The Treasury of Lives

Tennyi Lingpa Pema Tsewang Gyelpo (bstan gnyis gling pa padma tshe dbang rgyal po) was born in 1480 into a prominent family in the Tsang valleys (gtsang rong), the seat of the Rinpung rulers, in a place called Jazang Tashi Ding (bya bzang bkra shis sdings / bkra shis stengs). His father, whose name was either Norbu (nor bu), Zhangnge (zhang nge), or Zangpo Dondrub (bzang po don 'grub), served as both a headman (dpon) and steward (gnyer pa) of Jazang. His mother was called Gyelmokyi (rgyal mo skyid). His grandfather was the Rinpung headman (dpon / sa skyong) Norbu Zangpo (nor bu bzang po, b. 1343).

Tennyi Lingpa's ordination name was Peljor Gyeltsen (dpal 'byor rgyal mtshan). Apparently, he never used it to sign any of his compositions. Tennyi Lingpa is his terton (gter ston) name, and it is under this name that he is counted among the eight most important Lingpas, an historical grouping of influential revealers of treasure, or terma (gter ma). Pema Tsewang Gyelpo is the name by which he is called in the visionary experience that was to initiate his career as treasure revealer. He is known by a very similar surname in the Bonpo tradition: Yungdrung Tsewang Gyelpo (g.yung drung tshe dbang rgyal po), as well as, of course, Tennyi Lingpa. In other contexts, "tennyi" (bstan gnyis) refers to the doctrine (bstan) of the sūtras and that of the tantras. Here, this binomial unmistakably refers to Bon and Buddhism, a dual affiliation that makes Tsewang Gyelpo a key figure in Tibetan religious eclecticism.

Tennyi Lingpa is presented, in his own terma, as a reincarnation of an eighth-century princess called Nujin Saley (lha cam nus 'byin sa le), said to be the daughter of Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde'u btsan, 742–796) and Dromsa Jangchub Dron ('grom sa / 'brom za / bza' byang chub sgron). This princess seems not to be mentioned in earlier biographies of Padmasambhava and the narrative developed around her suggests a variation of the legend of princess Pemasel (padma gsal), so crucial to Pema Ledreltsel's Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī (mkha' 'gro snying thig).[1]

He also regarded himself as a reincarnation of Orgyen Lingpa's (ya rje o rgyan gling pa, b. 1323) son Dorje Gyeltsen (rdo rje rgyal mtshan).

Two prophecies are said to have anticipated his birth. Padmasambhava's Chronicles from the Crystal Rock (padma bka' thang shel brag ma) contains the following lines:

This one [Tulku Do-ngak Lingpa (sprul sku mdo sngags gling pa)] will not last, and after his nirvāṇa,
military camps will be set up on the nine islands of the Yardrok Lake (yar 'brog mtsho)
and two-thirds of the inhabitants of Tsang will die young in battle;
this will be the sign not to leave but to reveal
this treasure hidden in the Astrological Temple [and so]
Orgyen Tennyi Lingpa will appear.

A preserved prophetic passage of a presumably lost terma of Tennyi Lingpa, the Contemplative Compendium of the Wrathful Formulas (drag sngags dgongs 'dus), states indeed that the treasure revealer born in a year of the rat (byis lo pa) will be Princess Nujin Saley's future rebirth. The entire prophetic passage reads as follows:

At the end of many pure births,
the princess Nujin Saley of today [will return]
on the banks of the Tsangpo, in Yeru,
as a [son] of noble clan, a tantrika born in a rat year.
[This one] will bravely perfect realization
and all those who have contact with him
will be established in the happiness of ripening and liberation.
His contemplation of Dzogchen will overflow
and he will perfect the realization of the Mahāmudrā:
the one named Tennyi Lingpa
will come as [if he were] me, Padmasambhava!

Additional prophecies give us a physical portrait of Tennyi Lingpa as a tall, thin man with large eyes.

Ordination, Training in Scholastic Philosophy & Tantric instructions: 1497–1504

After having been taught reading and writing by a certain Lopon Pelden Drakpa (slob dpon dpal ldan grags pa), it is said that Tennyi Lingpa was taken to a holy place called Zawokri (za 'og ri) where he was blessed by a fifteen-year-old boy who was an emanation of Padmasambhava. This awoke his memories and inspired in him a desire to practice Buddhism.

