The Treasury of Lives

Tsering Pelbar (tshe ring dpal 'bar) was born some time in the eighteenth century into the prominent family of Lhagyari (lha rgya ri), the local rulers of Eyul (e yul), situated between Yarlung (yar klung) and Dakpo (dwags po) in central Tibet, and based at Gyari Castle (rgya ri) and Rigo Tashi Chodzong Castle (ri sgo bkra shis chos rdzong).

During this period the family began to mine in the area, and discovered substantial deposits of gold. Tsering Pelbar, then the head of the Lhagyari family, sponsored two sets of the Kangyur (bka' 'gyur) and Tengyur (bstan 'gyur) written in golden ink.

He is said to have been a tantric practitioner. Zhabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (zhabs dkar tshogs drug rang grol, 1781-1850) records in his autobiography that he received from Lhagyari Tsering Pelbar the initiations for Jatson Nyingpo's ('ja' tson snying po, 1585-1656) well-known The Embodiment of the Three Jewels (bka' rdzogs pa chen po dkon mchog spyi 'dus) and another treasure, The Secret Wisdom (gsang ba ye shes) which was likely the treasure of that name discovered by Kunzang Dechen Gyelpo (kun bzang bde chen rgyal po, b. 1736), who was a beneficiary of Lhagyari patronage. Tsering Pelbar also gave him what appears to be a Bon empowerment, titled The Eternal Sky (g.yung drung nam mkha'). In return, Zhabkar gave him a longevity empowerment and the oral transmission of the Life and Songs of Jetsun Milarepa. Zhabkar gave vows to Tsering Pelbar's daughter and gave her the name Lhaksam Drolma (lhag bsam sgrol ma, 19th c.).

Tsering Pelbar also had at least one son. This was possibly Dechen Trinle Rolpa (bde chen 'phrin las rol pa, 18th c.), who became the eleventh head of the Lhagyari family. Dechen Trinle Rolpa is said to have been invested in 1772, which raises the question of whether the Tashi Pelbar that Zhabkar mentions in his autobiography is the same person as the tenth head of the family. Because Dechen Trinle Rolpa played a role in the Gurkha Wars of the late eighteenth century, it is more likley that Zhabkar met a different man, or that they met when Tsering Pelpar was extremely old.

After Tsering Pelbar's death, his spirit was said to have been absorbed into the protector deity of the Lhagyari family and a propitiatory ritual was created by the Third Lelung, Zhepai Dorje (sle lung 03 bzhad pa'i rdo rje, 1697-1740).