The Treasury of Lives



Jamyang Sherab Chokyi Nangwa ('jam dbyangs shes rab chos kyi nang ba) was born in 1854, the wood tiger year of the fourteenth sexagenary cycle, in the Gyarong (rgyal rong) region of Kham. His family was known as Adrung (a drung).

The First Gyatrul Rinpoche, Dongak Tendzin (rgya sprul 01 mdo sngags bstan 'dzin, 1830-1892) recognized him as the rebirth of Karma Lhawang (karma lha dbang), one of two men who are counted as the fifth throne holders of Pelyul Monastery (dpal yul) in Kham. From this he holds the title of Second Dzongnang Lama (rdzong nang bla ma). Tradition also holds that he was the reincarnation of Chokyi Gyeltsen (chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1469-1546), the twelfth throne holder of Sera Monastery (se ra dgon).

He received his monastic training initially at Pelyul, and at the age of twelve he went to Lhasa to study at in Sera for about four years. Among his teachers there, with whom he studied grammar, poetry and astrology, was named Drakchok Geshe (brag cog dge bshes).

He returned to Pelyul Monastery at the behest of Dongak Tendzin, who instructed him in Dzogchen traditions, grammar, poetry, metrics, medicine, monastic logic, Prajñaparamitā, Madhyamaka and Vinaya. He studied Vinaya, the Bodhicaryāvatāra, and sutras with Sonam Namgyel (bsod nams rnam rgyal).

His other teachers included the Second Wonpo Wangchuk, Rigdzin Jigme Rangdrol (dbon po dbang phyug 02 rig 'dzin 'jigs med rang grol, b. 1820); Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820-1892); Jamyang Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso ('jam dbyangs kong sprul yon tan rgya mtsho,1813-1890); Dongak Chokyi Nyima (mdo sngags chos kyi nyi ma, 1854-1906); Tashi Chopel (bkra shis chos 'phel); Muksang Karma Tsepel (rmugs sangs karma tshe dpal) and Muksang Sherab Pelzang (rmugs sangs shes rab dpal bzang).

In 1873, at the age of twenty, he took the vows of fully ordinated monk from Dongak Tendzin. Soon after he returned to his native region. At the request of Drongdzong Ngaro Kuwa ('brong rdzong nga ro ku ba), he founded Drongdzong Monastery.

Later, at the command of Dongak Tenzin, he assisted for the construction of assembly hall at Dartang Monastery (dar thang dgon) and was installed as the fifth throne holder of the monastery. During his tenure he taught extensively, primarily on grammar, poetry, astrology, and the Vinaya. At the death of his teacher in 1892 he supervised the funeral and the construction of his reliquary.

Among his disciples were Tubten Shadrub Gyatso (thub bstan bshad sgrub rgya mtsho, 1879-1961); and Sonam Pelden (bsod nams dpal ldan), the second abbot of Dartang. His writings are mainly on the topics relating to poetry, astrology and biographies.

He passed away in 1893, the water-snake year of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, at the age of forty. His reincarnation was identified in the person of Jampel Gyepai Dorje ('jam dpal dgyes pa'i rdo rje, 1894-1958), who is counted as the Second Pelyul Choktrul as well as the Third Dzongnang Lama.

Sonam Dorje is a PHD candidate in Dunhuang Tibetan Manuscripts at North-west Nationalities’ University in Lanzhou.

Published June 2016

དཔྱད་གཞིའི་ཡིག་ཆ་ཁག།

Mu po. 2004. Pal yul rnam rgyal byang chub chos gling. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 177-183. TBRC W27022.

Tsering Lama Jampal Zangpo. 1988. A Garland of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees: The Palyul Tradition of Nyingmapa. Trans. Sangye Khandro. Ithaca: Snow Lion. pp. 72-77.

O rgyan brtson 'grus. 1999. Dar thang dgon pa'i ldan rabs. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 174-183. TBRC W20028.

གང་ཟག་འདིའི་གསུང་རྩོམ་ཁག་བོད་ཀྱི་ནང་བསྟན་དཔེ་ཚོགས་ལྟེ་གནས་སུ་འཚོལ།