He took ordination vows under Sanggye Pelzang (sangs rgyas dpal bzang), the abbot of Nub Cholung Monastery (nubs chos lung dgon) in the Rong valley, in the Wolkha district of Tsang. This Sanggye Pelzang may have been the man of that name who was a reincarnation of a son of Rigdzin Godemchen (rig 'dzin rgod ldem chen, 1337–1408/9). It was on this occasion that he received the name Peljor Gyeltsen (dpal 'byor rgyal mtshan).

The ācarya role in his ordination was performed by Lobpon Sonam Gyeltsen (slob dpon bsod nams rgyal mtshan) who had studied the entire philosophical corpus under Jamchen Rabjampa Sanggye Pel ('byams chen rab 'byams pa sangs rgyas 'phel, 1412–1485). From this teacher he received the complete instructions of Yanggonpa (yang dgon pa, 1213–1258) and many teachings on Cho (gcod).

He then stayed for many years at Hao Monastery (ha'o dgon) before returning to Cholung.

In his sixteenth year, 1495, he then went to Dreyul Kyetsel ('bras yul skyed tshal) and deepened his studies of the sūtras, logic (tshad ma) and prajñāpāramitā (that is, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra) under the tutorship of Kunga Chowang (kun dga' chos dbang). He later completed his philosophical training in the Sakya/Jonang monastery of Tubten Serdokchen (thub bstan gser mdog can) under the guidance of Serdok Paṇchen Shākya Chokden (gser mdog paN chen shAkya mchog ldan, 1428–1507). It is interesting to remark that he received, among all the classics of Mahāyāna philosophy, the transmission of the complete writings of Rongton Sheja Kunrik (rong ston shes bya kun rigs, 1367–1449).

As for his tantric curriculum, he received from Mondzong Repa Dawa Gyeltsen (mon rdzong ras pa zla ba rgyal mtshan) the practice manual for the Mahāmudrā that that master himself had composed.

Finding the Guru & Life as a Drukpa Kagyu Wandering Hermit: 1504–1519

In 1504, his twenty-fifth year, Tennyi Lingpa moved to Chubzang Monastery (chu bzang dgon) in Tsang Nyangto (gtsang nyang stod) and received transmissions of the Dakpo Kagyu (dwags po bka' brgyud) tradition from Lhatsun Wonpo Dechen Rabten (lha btsun dbon po bde chen rab brtan), whose title suggests descent from the early Tibetan imperial family and a connection to the Gungtang royal family. In his autobiography Tennyi Lingpa credits this master’s Mahāmudrā teachings for his first direct realization of the nature of mind.

Dechen Rabten sent him to meditate in various graveyards in Tsang and then in U. It is difficult to tell precisely the order of the episodes of his life that occurred in the fifteen years following his meeting with this master, but it seems that all the teachings that he received and practiced until he was around forty were from the "new traditions" (gsar ma).

In Ralung (rwa lung), he studied many of the teachings of the Drukpa ('brug pa) tradition, which included the Four Letters of Mahāmudrā (phyag chen yi ge bzhi pa), a tantric system emphasizing tummo (gtum mo) practice. His main teacher there was Drukchen Ngawang Chogyel ('brug chen ngag dbang chos rgyal, 1465–1540). He also received Drukpa and Chod teachings from a lama called Choje Sonam Gyeltsen (chos rje bsod nams rgyal mtshan). Tennyi Lingpa received additional teachings from Khedrub Tobgyeltsen (mkhas sgrub stobs rgyal mtshan) and was trained in the traditions of the Shangpa Kagyu by a master he calls Khedrub Khyungpo (mkhas grub khyung po).

It appears that by this point Tennyi Lingpa was mainly a Drukpa Kagyu practitioner, groomed to succeed Dechen Rabten in the leadership of Chubzang. Yet because he would deviate from Drukpa orthodoxy by becoming a disciple of Pema Lingpa and other Nyingmapa masters and then start to reveal termas, the career to which he seemed destined was aborted.

Dreams, Nyingma "Conversion," following Pema Lingpa: ca. 1518– ca. 1523

It must be in the last years of the 1510s that Dechen Rabten appeared to him in a dream and, as permission to turn now to Nyingma teachings, told him to go to the east to meet an incarnation of princess Pemasel from whom he would receive the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī. This was Pema Lingpa (padma gling pa, 1450–1521). In the vision, Dechen Rabten tells him that the Heart Essence teachings were his predestinated share of the dharma.

