The Treasury of Lives



Little is known about the birth or early life of Gyarong Khandro Dechen Wangmo (rgya rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo).[1] She was the sister of Gyarong Namtrul Drodul Gargyi Dorje ('gro 'dul gar gyi rdo rje), a treasure revealer of Gyarong Monastery (rgyal rong dgon) who was considered a reincarnation of Kunzang Tekchok Dorje (kun bzang theg mchog rdo rje).[2] Tulku Thondup (sprul sku don grub, b. 1939) lists her and her brother among the disciples of the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen grub dbang 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935).[3]

According to Orgyen Tobgyal (o rgyan stobs rgyal, b. 1951), Gyarong Namtrul eventually fell into some kind of disagreement with Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959) and began attacking him through sorcery. Gyarong Khandro was then responsible for countering her brother’s black magic and protecting Khyentse Chokyi Lodro.[4]

Gyarong Khandro lived in a mountain hermitage near Dzongsar Monastery (rdzong sar dgon), possibly in Dzinkhok ('dzin khog). Lama Gyurdrak (bla ma 'gyur grags, d. 1975) spent several years serving and studying with her there. He recalled that she would often exhibit apparent clairvoyance. For example, she might tell him to prepare the favorite meal of a person who would later arrive unannounced.

In 1953, Gyarong Khandro "reopened" the sacred place of Khyungtak (khyung ltag) and revealed the Vajrakīla practice called Tsogyel's Whispered Transmission of Kīla (mtsho rgyal snyan brgyud phur pa) as an earth treasure (sa gter). While performing a feast offering together with Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro she had a vision in which saw the location of the hidden treasure and walked toward it. When she had difficulty retrieving it, she called upon Tsering Chodron (tshe ring chos sgron, 1929–2011) to assist her. According to Orgyen Tobgyal, the difficulty was due to her excessive size. Khandro Tsering Chodron was called upon to assist.[5] The Vajrakīla text that she revealed on this occasion is included among the writings of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (dil mgo mkhyen brtse rin po che, 1910–1991), who received the transmission from Khyentse Chokyi Lodro.[6] Dzongsar Ngari Tulku recalls that on this occasion Gyarong Khandro, Khandro Tsering Chodron, Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro and Sogyal Rinpoche (bsod rgyal rin po che, 1947–2019) all left their handprints in the solid rock.[7]

In the same year, Gyarong Khandro also dictated a guide to Khyungtak (khyung ltag gnas yig) to Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, who transcribed her words. This text was recently included in the Dakinis' Great Dharma Treasury (mkha' 'gro'i chos mdzod chen mo).[8] The same collection also features several shorter texts that derive from her visions and revelations.[9]

Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro composed a prayer to Gyarong Khandro at Khandro Tsering Chodron's request in which he identifies her as an emanation of both Mandāravā (lha lcam man+da ra ba) and Yeshe Tsogyel (ye shes mtsho rgyal).[10] In the text, Khyentse Chokyi Lodro refers to her by the names Dechen Wangmo and Dharma Tsandra, a Tibetan spelling of the Sanskrit name Dharmacandra, which suggests that she might also have been called Chokyi Dawa (chos kyi zla ba), but this is unattested in any available source. Jamyang Khyentse also wrote at least one letter to her, now preserved in his collected writings.[11] This letter outlines a series of gifts, including a silk scarf, bronze statue of Tārā, and textual fragments from the revelations of Khyentse Wangpo, that he offered out of gratitude for longevity rituals and other prayers and practices that she had performed on his behalf.

Lama Gyurdrak described Gyarong Khandro as "very tall and awe-inspiring, perhaps even fierce."[12] According to Dzongsar Ngari Tulku (rdzong sar mnga' ris sprul sku, 1945–2008) she resembled Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in her imposing stature, and she had a mass of thick grey hair.[13] Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche himself described her as "very fat" and recalls that she used to wear robes and a raw silk shawl. He says that she was a delok ('das log) or revenant, who would regularly visit Padmasambhava's pure land, the Copper-Colored Mountain.[14] Dzongsar Ngari Tulku recalled how she would regularly slip into a meditative trance for days at a time, during which she would neither eat nor drink but would visit various paradises that she described on her return. He also noted that she was renowned for the accuracy with which she could predict people’s deaths.[15]

On one occasion Gyarong Khandro bestowed a long-life empowerment on both Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro and Dilgo Khyentse. Khandro Tsering Chodron, who was also present, received a scolding for laughing at the way that Gyarong Khandro's voice trembled as she chanted.

The circumstances of Gyarong Khandro's death are unclear, but it is thought that she died in Dzinkhok ('dzin khog) in the late 1950s and that Dongna Tulku Sherab Chokyi Sengge (gdong sna sprul sku shes rab chos kyi seng ge, 1924–2003), one of the senior  lamas at Dzongsar, was with her at the time. Dongna Tulku's attendant recalls that her body then shrank noticeably in the following days—a sign of high meditative accomplishment, particularly in Dzogchen.[16]

That so few details about Gyarong Khandro's life are available despite her obvious importance is partly due to the turmoil of the late 1950s. It might also reflect a broader androcentrism that is only now being addressed through initiatives such as the Dakinis’ Great Dharma Treasury collection. As noted above, several texts by Gyarong Khandro appear in this collection, and it is to be hoped that more texts related to this fascinating figure may soon come to light.



