The Treasury of Lives

The Tsemonling incarnation line was established in the nineteenth century. The incarnation line is named Tsemonling after the palace in Lhasa where the Sixty-first Ganden Tripa Trichen Ngawang Tsultrim lived and founded a college, earning the name Tsemonling Lama. Ngawang Jampel Tsultrim Gyatso, recognized as the reincarnation of Ngawang Tsultrim became the Second Tsemonling. The First Tsemonling Ngawang Tsultrim served as the sixth Regent of Tibet from 1777 to 1786 and the Third Tsemonling served as Regent in the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's absence during the 1911 Chinese invasion of Tibet.

Timeline

Biographies

The Sixty-First Ganden Tripa, Ngawang Tsultrim

b.1721 - d.1791

Ngawang Tsultrim served as the sixth Regent of Tibet from 1777 to 1786, and, almost simultaneously, as the Sixty-first Ganden Tripa, from 1778 to 1785. As regent he reformed trade regulations; as Tripa he served as tutor to the Eighth Dalai Lama, and restored the Dalai Lama's quarters in the Potala Palace. He later joined the court of the Qianlong Emperor in Beijing, serving as abbot of Yonghegong and de facto representative of Tibet. He gave teachings in Mongolia and completed the translation of the Kangyur into Mongolian. He was educated in Sera and Gyuto and was the founder of the Tsemongling Labrang, and the Shedrub Ling Labrang at Sera.

The Second Tsemonling, Ngawang Jampel Tsultrim Gyatso

b.1792 - d.1862/1864

Ngawang Jampel Tsultrim Gyatso served as the Seventy-third Ganden Tripa for seven years, from 1837 to 1843, during which he established Tsemonling College in Lhasa and served as tutor to the Eleventh Dalai Lama. He studied in Sera Monastery and Gyuto College in Lhasa, and later served as the Regent of Tibet for about twenty-four years, from 1820 to 1844 until dethroned by the Qing amban. He returned in his later life to his hometown Chone in Amdo and settled there until his death. He was considered the reincarnation of the Sixty-first Ganden Tripa, Trichen Ngawang Tsultrim, taking the title of the Second Tsemonling.

The Third Tsemonling, Ngawang Lobzang Tenpai Gyeltsen

b.1864 - d.1919

Ngawang Lobzang Tenpai Gyeltsen, the Third Tsemonling, served as the Eighty-seventh Ganden Tripa for seven years, from 1907 to 1913. He was born in Amdo and educated in Lhasa, at Sera and Gyuto monasteries. He served series of posts at Gyuto and then the Sharpa Choje at Ganden Shartse prior to his ascent to the Golden Throne of Ganden. During the 1911 Chinese invasion of Tibet he served as acting Regent in the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's absence.

The Fourth Tsemonling, Ngawang Tubten Khedrub Gelek Gyeltsen

b.1921 - d.1948