He first moved to Tago in Gunzing (dgun zings pa rta mgo) where he received a transmission of Longchenpa's (klong chen pa, 1308–1364) works and instructions, especially those focusing on the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī, from a master called Sanggye Gyeltsen (sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan, possibly this man).

In a retreat he made in Khyungtsang Cave (khyung tshangs phug) in this part of his life, he had a vision in which a five-year old boy bestowed on him a complete transmission of the teachings of Avalokiteśvara in his form "Who Stirs the Depths of Saṃsāra" (thugs rje chen po 'khor ba dong sprugs). This seems to have been the first time in which he received more than prophetic indications in dreams. This was followed by another visionary dream in which he visited Sukhavatī, during which he met Gampopa (sgam po pa, 1079–1144) who instructed him to move to another place.

Tennyi Lingpa also mentions a visionary trip to Zangdok Pelri during which he was taught what he interestingly calls the Cycle of the Six Lamps of Clear Light ('od gsal sgron ma drug skor), a phrase alluding to togel (thod rgal) practice, which was, as he explains, a cycle of instructions connected to the tantra Tikle Kunsel (spyi rgyud thig le kun gsal). This would refer to the "secret cycle" (gsang skor) of the Section of Precepts (man ngag sde) of Dzogchen. Indeed, although Tennyi Lingpa did not receive termas or any type of new teachings in his dreams, there are many times in which he was granted empowerments (dbang) and reading transmissions (lung) for various pre-existing cycles during his sleep.

After receiving this visionary transmission and achieving more practice in various hermitages he had another prophetic dream instructing him to go and meet Pema Lingpa. He requested advice from Lhatsun Wonpo Dechen Rabten, who set him free from the boundaries of a purely Drukpa commitment and, it seems, thus allowed him to follow a Nyingma master.

He then moved to Lhodrak Kharchu (lho brag mkhar chu), where he received additional teachings from Pema Lingpa, including the cycle of the Unsurpassable Arch-Secret Eight Pronouncements (bka' brgyad yang gsang bla med). For several months he followed Pema Lingpa from place to place in Bhutan, receiving a great wealth of transmissions from him, both Pema Lingpa's own revelations and older materials, including the Heart-Essence of the Ḍākinī.

It is in that context of receiving teachings and empowerments from Pema Lingpa that he met someone who was to play an important role in his life: Tulku Chokden Gonpo (P1705 sprul sku mchog ldan mgon po, 1497–1557), who was a disciple of both Pema Lingpa and the First Yolmo Tulku, Shākya Zangpo (yol mo sprul sku shA kya bzang po), and also as a master of the tradition of Dorje Lingpa (rdo rje gling pa, 1346–1405).

Tensions with the Drukpa Kagyu, ca. 1521–1526

Tennyi Lingpa then returned to his Drukpa master Dechen Rabten at Druk Choding Monastery ('brug chos lding dgon), who passed away soon after his arrival.  

Tennyi Lingpa led the funeral ceremonies under the supervision of Drukchen Ngawang Chogyal and was enthroned as his successor at Chubzang. At this time, in 1522, he had a dream of Padmasambhava in which he received the name Pema Tsewang Gyelpo (padma tshe dbang rgyal po), the name by which he is most commonly known. There appear to have been conflicts in his position, however, likely stemming from the fact that his behavior was perceived as deviating from what was expected of a Drukpa hermit, possibly because of his growing interest in the Nyingma tradition, of the Bon termas he would eventually find, or of the fact that he seems to have fathered at least one son, Dowoche Chemchok Dorje (mdo bo che che mchog rdo rje). His disciple Tukse Dechen Zopa (thugs sras bde chen bzod pa) may also have been his biological son.

Be that as it may, he could not retain his position as a leader of Chubzang Monastery, despite being Dechen Rabten's main spiritual heir, and around 1526, he eventually lost even the support of Drukchen Ngawang Chogyel. He thus reverted to the status of wandering yogi. The next pages of his autobiography display a feeling of deep sadness and, it seems, the impression that he would not live much longer or achieve anything meaningful in this life. He left Chubzang for Bhutan, returning years later to give Drukpa meditation instructions to some disciples while residing in a cave outside of the monastery. In this part of his life, it seems he mostly gave Drukpa teachings but was often incited in dreams and visions to teach Dzogchen.

