The Treasury of Lives

Drakpa Gyaltsen and Sakya Pandita, uncle and nephew, teacher and student surrounded by the lineage Kings of Shambhala. This composition belongs to a larger set of paintings depicting the Lamdre Lineage of the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in a two figure per composition configuration.

Chakrasamvara, Sahaja Heruka, with the footprints of Drigungpa Rinchen Pel

Nineteenth century portrait of the Bon master Drenpa Namkha surrounded by deities and lineage masters.

An eighteenth century painting of the Indian master Śākyaśrībhadra.

The Tibetan Trade Delegation to the US and the UK stand outside 10 Downing Street with Prime Minister Clement Atlee. The photo shows, from left to right, Khenchung Tubten Tsepel Taikhang (younger brother of Shakabpa), Finance Minister Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa, Yampel Pangdatsang, Prime Minister Clement Atlee, Surkhang Lhawang Topgyal and Kaludharma Ratna (interpreter). An Advanced Political History of Tibet misidentifies Surkhang Lhawang Topgyal as his father Dzasa Surkhang Surpa Wangchen Tseten, but in fact it was Surkhang Lhawang Topgyal who was part of the trade delegation as its interpreter. 

A nineteenth century painting featuring the First Dorje Drak Rigdzin, Rigdzin Godemchen Ngodrub Gyeltsen, a Nyingma treasure revealer who discovered the Jangter, or Northern Treasures. 

This drawing shows Lhasa before 1950 from an elevated perspective. The highly detailed representation shows many major monasteries and landmarks of Lhasa.

An 18th century painting of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, the founder of Pelyul monastery, surrounded by deities and Nyingma masters.

Avalokiteśvara Jinasagara is depicted at center with meditation deities immediately surrounding: Hayagrīva (left), Guhyajñāna (right), Siddharajni (center top), Mahākāla (center bottom). On the uppermost level is Milarepa on the left, Marpa in the center, and Gampopa on the right. 

This Nyingma painting of Padmasambhava as Sengge Dradok shows Yeshe Tsogyel in the lower right corner.

This 20th century painting depicts Padmasambhava in wrathful form as Guru Dragpo, in the treasure tradition of Padmasambhava biographer Nyangrel Nyima Ozer.

Ivory sculpture of Avalokiteśvara is attributed to the Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje, and is dated to 1647/1648 or 1658.

This 18th century painting of Vajrakila depicts Sakya masters on either side of Vajrasattva.

This twentieth century painting of the Sixteenth Karmapa depicts Shakyamuni Buddha in the upper register and Kagyu masters below. 

An unidentified person, Tseten Zhabdrung, Sungrab Gyatso (left to right)

Lama Gyurdrak and LP Lhalungpa photographed with Canadian High Commisioner James George and family, Delhi, late 1960's. 

Nineteenth century (likely made after 1829) painting from Drumpa Monastery in southern Tibet near the border of Bhutan depicts the Mountain Dharma Trilogy transmission of Yanggonpa. The painting portrays Kagyu masters including lineages of the Barawa subsect of the Drukpa Kagyu. Annotations and analysis courtesy of Dr. Marlene Erschbamer.

Avalokiteśvara with one thousand hands and eleven faces in the nyungne tradition of Gelongma Pelmo with Geluk lineage teachers of Tashilhunpo Monastery. 

Rubin Museum of Art, acc.# F1997.1.6

Rahula, wrathful protector of the the treasure tradition, is depicted with various masters in a nineteenth century painting from Kham. 

This mural from Jorra Monastery in southern Tibet depicts Pang Lotsawa in the center with his nephews Jangchub Tsemo to the left and Drakpa Gyeltsen to the right. The Jorra incarnations are considered emanations of Bodong Panchen, himself a nephew of Drakpa Gyeltsen.

Buton and his disciple and successor at Zhalu, Dratsepa Rinchen Namgyel depicted in a wall painting at Zhalu Monastery.

This early 16th-century mural from the region of Dartsedo is the only known ancient group depiction of the Five Scholars of Minyak, five masters who flourished in Minyak Rabgang during the 14th century. Each figure is identified by small captions in headed script. A sixth figure is labeled Khe[pa] chen[po] Drakpa Dorje.

The six figures are illustrated uniquely. In particular Rigpa Sengge is said to have been one legged after having been bitten by a snake during his teenage years.

The remains of a red poster pasted on the walls during the Cultural Revolution can be spotted in the upper right section of the photograph, which was taken by JB Georges-Picot in 2018.

