The Treasury of Lives



Yilhungpa Sonam Namgyel (yid lhung pa bsod nams rnam rgyal) belonged to the Takrong (stag rong) clan in the Yilhung (yid lhung) valley in Kham. According to Tulku Thondup Rinpoche (sprul sku don grub, b. 1939), he was born in 1874.[1] Tenzin Lungtok Nyima (bstan 'dzin lung rtogs nyi ma, b. 1974) gives his birth year as the iron-snake year, 1881–82, and says that his father, Tsering Wangchuk (tshe ring dbang phyug), was a descendant of Gesar's uncle Trotung, while his mother was named Wangchen Tso (dbang chen mtsho).[2]

Sonam Namgyel grew up as an ordinary lay person. In his youth he behaved in ways that he later came to regret, for example, by chopping down trees and hunting wild animals. At the age of around thirty, he was overwhelmed by feelings of renunciation and compassion and sought instruction from several teachers. He received empowerments and teachings related to the outer and inner preliminaries and the main practice of Dzogchen from the treasure revealer Yakze Terton Garwang Tekchok Lingpa (g.yag ze gter ston gar dbang theg mchog gling pa), whose collected revelations fill thirteen volumes. Yakze Terton was himself a student of Yakze Lama Peljin (g.yag ze'i bla ma dpal sbyin), who was once told by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, 1800–1866) that his lineage of disciples would include seven people who would attain the "rainbow body" ('ja' lus). That is to say, as a sign of their advanced realization of Dzogchen, their bodies would dissolve at death, leaving nothing more than rainbow-colored light.

Sonam Namgyel apparently regarded Garwang Tekchok Lingpa as his main teacher. In later life he carved "O Pema Tekchok Lingpa, watch over me!" (pad+ma theg mchog gling pa mkhyen) on the rock face near his place of meditation, and he was heard uttering a similar expression shortly before his death. However, he reportedly told Chatral Sangye Dorje (bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje, 1913–2015) that it was the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen grub dbang 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935) who had helped him to understand Dzogchen. Chatral Sangye Dorje was amazed at Sonam Namgyel's realization, which he said was exceptional for a layperson.[3]

According to Chogyam Trungpa (chos rgya drung pa, 1939–1987), Sonam Namgyel was a servant to a wealthy family. He had to work long hours but was able to meditate at night by restricting himself to only two or three hours of sleep. At some point, he left his employer and spent three years in retreat on a mountain in Yilhung. During this time, he experienced signs that indicated his mastery of the four visions (snang ba bzhi) of Dzogchen. He also completed mantra recitations related to the Hayagrīva practice from the Longchen Nyingtik. He carved images of Hayagrīva and inscribed "Do not be distracted!" (sems ma yengs) on the wall of his cave.

In later life, he became an itinerant meditator, dwelling in caves on the shore of Yilhung Lhatso (yid lhung lha mtsho), a lake near Manigango (ma Ni gad 'go) famous for its carvings of the mantra of Avalokiteśvara, as well as in the surrounding mountains. Here he recited the famous "Prayer that Spontaneously Fulfils Wishes" (bsam pa lhun grub ma) one hundred thousand times before an image of Padmasambhava that he had carved out of stone. He also chanted prayers of his own composition.

In the early 1950s[4] he began to show signs of illness. His son Lama Gyurdrak (bla ma 'gyur grags, d. 1975) left a retreat when he heard the news and joined other members of the family at Manigango. No one suspected that Sonam Namgyel might attain the rainbow body, but he did leave instructions that his body should not be moved for seven days after his death. Once he died his corpse was treated like that of any other layperson and covered with a simple cloth. Although this cloth appeared to shrink in height in the days that followed, no one paid much attention. After a few days a lama from Lhagyel Monastery (lha rgyal dgon) came to perform an elaborate cleansing (khrus gsol) rite. Then, after a week, when family members entered the tent where the body was kept, they saw rays of rainbow-colored light. The body had disappeared; only the hair and nails remained.

