonpa was a reincarnation of Geluk patriarchs Jamchen Choje Shakya Yeshe (byams chen chos rje shAkya ye shes, 1354-1435) and of Chokyi Gyeltsen (chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1469-1544), the writer of the Sera Je textbooks.

In addition to defending his teacher's doctrinal understanding, the Dalai Lama also recounts several anecdotes to confirm the depth of Khontonpa's attainments. Despite the fact that his teacher always tried to hide his realization, the Dalai Lama states that he witnessed many instances that confirmed for him Khontonpa's level of realization. For instance, he cites examples to show that his teacher had great compassion for others, that he had perfected the generation stage of tantra, that his divinations were always accurate, and that he was capable of predicting the future. The Dalai Lama also expresses great admiration for his master's method of teaching: “In between the sessions of formal teachings, his conversations always consisted of historical anecdotes of the great events of the past, and his explanations were always flanked by the oral traditions of the lineage of the elders.” “Never,” he adds, “did I hear him say anything that was motivated by the three mental poisons [anger, desire, and ignorance], nor did he ever engage in stupid, idle chatter.” At the end of his two-week stay, as the young Dalai Lama was about to take leave of his teacher, Khontonpa told his student that the time for him to take full ordination was at hand, and that he should invite the Paṇchen Lama to serve as abbot during the ceremony. This, in fact, happened a few years later in 1638.

In 1636 war once again broke out in Lhasa, and the Fifth Dalai Lama and his entourage took refuge at the Gyel Lhakhang Monastery in Penyul ('phan yul rgyal lha khang). Once the threat had subsided, the Dalai Lama returned to the capital, stopping at Pabongkha Hermitage. Although the Dalai Lama had planned to spend a few months receiving teachings from Khontonpa, circumstances did not allow him to remain for more than ten days. Nonetheless, Khontonpa managed to give his student many special instructions during this time. He also warned him of his own (i.e., of Khontonpa's) impending death: “I am now seventy-six years old, and I don't know how much longer I will live.” The young Dalai Lama asked his teacher where he would be reborn. The master replied that if he had any choice in the matter, he would not be reborn in China, Mongolia, or U or Tsang. Lest the reader assume from this response that Khonton Rinpoche had seen too much strife on the Tibetan plateau and was ready to leave the Tibetan world behind him, the Dalai Lama assures us that his teacher's words should not be taken literally. This is, of course, significant, since eventually the Changkya lamas would come to be recognized as the reincarnations of Khonton Peljor Lhundrub.

In the seventh Tibetan month of 1636, the victorious Khalkha Mongolian general Arslang arrived in Lhasa. Arslang visited Khontonpa as part of his tour of the city. Various bad weather omens, including hail, occurred during the visit, and rituals had to be done on Arslang's behalf. Arslang asked Khontonpa whether a reconciliation between him and his estranged father was possible. The master replied that it was not, that serious obstacles still remained. And, in fact, it would not be long before Arslang's father, Tsogtu Taiji, would order the murder of his own son for having betrayed him.

By 1637 life at Pabongkha returned to normal. The monks' rainy season retreat was observed, and the traditional ritual cycles were performed. But then various bad omens began to appear. On the eighth day of the eighth Tibetan month, at the conclusion of the rainy season retreat, Khontonpa became slightly ill. His condition worsened, but he maintained a joyful attitude, even smiling and greeting visitors who came to see him. On the ninth and tenth he took to looking repeatedly into space and laughing, his expression one of utter joy. The Dalai Lama tells us that what was transpiring, “although of great significance, is beyond anyone's ability to put into words.” Khontonpa, he then recounts, “actualized the profound, peaceful, unelaborated state of the clear-light dharma body on the evening of the eleventh day of the month.” The Fifth Dalai Lama, who was twenty-one years old at the time, was traveling, and so, in his words, “missed the opportunity to see [Khontonpa] make his passage to the pure land.” Two days later, however, he did have the chance to see his teacher's body in the type of meditative equipoise known as tukdam (thugs dam).

Various miraculous signs are said to have appeared: Khontonpa's body emitted a pleasant fragrance and a glow that would not dissipate; a canopy of rainbow light took shape in a clear sky, a sign that often accompanies the passing of a Dzogchen master; on the nineteenth, eight days after he stopped breathing, the two “drops,” one white and one red, appeared from the great master's nostrils, indicating that he had passed from “the clear light of death of the dharma body into the enjoyment body of the intermediate state.” The funeral services were then performed. As foretold in his dream by the goddess Śramaṇa decades earlier, Khontonpa died at the age of seventy-seven, on August 20, 1637.

With offerings made by the Mongolian ruler Gushri Khan, the leader of the Koshot Mongols, and others, the Fifth Dalai Lama built a silver funerary stupa at Pabongkha to house his teacher's remains, and he commissioned a life-size statue of Khontonpa for the hermitage. Various magical signs are said to have occurred on the day the body was finally placed inside the stupa reliquary. As a tribute to his teacher, the Dalai Lama also expanded the Pabongkha retreat center and generously endowed it with fields, pastures, and livestock. An important influence on the Great Fifth, both intellectually and spiritually, Khontonpa's most extensive biography is the one written by the Dalai Lama, his most famous student.