The Treasury of Lives

Pema Kunzang Rangdrol was born in the fire-dragon year, 1916, to the Gartsang (mgar tshang) family in a place called Khamtok Geda (khams thog dge zla) in Jomda County in the Drichu valley. His father was named Lodro (blo gros) and his mother, Tsedron (tshe sgron). At the age of four or five he was recognized as the tulku of Khenpo Pema Sherab Zangpo (pad+ma shes rab bzang po), who had founded the hermitage of Khalek (kha/mkhar legs) in the nineteenth century. At Khalek, with Langzhing Lama Pema (glang zhing bla ma pad+ma) as his tutor, he learned to read and write, and studied medicine and astrology. Then at Muksang Monastery (rmugs sangs dgon) he studied the Bodhicaryāvatāra and Abhidharma with Khenpo Kunga Rabgye (mkhan po kun dga' rab rgyas).

He spent five years at the Śrīsiṁha College of Dzogchen Monastery (dzogs chen dgon), where he studied all the major treatises with Khenpo Tubten Nyendrak (thub bstan snyan grags 1883–1959). He then spent a further eleven years studying in the colleges of such monasteries as Katok (kaH thog), Pelyul (dpal yul), Shechen (zhe chen), Pelpung (dpal spungs), Dzongsar (rdzong sar), and Muksang. His teachers included Minling Chung Rinpoche Ngawang Chodrak (smin gling gcung ngag dbang chos grags, 1908–1980), Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959), Shechen Kongtrul Pema Drime Lekpai Lodro (zhe chen kong sprul padma dri med legs pa'i blo gros, 1901–c.1960), Katok Khenpo Lekshe Jorden (legs bshad 'byor ldan), Dzogchen Khenpo Yonten Gonpo (yon tan mgon po, 1899–1959) and Pema Tsewang (pad+ma tshe dbang). From Dzogchen Khenpo Abu Lhagang (a bu lha sgang 1879–1955), he received an explanatory transmission of the Seven Treasuries (mdzod bdun) of Longchen Rabjam (klong chen rab 'byams, 1308–1364), and from Khenpo Nuden Dorje (P2370 nus ldan rdo rje) he received the transmission for the master’s own The Brilliant Light of Dawn (gzi ldan 'char kha’i 'od snang) as well as other teachings.

Above all, however, Pema Kunzang Rangdrol relied upon Adzom Gyelse Gyurme Dorje (a 'dzoms rgyal sras 'gyur med rdo rje, 1895–1969) as his principal guru. He received numerous transmissions and instructions from him, including the Seventeen Dzogchen Tantras and the Four Sections of the Heart-Essence (snying thig ya bzhi), which he then endeavored to put into practice.

Pema Kunzang Rangdrol sought all the empowerments, teachings and reading transmissions he could. He received the transmissions for all the major collections, such as the Kangyur and Tengyur, the Nyingma Kama, the Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod), and Treasury of Instructions (gdams ngag mdzod), as well as the collected writings of individual masters including Longchen Rabjam, Jigme Lingpa ('jigs med gling pa, 1730–1798), Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo (P3816 rong zom chos kyi bzang po, mid 11th cent.–early 12th cent.), Minling Terchen Gyurme Dorje (smin gling gter chen 'gyur med rdo rje, 1646–1714), Lochen Dharmaśrī (lo chen d+harma shrI, 1654–1718), the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 05 ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617–1682 ), Tāranātha (tA ra nA tha, 1575–1634), Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820–1892), Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam mgon kong sprul 1813–1899), Dza Patrul Rinpoche (rdza dpal sprul 1808–1887) and Ju Mipam Gyatso ('ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912). His record of received teachings (gsan yig) filled a large volume of around four hundred pages and helped to secure his reputation as a repository of almost every extant teaching and transmission.[1]

In time he passed on many of the transmissions he had received. For instance, he granted the empowerments, reading transmissions, and instructions for the Treasury of Instructions to Minling Khenchen Ngawang Khyentse Norbu (ngag dbang mkhyen brtse nor bu, 1905–1968), Minling Chung Rinpoche, and Dordrak Rigdzin Namgyel Gyatso (rdor brag rig 'dzin rnam grol rgya mtsho, b. 1936).

In around 1950, together with Muksang Kuchen Kunzang Sherab (rmugs sangs sku chen kun bzang shes rab), he visited central Tibet on pilgrimage. The two lamas took handwritten copies of the collected writings of both Minling Terchen and Lochen Dharmaśrī from Mindroling (smin grol gling) back to Kham and arranged for them to be printed there. While in Lhasa, Pema Kunzang Rangdrol met Dudjom Rinpoche Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms rin po che ye shes rdo rje 1904–1987) and discussed plans to meet again in India and work together in the service of the Nyingma teachings, but this never came to pass.

After he returned to Kham, Pema Kunzang Rangdrol was prevented from leaving and eventually arrested by the Chinese in 1958. While in prison he managed to continue imparting transmissions and empowerments to his fellow prisoners and taught on various topics, including the major and minor sciences. Among those who received instruction from him at this time was the famous physician Troru Tsenam (khro ru tshe rnam, 1928–2005).

Pema Kunzang Rangdrol was imprisoned for over twenty years. After his release in 1980, he returned to Muksang where he oversaw the renovation of the reliquary stūpa of terton Mingyur Dorje (mi 'gyur rdo rje 1645–1667) and participated in an elaborate, weeklong consecration ritual.

In his final years, he adopted the lifestyle of a hermit and remained mostly in retreat near Muksang, either at his own hermitage of Karma Lhateng (karma lha steng) or nearby at Peldro Taktsang (dpal gro stag tshang). At some point he was invited to Śrīsiṁha College where he gave teachings and transmissions. He met Khenpo Pema Tsewang (padma tshe dbang, 1931–2001), whose qualities he praised, and Penor Rinpoche (padma nor bu, 1932–2009) with whom he discussed the pressing need to revive the Buddhist teachings in Tibet. To his close disciples, Pema Kunzang Rangdrol emphasized the need to remain in solitude and would point out that the Nyingma adepts of the past preferred not to stay in busy towns or large monasteries.

He died in 1984 at Karma Lhateng. The cremation ceremony took place at Muksang and was led by Sibtrul Rinpoche (srib sprul rin po che), whom Pema Kunzang Rangdrol had taught while in prison.

His compositions, most recently published in a two-volume collection in 2010, include a nonsectarian history called The Chariot of Conviction (yid ches dad pa’i shing rta), which he completed in 1957; several texts related to the life of his main teacher Adzom Gyelse Gyurme Dorje; notes on the tsalung (rtsa rlung) practice of the Longchen Nyingtik; a defense of the Guhyagarbha Tantra; a denunciation of meat-eating; a rejoinder to sectarian claims by the Geluk teacher Drayab Tokden Jamyang Lodro (brag g.yab rtogs ldan 'jam dbyangs blo gros, 1888–1941); and a Buddhist response to the tenets of modern cosmology, which he offered to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (tA la'i bla ma 14, b. 1935).  

 

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