Main Career as a Terton: 1524–1531

One day during the winter of 1524, while he was near Druk Choding compiling his notes on various teachings, including a cycle dedicated to Mañjuśrī, he had a dream at dawn. He dreamt of a white adolescent boy who said to him:

Pema Tsewang Gyelpo! Your charge of teachings and riches is in Go-ngon (gos sngon)! If you go there, I'll guide you! This is an injunction from Guru Pema!

Confident in the prophecy, Tennyi Lingpa took advantage of the company of several advanced and junior disciples and went to Go-ngon in Woyuk, a valley that was once home to Zurpoche Shākya Jungne (zur po che shAkya 'byung gnas, 1002–1062). The adolescent of his dream is said to have miraculously reappeared and guided him to the banks of a river, where he was instructed to dig. A young yogi called Rangdrol (rang grol) helped him unearth a brown stone. They broke it up, and beneath the debris of the stone discovered a clay reliquary containing yellow scrolls. Tsewang Gyelpo opened them but was unable to decipher the writing.

The following night, in his sleep, he dreamt of many young girls, some of whom affectionately mocked his ignorance, while others invited him to look more closely at the scrolls to find a primer (ka dpe). This alludes to the fact that part of the "ḍākinīs' glyphs" are simply texts using various systems of cryptography. As these codes are not very elaborate—different alphabets for the same language, basically—they could even be decoded without a primer. The girls also invited him to recite a prayer that they revealed to him, called The Single Drop (thig le nyag gcig) which he wrote down as soon as he woke up. Then, he examined the scrolls again and finally managed to decipher them. He then realized that he had discovered numerous "inventory lists" (kha byang) for treasures. The name of a Dzogchen cycle called The Single Drop appears to have been considered his first treasure cycle, the name appearing multiple times in his autobiography and in Terdak Lingpa's (gter bdag gling pa, 1646–1714) Record of Teachings Received, which contains a short catalogue of that cycle, said to be "the treasure of Go Ngon in Woyuk" ('o yug gos sngon gyi gter ma rdzogs chen thig le nyag gcig).

Based on this inventory, the young terton went first to Zabulung in the Shang district (shangs zab bu lung) where he excavated seven treasures, as well as a vase of long life. With the water from this vase, he consecrated disciples. This indicates that in 1524 he already enjoyed a certain religious authority and that his recent discoveries had attracted not only disciples but also local people.

He then went to Bhutan and visited a figure whom he calls "the Dharma King of Nangso, Gyelwa Dondrub" (nang so chos kyi rgyal po rgyal ba don 'grub). Although this figure is undocumented, passages of the Fifth Dalai Lama's (ta la'i bla ma 05, 1617–1682) Record of Teachings Received allow us to identify him as one of Pema Lingpa's close disciples and lineage heirs. From Gyelwa Dondrub, he received again the whole of Pema Lingpa's revelations, including Pema Lingpa's Sphere of Clarity (klong gsal) and the Gathering of Samantabhadra’s Intention (kun bzang dgongs 'dus), plus Guru Chowang's (gu ru chos dbang, 1212–1270) terma cycle for the Eight Commands: Total Completeness of the Secret Teachings (bka' brgyad gsang ba yongs rdzogs). He also transmitted to Gyelwa Dondrub all his own revelations to date.

During the same trip to Bhutan, from Tulku Chokden Gonpo, he received the Vast Sphere of Dzogchen (rdzogs chen klong yangs), that is, presumably (as Chokden Gonpo is known as a master of this tradition), Dorje Lingpa's terma known as the Vast Sphere of View of the Father Tantras (pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs).

He then went to Samzang Cave (bsam bzang phug), where he revealed the cycle of The Abyssal Clarity of the Ḍākinīs (mkha' 'gro klong gsal), as well as sacred substances of seven-times-born saints (skye bdun). He transmitted all these to Gyelwa Dondrub.

Then, at Pungpo Riwoche (phung po ri bo che), he revealed the cycle of The Compendium of all Subjugating Wrathful Formulas ('joms byed drag sngags kun 'dus).

It is also in those years that he experienced a dream in which Padmasambhava gave him the three "oral transmissions" which can be regarded as the core of Rigdzin Godemchen's Unimpeded Access to Samantabhadra's Mind (dgongs pa zang thal). This is an interesting detail for a terton who has been remembered to the present days mostly in a Northern Treasures context: Tennyi Lingpa was not trained as a Jangter master and the first trace of a contact with this tradition in his autobiography dates of a time when he is between forty-five and fifty years old.

