The Treasury of Lives

Tokden Yungdrung Gyeltsen (rtogs ldan g.yung drung rgyal mtshan) was born in Shelkhok Topukpa (shel khog gto phug pa) in the Rongpo (rong po) region of Amdo, some time in the late seventeenth century. His father was called Tsarling (tshar ling), and his mother Nakri (nag ri). He was the eldest of three brothers.

It is said that during his youth he displayed a great devotion toward the Bon teachings. His parents, however, decided that he should marry. When he was brought to his future spouse, he panicked and experienced such a deep feeling of impermanence that he fled to the mountains.

He never returned to his family. He wandered about, residing in caves and rock clefts, without any fixed abode. Several times during that period he came across local people he knew, all of whom urged him to go back to his family. He refused to do so, and set out to formally embrace the life of a renunciate.

He continued to wander until he eventually met Uru Tokden ('u ru rtogs ldan) from whom he took the vows of individual liberation, receiving on this occasion the name Yungdrung Gyeltsen. The Tokden gave him a direct introduction to the Great Vehicle (theg pa chen po’i ngo sprod) during which all the principles of the Dzogchen teachings were revealed to him.

After that, Yungdrung Gyeltsen visited various holy places and received teachings from numerous masters, such as Shinya Gomchen (gshis nya sgom chen), Lamgo Lama Tsultrim (lam mgo bla ma tshul khrims) and others, receiving from them countless instructions (khrid) and direct introductions (ngo sprod). After attending the teachings of these masters for some time, he resumed his travels into the solitude of desolated mountains, living in caves.

According to his hagiography, he made little progress in his practice until, at the age of thirty, he heard about the fame of a master called Geshe Yungdrung Yeshe (dge bshes g.yung drung ye shes) and instantaneously felt a deep faith in him. He inquired where the master was and upon meeting him directly asked him about the oral instructions of the Great Vehicle (theg pa che’i gdams ngag). The master gave him the complete quintessential teachings of Dzogchen after which Yungdrung Gyeltsen practiced them in a hermitage for three years. It is said that his realization then reached its full measure and that he had ecstatic visionary travels to the Khacho (mkha' spyod) pure realm of the ḍākinī (mkha' 'gro ma).

Unfortunately, not much else is known about him, with the exception that he actually did not know how to write and read. It is nevertheless reported that he left some experiential songs (nyams mgur) that he composed. He passed away at the age of seventy-six but no actual date or place of death are recorded in the sources available to us. It is said that he was regarded as an emanation (sprul pa) of Sangwa Dupa (gsang ba 'dus pa).  Also it seems he was  recognized by Terton Mishik Dorje (gter ston mi shigs rdo rje) as a reincarnation of the twelfth century Bon master Gomchen Barwa (sgom chen 'bar ba).

His main disciple and heir in the lineage of the Atri tradition was Geshe Yungdrung Tendzin (dge bshes g.yung drung bstan ‘dzin).