The Ra clan is divided into two branches, the Rakarpo and the Ranakpo. The clan originated in eastern Tibet, and while several branches later settled in central Tibet, the majority continue to be based in Kham and Amdo. The clan is largely supporters of the Bon tradition. The First Chakri, Nyima Drakpa was born into the Rakarpo clan in the Kham Nangchen region. Prominent members of the include the Bon lamas Dampa Lodro Gyeltsen and Tagu Nyima Gyeltsen, commonly known by the abbreviated name of Tagu Nyigyel.

The religious traditions of Tibet include both Bon, the indigenous tradition, and the myriad Buddhist teaching lineages and institutions. Several schema have been developed over the centuries to classify these. Bon has been divided (not always without condemnation) into "Black Bon" and "White Bon," as well as "Old and New Bon," the latter of which refers to the Bon treasure tradition. Probably most widely known of the Buddhist categories is the group of four traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug, although this ignores many independent teaching lineages and independent monastic institutions. A more inclusive system is the "eight chariots of practice lineage" (sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad): Nyingma, Kadam, Marpa Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, Lamdre/Sakya, Shije and Cho, Kalacakra, and Orgyen Nyendrub, with Kadam representing the later Gelug tradition as well. Chinese attempts at understanding Tibetan religion resulted in the "colored-hat" groupings – "yellow hat" being the Gelug, "red hat" referring to Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya. The later two are occasionally referred to as "black hat" and "gray hat" respectively.

Users to this site can browse according to "primary" and "secondary" tradition affiliation. For example, the Fifth Dalai Lama's primary affiliation is Gelug, although he was also active in the Bon and the Nyingma, and had relations through birth with the Drukpa Kagyu, and so will appear in browse results for lamas of those tradition when the "secondary" affiliation option is active.

The Ra tradition (ra lugs) of Vajrabhairava came to Tibet in the eleventh century through the translation and propagation of Ra Lotsāwa Dorje Drakpa. It was never was established in an independent institutional tradition, but instead, after a period of some contest and competition, permeated all Sarma, or new, translation traditions.

There are two lineage of the Kālacakra, the Ra lineage (rva lugs) and the Dro lineage (bro lugs). The Dro lineage was established in Tibet by a Kashmiri disciple of Nalendrapa named Paṇḍita Somanatha, who traveled to Tibet in 1027, and his translator Dro Lotsāwa Sherab Drak, from which it takes its name. The Ra lineage was brought to Tibet by another Kashmiri disciple of Nalendrapa named Samantaśrībhadra, and translated by Ra Lotsāwa Chorab. These two lineages were absorbed by the dominant religious traditions of Tibet, particularly the Sakya and Geluk, but their transmission can not be said to be tied to any one of those traditions, and some historical figures are best understood as Kālacakra masters above any other affiliation they might have enjoyed.

The Barawa Kagyu ('ba' ra ba bka' brgyud) was established in the fourteenth century by Gyeltsen Pelzang from Baradrak in Shang. Gyeltsen Pelzang also founded the first monastic complex of this tradition there, Dondrubding Monastery, which served as the seat of his incarnation line, the Barawa Tulku. The Barawa tradition emerged from the Yanggon Kagyu, founded by Yanggonpa Gyeltsen Pel. The latter is in turn a sub-branch of the Upper Druk. As early as the fourteenth century, the Barawa Kagyu spread to Bhutan. Later monasteries were established at different places in Tibet but mainly along the Himalayan slopes and in Sikkim. The most important centers in Tibet were Dondrubding Monastery in Baradrak, Drapu Choling Monastery in Kyirong, and Kagyu Gonsar Monastery in the Chumbi Valley, none of which have survived into the modern era, although the tradition continues in exile communities. The core teachings include, among others, the Mountain Dharma Trilogy (ri chos skor gsum) by Yanggonpa Gyeltsen Pel and the Exegesis of Buddhism (thar par 'jug pa'i gru bo zab don chos kyi gter mdzod), an encyclopedia of Buddhist scholasticism by Barawa Gyeltsen Pelzang.

Ehrhard, Franz-Karl. 2009. "The Lineage of the 'Ba'-ra-ba bKa'-brgyud-pa School as Depicted on a Thangka and in Golden Rosary Texts." Münchner Beiträge zur Völkerkunde 13, 179–209.

Erschbamer, Marlene. 2017. The 'Ba'-ra-ba bKa'-brgyud-pa: Historical and Contemporary Studies. Vienna: WSTB.