In 1528, he went to Tsepung Terne (tshe spungs gter gnas) in southern Tibet. There, he revealed the vast corpus of The Compendium of the Buddhas’ Contemplation (sangs rgyas dgongs 'dus), his main treasure, which he presents as "condensing all the contents of the scriptures into precepts," comprising no less than fifteen individual cycles:

1. The Contemplative Compendium of the Master's Blessings (bla ma byin rlabs dgongs 'dus; this cycle comprises two subdivisions, one with a peaceful form, the other with wrathful forms)

2. The Contemplative Compendium of Dzogchen (rdzogs chen dgongs 'dus)

3. The Contemplative Compendium of Mahāmudrā (phyag chen dgongs 'dus)

4. The Contemplative Compendium of Chod (gcod yul dgongs 'dus)

5. The Contemplative Compendium of Sūtras (mdo dgongs 'dus)

6. The Contemplative Compendium of Kālacakra (dus 'khor dgongs 'dus)

7. The Contemplative Compendium of Zhije (zhi byed dgongs 'dus)

8. The Contemplative Compendium of Eternal Bon (bon g.yung drung dgongs 'dus)

9. The Contemplative Compendium of the Unsurpassable Eight Pronouncements (bka' brgyad bla med dgongs 'dus)

10. The Contemplative Compendium of the Vital Quintessence of the Practice of Long-Life (tshe sgrub srog snying / srog 'dzin dgongs 'dus)

11. The Contemplative Compendium of Kīlaya's Wrathful Formulas (phur pa drag sngags dgongs 'dus)

12. The Contemplative Compendium of the Great and Glorious Heruka (dpal chen yang dag dgongs 'dus)

13. The Contemplative Compendium of Vaiśravaṇa, the Lord of Wealth (rnam sras nor bdag dgongs 'dus)

14. The Contemplative Compendium of the Guardians of the Teachings and their Wrathful Formulas (drag sngags bstan srung dgongs 'dus)

15. The Contemplative Compendium of the Precious Catalogues (dkar chag nor bu dgongs 'dus).

The set of fifteen cycles is also known as The View: The Contemplative Compendium of the Buddhas (lta ba sangs rgyas dgongs 'dus). The place where all these treasures were found, Tsepung Terne, is called Tsepung Sangdrak (tshe spungs gsang brag) in Bon sources, and in this tradition, it is said to be the place where Tennyi Lingpa discovered the Refined Gold of Dzogchen (rdzogs chen gser zhun) which corresponds to The Contemplative Compendium of Eternal Bon in the list above.

This collection is still partly available nowadays in at least one manuscript (MW2PD17513). In Tennyi Lingpa's autobiographic writings, the structure of the collection is presented as a graded path, from sūtra-level teachings (number 5 in the above list) to development stage teachings (numbers 1, 9, and 11?), then completion stage teachings (the cycle connected to Yangdak Heruka, number 12), and then teachings connected to Dzogchen and maybe Mahāmudrā (numbers 2 and 3), to finish with teachings about the protection of the dharma (numbers 11, 14, and maybe 13). However, this short description does not cover the whole content of the collection and especially the Bon cycle is not mentioned. The Bon connections are also completely omitted in the autobiography, while the very name of the terton, Tennyi Lingpa, seems to allude to them.

In a more general way, we lack a comprehensive and clear list of Tennyi Lingpa's revelations, which, for some reason, seem never to have been properly compiled. Terdak Lingpa's Record of Teaching Received would however provide a good starting point, as it briefly lists the contents of each cycle.

In 1529, after the deciphering of the main bulk was done, he transmitted the Compendium of the Buddhas' Contemplation to Tulku Chokden Gonpo (sprul sku mchog ldan mgon po, 1497–1557) in Bhutan. In the same year, he once more experienced a visionary trip to Padmasambhava's pure land, in which he received the transmission of all of Ratna Lingpa's (rat+na gling pa, 1403–1479) revelations from the terton himself.

After some more travels, he met with the First Yolmo Tulku, whom he had previously known in Pema Lingpa's circle, and the two exchanged teachings. He received from him the whole of the Northern Treasures and gave him some of his own revelations. This appears as a tiny event in Tennyi Lingpa's biography, who seems not to grant the Northern Treasures a very central place among his spiritual interests; but it is extremely meaningful a parte post, since a large part of Tennyi Lingpa's posterity is connected to the adoption of one of his cycle of termas as a major practice in the tradition of the Northern Treasures in Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag).

