The Treasury of Lives

Acharya Sempa Dorje was born on September 7, 1930, the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the iron-horse year, at his home in Dabling (grwab gling) village, Kinnaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India. His father was Dorje Namgyel (rdo rje rnam rgyal) and his mother was Peldron Zangmo (dpal sgron bzang mo). His family name was Negi (Skt. Negī). His parents took the infant boy to a great Bon polymath Khyungtrul Jigme Namkha Dorje (khyung sprul 'jigs med nam mkha' rdo rje, 1897–1955) for a naming ceremony, who gave him the name Sempa Dorje. He had a younger brother named Sonam Lhondrub (bsod nams lhun grub, 1930–2020), also known as Kedar Singh Negi. Sempa Dorje's father passed away when he was six years old, leaving him and his brother under the care of their mother.

Dabling is a small village comprising approximately seven familial houses. It is nestled on the slopes of rugged mountains, facing westward. The name of the village is said to derive from an association with Rigdzin Dudul Dorje (rig 'dzin bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672), who is claimed to have chosen the location for a hermitage when visiting Kinnaur. "Dabling" is a contraction of drawai ling (grwa ba'i gling), meaning "a place of monastic residence."

During his early years, his mother provided him with homeschooling while his brother attended a newly established school in Phu, which was situated about a kilometer away from their village. By the age of ten, he had achieved proficiency in writing, reading, and reciting religious texts. In recognition of gratitude towards his mother for her instruction and kindness, he gave her name, Peldron, meaning "glorious offering lamp," to one of his books, a commentary to Gyelse Tokme Zangpo's (rgyal sras thogs med bzang po, 1295–1369) Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattva, The Adornment of the Glorious Offering Lamp (dpal gyi sgron mes brgyan pa), published in 1986.

When he was a bit older, his mother arranged for his education to be furthered under the guidance of Buddhist lamas in the village. During this period, he crossed paths with other teachers, and he inquired about their educational backgrounds, learning that for a traditional Buddhist education he would need to go to Tibet.

Studies in Tibet

At the age of seventeen Sempa Dorje set off for Tibet with a single companion. His mother objected and he was forced to sneak out of his house. They initially traveled on foot to Shimla, one of the famous hill stations in northern India. From there, they went to Siliguri via rail passing through Delhi, and eventually arrived at Kalimpong, West Bengal. During those days, Kalimpong served as a vital trade crossroads linking Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, and India. Sempa Dorje spent some days there, seeking to join a larger travel party, and eventually made arrangements with a group of merchants, including a monk from Ladakh, who were preparing for a journey to Tibet.

After a month of travel, they arrived in Gyantse, where severe leg pain forced Sempa Dorje and his companion to leave the larger group and remain until he recuperated. Once he regained his health, the two resumed their journey towards Shigatse, with the intention of continuing on to Mindroling Monastery (smin grol gling dgon).

On reaching Shigatse, Sempa Dorje's leg pain resurfaced, and the two men decided to remain there. They found lodgings with Kinnauri monks at Tashilhunpo Monastery (bkra shis lhun po dgon), who recommended the two remain at the monastery for their studies.

Upon ordaining at Tashilhunpo, Sempa Dorje began his formal Buddhist monastic education with the rote memorization of the daily recitation prayer text. According to his accounts, this text comprised roughly one hundred pages, which he managed to memorize within a month. This memorization process also served as an entrance examination for the academic segment of monastic studies. Over twelve years, from 1948 to 1960, Sempa Dorje delved into the study of all five major Buddhist texts (gzhung chen bka' pod lnga) along with their numerous commentaries. His dedication culminated in earning the esteemed degree of kazhi (bka' bzhi). His enthusiasm for learning extended beyond philosophy to encompass literature as well. During his later years at the monastery he studied language, grammar, and poetry at neighboring monasteries such as Pema Choling (pad+ma chos gling) in the Sakya region.

In 1959, Tibetans rose up against the Chinese Communists who had taken control of Tibet in the early 1950s. The consequences were devastating, and thousands of Tibetan fled into exile in India and elswhere, often pursued by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Fortunately, Sempa Dorje had the option to depart due to his Indian nationality. In 1960, the Indian Consul arrived in Shigatse and announced the opportunity for all Indians to return to India. Around sixty Indian individuals, including Acharya Sempa Dorje, accepted the offer. Chinese authorities provided an army truck to transport them to the Sikkim border, which was guarded by the Indian army. After crossing the border, the Indian army detained them briefly for interrogation before releasing them. Most returned to their respective villages.

On arriving in India, however, Sempa Dorje received the news that his mother had recently passed away. Therefore, he chose not to visit home, opting instead to remain with prominent Tibetan masters who were then fleeing to India so that he could train in tantra. This was despite not having yet obtained a kachen (bka' chen) degree, the Tashilhunpo equivalent of geshe (dge bshes), which was a prerequisite for tantric studies. Nevertheless, Sempa Dorje went to Thikse Monastery (khrig se dgon pa) in Ladakh for two years and immersed himself in tantra studies, engaging in periods of retreat during the winter months.