[1] A similarly named Bonpo terton, Gyarong Khandro Dechen Wangmo (rgya rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo, b. 1868), is renowned as the revealer of a treasure called Lives of an Ocean of Ḍākinīs (mkha’ 'gro rgya mtsho’i rnam thar), which contains the biographies of sixteen major female figures. Donatella Rossi, who has studied the life and work of this Dechen Wangmo extensively, gives her dates as 1868–c.1927, while in a recent talk, Sherab Wangmo of Northwestern University gives her dates as 1868–c.1935. This Bonpo Dechen Wangmo was the consort of Sang-ngak Lingpa (gsang sngags gling pa, b. 1868) and was also known as Khandro Wangdron (mkha' 'gro dbang sgron) She revealed Lives of an Ocean of Ḍākinīs in 1918. Her incarnation Khacho Wangmo (bka' chen dbang mo, d. 1987) was born as the daughter of Hungchen Drodul Lingpa (hung chen 'gro 'dul gling pa, 1901–1956).

[2] "Rgyal rong dgon" in Dkar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so so'i lo rgyus gsal bar bshad pa, vol. 1 p. 546.

[3] Thondup 1996 p. 344

[4] Dilgo Khyentse 2017, p. 173 and p. 518.

[5] See Dilgo Khyentse 2008 p. 138 and Dilgo Khyentse 2017 pp. 173–175.

[6] See Bkra shis dpal 'byor, "Mtsho rgyal snyan brgyud phur pa me yi spu gri," in volume 10 of his Collected Works, pp 33–41 (BDRC W21809).

[7] Dzongsar Ngari Tulku 2005. See also Haas 2013, p. 282.

[8] Mkha' 'gro'i chos mdzod chen mo. 53 vols. Lha sa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, 2017. vol. 30, pp. 274–279. The same text is also included in the most recent edition of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro's writings. The Dakinis' Great Dharma Treasury collection also includes another guide by Gyarong Khandro, entitled Gnas kyi mdo byang (Vol. 30, pp. 242–273), which was requested by Khenpo Tsewang Gyurme and transcribed by Gyurme Drakpa, two sons of Yilhungpa Sonam Namgyel (yid lhung pa bsod nams rnam rgyal, c. 1874–1952).

[12] Talbott 2019 p. 192.

[13] Dzongsar Ngari Tulku 2005.

[14] Dilgo Khyentse 2008, p. 137.

[15] Dzongsar Ngari Tulku 2005.

[16] Information kindly provided by Alak Zenkar Rinpoche.

 

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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 October 2023

དཔྱད་གཞིའི་ཡིག་ཆ་ཁག།

Dilgo Khyentse. 2008. Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse. Trans. Ani Jinba Palmo. Boston & London. Shambhala Publications.

Dilgo Khyentse. 2017. The Life and Times of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

Dzongsar Ngari Tulku. 2005. Private Interview, Pemayangtse, Sikkim.

Haas, Michaela. 2013. Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. Boston: Snow Lion.

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. 2012. Rgyal rong mkha' 'gro mar phul ba'i rten 'byung legs 'bul mtshon bshad. In'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum, vol. 12, pp. 45–46. Bir: Khyentse Labrang. BDRC W1KG12986

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. 2012. Khyung ltag gnas yig rgya rong mkha' 'gro chen mo'i dgongs nyams. In'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum, vol. 10, pp. 317–324. Bir: Khyentse Labrang. BDRC W1KG12986

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. 1981–1985. Rgyal rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo'i gsol 'debs. In'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum, vol. 2, pp. 203–204. Gangtok: Khyentse Labrang. BDRC W21813

Reb gong pa ʼjigs med bsam grub, ed. 1995. dKar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so soʼi lo rgyus gsal bar bshad pa. 3 vols. Pe cin: Krung goʼi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang. BDRC W19997

Rgya rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo. 2017. Gnas kyi mdo byang. In mKha' 'gro'i chos mdzod chen mo. 53 vols. Lha sa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, vol. 30, pp. 242–273. BDRC W3CN2459

Rgya rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo. 2017. Khyung ltag gnas yig rgya rong mkha' 'gro chen mo'i dgongs nyams. In mKha' 'gro'i chos mdzod chen mo. 53 vols. Lha sa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, vol. 30, pp. 274–279. BDRC W3CN2459

Rgya rong mkha' 'gro bde chen dbang mo. 2017. Ye shes Da ki’i brda dbyangs gsol 'debs. In mKha' 'gro'i chos mdzod chen mo. 53 vols. Lha sa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, vol. 30, pp. 280–281. BDRC W3CN2459

Rossi, Donatella. 2008. Mkha' 'gro dbang mo'i rnam thar: The Biography of the gTer-ston-ma mKha'-'gro bDe-chen Chos-kyi dBang-mo (1868-1927?), Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines (RET), no. 15, Tibetan Studies in Honour of Samten Karmay, Part II, pp. 371­­–378.

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

Tulku Thondup. 1996. Masters of Meditation and Miracles: The Longchen Nyingthig Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

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