Although the date 1528 can be given for the discoveries of his termas, in the appendix added by a disciple to his autobiography, Tennyi Lingpa is presented as still busy with the deciphering of ḍākinīs' glyphs for some texts of this group until the very end of his life in 1535. This should be kept in mind when we tend to assign only one date for the revelation of a terma—the one in which it was excavated—while in many cases it is plain that the full revelation—the establishment of the text in its final form—took some more years and was even not always the work of the main terton alone (as in the case of Rinchen Lingpa deciphering texts that Pema Ledreltsel had left, so to say, untranslated.)

To this already impressive collection of revelations must be added treasures he discovered possibly in 1529 in the Zurkhardo stūpas (zur khar mdo mchod rten), in the Avalokiteśvara statue in the Aryapalo Hayagrīva Temple at Samye Monastery (bsam yas), in Paro Taktsang (spa sgro stag tshang), and in Riwo Trabzang (ri bo bkra bzang).^[2]

At Paro Taktsang, he revealed scrolls and entire volumes in the form of a reconcealed treasure (yang gter) already previously discovered by Tulku Tseten Gyeltsen (sprul sku tshe brtan rgyal mtshan, 1207/1266?–1266/1326?). This is to be understood as meaning that Tennyi Lingpa probably discovered either the originals left by Tseten Gyeltsen, or copies that the terton must have left in the treasure shrine. From Paro, Tennyi Lingpa then moved on to Dolpo. On his way back, probably in Bumthang, he met Katokpa Sonam Gyeltsen (kaH thog bsod nam rgyal mtshan, 1466–1540). He also exchanged teachings with descendants of Dorje Lingpa, especially Lama Wozer Gyelpo (bla ma 'od zer rgyal po). Then he returned to U and Tsang.

It must have been in 1531 that he revealed a Dzogchen cycle that, unlike most of his revelations, is still available and practiced: the Primordial Wisdom that Liberates upon Seeing (yang tig ye shes mthong grol).^[3] Although in their account of Tennyi Lingpa's life, neither Guru Tashi (gu ru bkra shis, eighteenth century) nor Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam mgon kong sprul, 1813–1899) mention it, it is named a few times in Tennyi Lingpa's autobiography.^[4] Unfortunately no details are available, in the present state of our knowledge, as to the circumstances of its discovery. Terdak Lingpa's Record of Teachings Received states that it was "extracted from the valley of treasures in Drakmar" (brag dmar gter lung nas bton pa).

Tennyi Lingpa in Bon Sources

In the Bon tradition, Tennyi Lingpa is essentially known as the discoverer of the Refined Gold of Dzogchen (rdzogs chen gser zhun), an important cycle that he discovered in the secret rock of Tsepung (tshe spungs gsang ba'i brag). In this lineage, he appears under the name of Yungdrung Tsewang Gyelpo. His Refined Gold was considered by some Bon hierarchs to have been a "new bon" (bon gsar) cycle influenced by the Nyingma tradition, owing to the central role played by Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel in the history of this cycle. However, in the eighteenth century, the twenty-second Menri abbot, Nyima Tendzin (nyi ma bstan 'dzin, b. 1813), decided to enter into a retreat based on this cycle and concluded that it was perfectly canonical, thus justifying its inclusion in the Bonpo Kanjur.

Tennyi Lingpa transmitted the Refined Gold of the Great Perfection to Rong Nyizawa Tsedak Dorje (rong nyi za ba tshe bdag rdo rje), who passed it to Sodokpa Lodro Gyeltsen (sog bzlog pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1552–1624).

Mongol-Repelling rites and other activities in Samye, Lato and Gungtang: 1533–1535

Before his later travels in Bhutan, Tennyi Lingpa had already performed a ritual, possibly in 1529, to repel a Mongol invasion (hor bzlog). The king of Gungtang (gung thang) in the Ngari region (mnga' ris) and the 'divine lord' (lha btsun) of Samye are said to have patronized him (the term 'divine lord' signifies kinship with the ancient Tibetan emperors).