News soon spread that there had been a possible case of someone attaining rainbow body. When word reached the local chieftain Jago Tobden (bya rgod stobs ldan, 1898–1960) he set out together with a small party. They brought a treasure vase into which they placed the hair and nails, sealing the top with five-colored silk. Jago Tobden then dispatched a messenger to Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon), Dzongsar (rdzong sar) and elsewhere to determine whether this was a true case of the rainbow body. It was decided that the relics were authentic, and several lamas, including the Sixth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Jikdrel Jangchub Dorje (rdzogs chen 06 'jigs bral byang chub rdo rje, 1935–1959), Gemang Tulku Garwang Lerab Lingpa (dge mang sprul sku 03 gar dbang las rab gling pa, 1930–1959), and Ngawang Norbu (ngag dbang nor bu, 1886–1958), came to perform feast offerings and lead prayers of aspiration.

Sonam Namgyel's relics were divided into five main portions: one was offered to Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959) of Dzongsar; one to Dzogchen Rinpoche; one to Jago Tobden; one to his son Dola Tsering Ge (rdo bla tshe ring dge) and one to Tsering Khandro (tshe ring mkha' 'gro). The final portion was later acquired by Khenpo Sonam Rinchen (mkhan po bsod nams rin chen) of the nearby Yakze Monastery (g.yag ze dgon) and enshrined in a stūpa.

The story of Sonam Namgyel's death has been recounted many times. Chogyam Trungpa included it in his autobiography, Born in Tibet. Dudjom Rinpoche mentioned it in his monumental history of the Nyingma school. Sogyal Rinpoche, who was tutored by Sonam Namgyel's son Lama Gyurdrak, included the story in his bestselling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Tulku Thondup has described the event in several books, and it has also featured in scholarship on the phenomenon of the rainbow body.[5]

 

 



[1] Thondup 2002 p. 138.

[2] Bstan 'dzin lung rtogs nyi ma 2004 p. 689.

[3] Bstan 'dzin lung rtogs nyi ma 2004 p. 690.

[4] Tenzin Lungtok Nyima dates the illness and death to 1954. Trungpa 1966 (p. 95) says that Sonam Namgyel fell ill three years before his death but does not specify a date for the death; he says that he visited Manigango (which he spells as " Manikengo") because his party "had been told the story of a very saintly man who had died there the previous year." Trungpa's visit seems to have taken place in the summer of 1954, which would place the death in or around 1953. This same year (1953) is given in Talbott 2019 (p. 229). Tulku Thondup 2002 (p. 139) dates Sonam Namgyel's death to 1952, the water-dragon year. This date is followed in Sogyal Rinpoche 2002, and in numerous other sources. Dudjom Rinpoche (1991 p. 919) and Kapstein (2004 p. 120) give the year as 1952/53, corresponding to the water-dragon year. Inexplicably, Lama Surya Das (1992) gives the year as 1955.

[5] See especially Kapstein 2004.

 

_________________________________________________

Publication of this biography was made possible through support of National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Additional Bios Sponsored By National Endowment for the Humanities

Adam Pearcey is the founder of Lotsawa House. He completed his PhD at SOAS, University of London, in 2018 with a thesis on Dzogchen, scholasticism and sectarian identity in early twentieth-century Tibet. Read more at adamspearcey.com.

Published August 2023

Bibliography

Bstan 'dzin lung rtogs nyi ma. 2004.Snga 'gyur rdzogs chen chos 'byung chen mo. Beijing: China Tibetan Publishing House, pp. 689–692

Dudjom Rinpoche. 1991.The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein, trans. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.

Kapstein, Matthew T. 2004. "The Strange Death of Pema the Demon Tamer" in Kapstein (ed.)The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Religious Experience. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 119–156.

Sogyal Rinpoche. 2002.The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Revised ed. New York: HarperCollins. First published 1992.

Surya Das, Lama. 1992.The Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales from Tibet. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.

Talbott, Harold. 2019.Tendrel: A Memoir of New York and the Buddhist Himalayas. Marion, MA: Buddhayana Foundation.

Trungpa, Chögyam. 1966.Born in Tibet. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Tulku Thondup. 2002.The Practice of Dzogchen. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications.

View this person’s associated Works & Texts on the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center’s Website.