Sanskrit University the Higher Tibetan Institute, Sarnath

By 1963, Sempa Dorje had acquired a comprehensive understanding of nearly all facets of Tibetan knowledge systems. However, he still sought to master the foundational language of Tibetan Buddhism: Sanskrit. Thus, he embarked on a journey to Varanasi for Sanskrit education. His initial attempt at the entrance exam was unsuccessful, prompting him to remain in in the city and study Hindi and Sanskrit under private tutors. Through his dedication, he eventually passed the exam and officially enrolled at Sampurnand Sanskrit University in 1964. During his stay at the university, his focus encompassed Indian philosophy, Indian literature, and the study of Buddhist and Hindu tenet systems, together with Hindi, Sanskrit, and Pali languages and literature. He successfully completed his ācharya degree studies in 1973.

Around this time, the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) was in its early stages running under the administration of Sanskrit University. Acharya Sempa Dorje's supervisor, Dr. Rama Shangkar Tripati (1929–2019), held a prominent role within its executive members and recommended Acharya Sempa Dorje as a suitable candidate for the faculty. With this endorsement, Acharya Sempa Dorje joined as an instructor at the Tibetan Institute in 1974. The institute eventually gained independence as an academic institution and relocated to Sarnath, outside of Varanasi. Acharya Sempa Dorje played a pivotal role in the establishment of this institute, which evolved into the first and only officially recognized Tibetan academic institution in India. It offers the opportunity to pursue the highest degrees in Indo-Tibetan studies. He fulfilled multiple roles at the institute, serving as an instructor for both Tibetan and Indian subjects, a language and literature teacher, and a research guide. He dedicated twenty-five years to this institution, retiring in 1997.

In 1979, while teaching at Sarnath, Acharya Sempa Dorje returned his monastic vows and married Meena Kumari, a woman from the neighboring village of Dubling in Kinnaur, a decision he explained as a response to his family's need for an heir. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, he took on the responsibilities of managing his family's property in Kinnaur and assumed the role of a village lama. People would visit his home seeking guidance for their daily religious needs, such as consulting calendars for auspicious and inauspicious days, as well as seeking Tibetan herbal remedies. Sempa Dorje and Meena had four children—Gulvasi Negi, their daughter; Kailash Negi, their eldest son; Lobsang Negi, middle son; and the youngest, Tsultrim Raphael.

Following his retirement from Sarnath, Acharya Sempa Dorje's expertise was sought by various academic and Buddhist institutions. One notable invitation came from the Fourteenth Shamar Rinpoche (zhwa dmar 14, 1952–2014) requested him to serve as tutor to the Seventeenth Karmapa, Thaye Dorje (karma pa 17 mtha' yas rdo rje, b. 1983), in the classical Indian Buddhist philosophical texts and their Tibetan commentaries, a post he accepted in 1997. Acharya Sempa Dorje received several important Sakya and Karma Kagyu collections and treatises alongside his pupil. In 2000, in France, the Eighteenth Chogye Trichen (bco bgyad khri chen 18, 1919–2007) transmitted the Compendium of Sādhana (sgrub thabs kun btus) of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820–1892) and Jamyang Loter Wangpo ('jam dbyangs blo gter dbang po, 1847–1914). In 2003, at KIBI in Delhi, Shamar Rinpoche transmitted Jamgon Kongtrul's ('jam mgon kon sprul, 1813–1899) Treasury of Kagyu Tantra (bka' brgyud sngags mdzod) and the Inseparability of Prāna and Mind (rlung sems dbyer med), by the Eighth Karmapa (karma pa 08, 1507–1554). Sempa Dorje in turn gave Shamar and the Karmapa teachings on Indian Buddhist classics such as Nagarjuna's Śūnyatāsaptati, or Seventy Stanzas of Emptiness. During the last decade and a half of his life he instructed many additional Karma Kagyu students as well.

Acharya Sempa Dorje published over twenty-five works of commentaries and translations, including his final work, The Lamp that Illuminates Glorious Suchness: An Extensive Commentary on Śāntaraksita's Tattvasaṃgraha (de kho na nyid bsdus ba'i 'grel pa dpal de kho na nyid gsal bar byed pa'i sgron ma). His books ranged from concise pieces of around ten pages to comprehensive volumes spanning 500 pages.

Acharya Sempa Dorje passed away in his apartment at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi on July 9, 2022. The institute conducted an elaborate Vajrayana funerary ritual for his remains. On August 18, 2022, his body was cremated, and relics were collected from his ashes and placed in reliquaries and distributed to his disciples. The funeral ceremony was concluded on August 26, 2022, the forty-ninth after his death.