It is certainly because this rite was regarded as successful that Tennyi Lingpa was invited again in 1533 to Gungtang by Samdrub Dorje (bsam 'grub rdo rje). This man, in addition to being the father-in-law of the king Kunzang Nyida Drakpa Wangpode (kun bzang nyi zla grags pa bzang po'i lde, 1514–1560, reigned 1529–1536), was a sponsor, alongside his daughter Kunga Butri (kun dga' bu khrid), of a printing of the Chronicles of Padmasambhava (padma bka' thang) in 1535.

Passing through Jang in Lato (la stod byang) on his way to Gungtang, he met with the prince of that place for whom he performed, in the last month of 1533, Mongol-repelling rites. He visited Ralung Monastery, and then Riwo Trazang (ri bo bkra bzang) which, one century and a half earlier, had become Rigdzin Godemchen's main seat. There he composed a long poem of praise to that holy place and gave tantric empowerments, which may indicate that he was quite highly regarded even in this tradition of the Northern Treasures with which, however, we have seen his past links were not otherwise especially close. He also discovered there a prophetic guide to further revelations in the form of a small stone with ḍākinīs' glyphs.

He then had dreams that gave him doubts about his connection to the Gungtang king—and, indeed, it seems the king did not welcome the terton upon his arrival in early 1534; he may have been persuaded by some people of his close circle to distrust Tennyi Lingpa as a charlatan.

Tennyi Lingpa seems not to have minded this affront, having been told in a dream by Padmasambhava that the young king was in fact an emanation of Mutri Tsepo (mu khri btsad po), the son of Tri Songdetsen. He thus performed one more Mongol-repelling ritual for the benefit of the Kingdom of Gungtang.

The discovery of the Profound Instructions of Vajravārāhī: 1534

To counter slander, what could be more radical than the public revelation of a treasure? Tennyi Lingpa offered the king to reveal a terma personally intended for him. This likely occurred in the horse year, 1534. He thus went to Riwo Pelbar, a site deeply connected to Rigdzin Godemchen, accompanied by the above-mentioned Samdrub Dorje, the "Dharma-lord" Chemchok Dorje or Chemchokpa (chos rje che mchog rdo rje / che mchog pa) and a few other companions.

On a rock the group saw a dark red double vajra. The next morning, Padmasambhava appeared in a vision and warned them not to touch these termas, which Godemchen had recently found and re-hidden; the time had not yet come to reveal them.

Later, a "limping woman in a peacock robe" revealed that she had been appointed by Rigdzin Godemchen as the protector of these scriptures. This guardian deity is called "The Indian Lady," or maybe "The lady in an Indian Form" (jo mo rgya gar ma) which is not a common name for a female protective deity. But there is a ritual for that guardian deity in the corpus as we have it in the seventeenth volume of the Compilation of the Northern Treasures.

The protector was satisfied that the revelation had been authorized by the king, but only allowed the removal of one scripture from its hiding place. However, the treasure-discoverers attempted to take more than the permitted text, which angered the protector. After leaving the place, they discovered that Choje Chemchokpa's body showed signs of poisoning. He had contracted leprosy, which caused his death shortly after.

The content of the discovery was a cycle previously revealed by Rigdzin Godemchen, titled The Profound Seal of the Sow (phag mo zab rgya) or The Profound Instructions of Vajravārāhī (rdo rje phag mo'i zab khrid).

In the Northern Treasures tradition it is understood that the cycle was first revealed by Rigdzin Godemchen in Zangzang Lhadrak and that, for some reason, Godemchen re-hid a part of it in Riwo Pelbar in Mangyul, where it was to be discovered by Tennyi Lingpa. Indeed, the discovered text is regarded as a reconcealed treasure (yang gter), but not in the most common sense, which generally means the complete rediscovery of a more or less identical corpus meant to refresh the lineage. In this specific case, a portion of this cycle, preserved among Godemchen's revelation (Compilation of the Northern Treasures, vol. 3, pp. 503–592), had been practiced by his followers since the time of its discovery in 1366, or its decoding some time afterward. What Tennyi Lingpa revealed is a very large appendix, filling the 360 pages of volume seventeen in the Compilation of the Northern Treasures. This is the only case generally accepted in the Jangter Dorjedrak tradition of a complement to Rigdzin Godemchen's revelations found by a terton who is not regarded as one of Rigdzin Godem's rebirths, and not even as a full-fledged Jangter master. The case raises questions about the exact scope of the Northern Treasures corpus, since there is no well-constructed narrative explaining in what sense this vast collection would have been conceived in Padmasambhava's time as endowed with some form of global unity.

