The Treasury of Lives

The Second Gangteng, Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub (sgang steng 02 bstan 'dzin legs pa'i don grub) was born in 1645, on the eighth day of the eleventh month of the wood-bird year. His father was Bonbi Choje Trinle Wangchen (bon sbis chos rje 'phrin las dbang chen) and mother was named Wachen Zhelngo Butri Lhamo (wa chen zhal rngo bu khrid lha mo).

It is said that at a young age the boy showed signs of being the reincarnation of the First Gangteng Tulku, Gyelse Pema Trinle (sgang steng 01 rgyal sras pad+ma 'phrin las, 1564-1642), such as recognizing a horse that the First Gangteng Tulku owned, and reciting stories of his life and events at Gangteng Monastery (sgang steng dgon). He as officially enthroned at Gangteng Monastery as the Second Gangteng Tulku.

There Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub studied philosophy, science, astrology and other subjects from renowned and learned teachers. Furthermore, he received the transmission of the treasures of Pema Lingpa (pad+ma gling pa, 1450-1521) from the Fourth Peling Tukse, Tendzin Gyurme Dorje (pad gling thugs sras 04 bstan 'dzin gyur med rdo rje, 1641-1702). After he completed his studies he entered into retreat on Dzogchen, and is said to have quickly achieved the signs of realization of the teachings.

At the age of thirty-seven, Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub was offered a place on which to build his winter residence, through the generosity of Gyelse Tendzin Rabgye (rgyal sras bstan 'dzin rab rgyas, 1638-1698). He started construction the following year at Chitokha, completing in three years the Chitokha Puntsok Rabten Ling (spyi to kha phun tshogs rab brtan gling). The site at Chitokha (also known as Shar Chitog Khar) was where the great adept Tangtong Gyelpo (thang stong rgyal po, 1361-1485) had laid a foundation two hundred years before by building a temple.

A story is told that once, in Thimphu, Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub consecrated a statue of Padmasambhava made by a Nepali sculptor and installed in the Tashichoedzong (bkra shis chos rdzong). When the temple was later ravaged by fire, almost everything was destroyed except for this statue; it is said that not even the gold paint on the face of the statue was damaged. Thereafter the statue came to be known as the “fire resistant Padmasambhava,” and it remains in the temple to this day.

Many other stories are told about Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub's miraculous powers; once, while he was at Mebartso (me 'bar mtsho), the  Burning Lake, in Bumthang, all witnessed the sweet smell of incense and the sound of religious instruments pervading the entire valley. Sacred water emerged from the rock cliffs, and Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub saw the image of the treasure lord (gter bdag) who guarded the concealed treasures there, and received numerous prophecies. Another time, while he was while performing a wrathful ritual at Punakha Dzong (spu na kha rdzong) to drive away enemies, people saw a blazing fire shoot out from the ritual cakes (gtor ma) and fly towards the direction of the enemies, causing them to retreat.

When Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub was fifty-nine years of age, he expanded Gangteng Monastery to accommodate an increase in students. Lama Shacha (bla ma sha kya, d.u.) served as the project manager, Gelong Gyatso (dge slong rgya mtsho, d.u.) supervised craftsmanship, and numerous monks and lay devotees contributed their labor. It is said that the protecting deities themselves offered the construction materials: the stones were offered by the local deity Drak Seng (brag srin). Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub performed the elaborate consecration ceremony.

He conferred the transmissions and empowerments of Lama Drakpo Marchen (bla ma drag po mar chen) and Tsetri Dorje Trengwa (tshe khri rdo rje phreng ba) on Gyelse Tendzin Rabgye and Ponlob Jikgyel (dpon slob 'jigs rgyal) and his brothers.

He late chose Gyelse Tendzin Rabgye's reincarnation, Jetsun Mipam Wangpo (rje btsun mi pham dbang po, d.u.) as his successor at Gangteng, welcoming him to the monastery with a grant ceremony and conferring on him the full transmission of the Peling teachings.

In the year 1727, at age of eighty-two, on the fifteenth day of the auspicious month of the Buddha’s descent from Tushita Heaven, Tendzin Lekpai Dondrub demonstrated the act of passing into nirvana. Following the instructions of the Fourth Peling Tukse, his body was preserved for some years. Eventually, the Fifth Peling Tukse Kunzang Gyurme Chokdrub (pad gling thugs sras 05 kun bzang 'gyur med mchog grub, d.u.) presided over a cremation, and later the relics were used as the inner content for the construction of the one-story stupa in the middle of the monastic ground.