The Profound Seal of the Sow is essentially about the "channels and winds" (rtsa rlung) practices associated with the second and third empowerment.  It is a tantric appendix of Rigdzin Godemchen’s Unimpeded Access to Samantabhadra's Mind that is also practiced as an independent cycle. More fundamentally, it can be described as a vast amplification of the practice system that combines Vajravārāhī and Hayagrīva, as found in Pema Ledreltsel's Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī.

This public revelation was meant to put an end to the slander of the "impure ones" (ma dag pa rnams), but even afterwards Tennyi Lingpa seems to have been repeatedly attacked by the high officials Dru Sonam Pawo (bru bsod nams dpa' bo) and Lhacho Sonamkyi (lha chos bsod nams skyid). However, the king allowed Tennyi Lingpa to stay and teach for one more year, which was spent deciphering the yellow scrolls (shog ser), with some difficulty it seems, and sharing their content with the king who had ordered the terton to decode them. It seems that during the transcription process, the young king—he was about nineteen years old—became progressively closer to Tennyi Lingpa, with an increasing faith in his spiritual achievements and magic powers.

Indeed, the terma contains prophecies about Mutri Tsenpo and his future rebirths in Gungtang.

Tennyi Lingpa's last months, death and cremation

The subsequent public declaration of faith in Tennyi Lingpa led to the young king Kunzang Nyida Drakpa's downfall: he was overthrown by Samdrub Dorje's son Tri Tashi Pelbar (khri bkra shis dpal 'bar), shortly after the previous king, Kunzang Nyida Drakpa's father Tri Kunga Namgyel (khri kun dga' rnam rgyal), had died.[5] Aside from the greed for power, the motivation of the usurpers and their supporters may have been that Tennyi Lingpa's influence made King Kunzang Nyida Drakpa's behavior politically erratic and unpredictable, at least by their standards. Kunzang Nyida Drakpa, once dethroned, was ordained. He survived for at least some more years but remained away from political power.

After having taught Kunzang Nyida Drakpa, Tennyi Lingpa was invited "to the east," possibly Bhutan, by lamas such as Tulku Chokden Gonpo, to whom he then taught his termas, from those of The Compendium of the Buddhas' Contemplation to the Profound Seal of the Sow, including the Primordial Wisdom that Liberates upon Seeing (yang tig ye shes mthong grol). The autobiography says that the lineage of the Primordial Wisdom that Liberates upon Seeing was passed to Choje Lodro Wangpo (zur phug pa blo gros dbang po), a disciple of Tulku Chokden Gonpo.

He went further east to Chung Riwoche (cung ri bo che), wishing to see the reliquary of Tangtong Gyelpo (thang stong rgyal po, 1361–1485). Then he was invited back to Riwo Trazang where he remained in a practice retreat and gave a transmission of Yangdak Heruka, presumably from his own terma, and transmissions for The Profound Seal of the Sow and the Single Drop of Dzogchen. He then gave a transmission of Pema Lingpa's The Gathering of Samantabhadra's Intention (kun bzang dgons pa kun 'dus) in Ralung. Then he was summoned to meet the king of Jang Ngamring and performed various ceremonies, including rites to repel Mongol armies which were said to be successful.

In the last months of his life, Tennyi Lingpa taught Tukse Namkha Gyeltsen (thugs sras nam kha' rgyal mtshan), a disciple of Sanggye Pelzang. It is by this time that he started to speak about his imminent death.

Tennyi Lingpa died at the age of fifty-seven, on the twentieth day of the seventh month of the female-sheep year, 1535, six months after his patron in Gungtang fell from power. He is said to have remained erect on the back of his horse in front of Gyenkhar Chokor Monastery (rgyan mkhar chos 'khor), a statement which Everding takes to mean he was assassinated.

However, this would require further research, as, upon a close examination of Tennyi Lingpa's biography, it seems that his health showed signs of decline some time before he died. It is obvious that he had enemies among the high aristocracy of Gungtang, but it is not absolutely clear that they were not satisfied with merely casting him away from the circles of political power and felt the need to have him killed.

His body was cremated at Drakkar Tashi Choding the next year, on the anniversary date of his master Latsun Dechen Rabten, and the relics that were not shared among a few disciples were enshrined in a stūpa, said to protect the country from Mongol invasions.