The Treasury of Lives

Mingyur Peldron (mi 'gyur dpal sgron) was born in 1699 at Mindroling (smin grol gling) Monastery, a Nyingma monastery in central Tibet that her father, Terdak Lingpa Gyurme Dorje (gter bdag gling pa 'gyur med rdo rje, 1646-1714), had established in 1670. Her mother was named Puntsok Pelzom (phun tshogs dpal 'dzoms). Terdak Lingpa and his brother, the monk Lochen Dharmaśrī (lo chen d+harma shrI, 1654-1717/18), who had been instrumental in the establishment of Mindroling, were descendants of the Nyo (gnyos) clan.

Mingyur Peldron and her five siblings were raised at Mindroling. She is said to have received a rigorous religious education beginning in her early childhood, although it is noted in her hagiography that she was not trained in the secular arts (rig gnas).

Until the age of eighteen, her primary teachers were her father and, after his death in 1714, her uncle Lochen Dharmaśrī. Several sections of her hagiography are dedicated to long lists of the teachings she is said to have received from them. From Terdak Lingpa, these included transmission and training in teachings found in revealed treasure texts (gter ma). These included Terdak Lingpa's entire collection of revealed treasures, as well as the Jangter, or Northern Treasures (byang gter), Nyangrel Nyima Ozer's (nyang ral nyi ma 'od zer, 1124-1192) treasure text, called the "Eight Pronouncements, the Union of the Sugatas" (bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa), Guru Chowang's (gu ru chos dbang, 1212-1270) Vajrakīlaya (phur pa spu gri) treasure text, and Lhatsun Namkha Jigme's (lha btsun nam mkha' 'jigs med, 1597-1650) revealed treasure called Attainment of the Vidyādhara Life (lha btsun pa'i rig 'dzin srog sgrub skor). She also received teachings from her brother Pema Gyurme Gyatso (pad+ma 'gyur med rgya mtsho, 1686-1718).

Mingyur Peldron was said to be a great Dzogchen (rdzogs chen) master, and received initiation and training in the three classes of Dzogchen: the Mind Class (sems sde), Spatial Class (klong sde), and Esoteric Instruction Class (sman ngag sde), as well as Terdak Lingpa's Ati Zabdon Nyingpo (a ti zab don snying po) revelations. Additionally, she also received instruction and initiations for, and later taught the Khandro Nyingtik (mkha' 'gro snying thig), Khandro Yangtik (mkha' 'gro yang tig), Narak Dongdruk (na rag dong sprugs), Machik Labdron's (ma gcig lab sgron, 1055-1149) Chod (gcod) practice, the Magical Display of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities (sgyu 'phrul zhi khro),  Zhije (zhi byed) practices, and many others. All of these were passed on to students and disciples.

She is said to have maintained a celibate life and to have rebuffed proposals from Lelung Zhepai Dorje (sle lung bzhad pa'i rdo rje, 1697-1740), the Third Olga Jedrung ('ol dga' rje drung 03). This was a high-profile proposition, as Lelung Zhepai Dorje was a teacher to Lhazang Khan, the Mongol ruler of Tibet from 1705 to 1717.

In 1717 the Dzungar Mongols invaded Tibet, driving out the rival Khoshot Mongols who had ruled since the middle of the seventeenth century. Radical partisans of the dominant Geluk tradition, they unleashed a wave of anti-Nyingma violence. The destruction of Nyingma institutions reached Mindroling, and those inhabitants who were not arrested or killed escaped to other locales. Lochen Dharmaśrī and Pema Gyurme Gyatso were arrested and executed in Lhasa, as were many other male leaders of the Nyingma community. Mingyur Peldron's brother Rinchen Namgyel (rin chen rnam rgyal, 1694-1758) managed to escape to Kham, and Mingyur Peldron fled to Sikkim, and was shortly followed by her mother and sister. After their departure, most of the buildings at Mindroling were destroyed, and many of the remaining inmates killed. As might be expected, this was a traumatic time for all members of Mindroling, and Mingyur Peldron experienced significant loss, as well as hardship and illness during her journey to Sikkim.

In Sikkim they were hosted by a lama named Traktung Pawo Jigme Dorje (khrag 'thung dpa' bo 'jigs med rdo rjes), who had been trained at Mindroling, and with whom she exchanged teachings. During this time, her sister married the young Sikkimese king Gyurme Namgyel ('gyur med rnam rgyal, 1707-1733), who also became her disciple. During this period, Mingyur Peldron is said to have given public teachings to large crowds numbering in the thousands, as well as to individual members of the Sikkimese royalty.

She left Sikkim in 1720 or 1721 and began the reconstruction of Mindroling in advance of the return of Rinchen Namgyel and the rest of the Mindroling leadership. This initial active position in Mindroling's redevelopment was, according to her hagiography, perceived as a threat by unnamed members of the Mindroling leadership. As a result, after her brother returned to Mindroling, she was sent to Kongpo for one year. She was later called to Lhasa, where she met with Polhane Sonam Tobgye (pho lha nas bsod nams stobs rgyas,1689-1747), by then the political ruler of Tibet and her patron at the time. Polhane would support Mingyur Peldron's teaching activities throughout his lifetime. He arranged a meeting between Mingyur Peldron and the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 07 bskal bzang rgya mtsho, 1708-1757), who bestowed on her the name Sherab Drolma (shes rab sgrol ma). From here she returned to Mindroling to pursue a life of teaching, interspersed with periods of retreat, and regional pilgrimage. Following Polhane's death his daughter continued to support Mingyur Peldon, who enjoyed the patronage of other aristocrats as well.

Mingyur Peldron was then allowed to participate in the revival of Mindroling and its affiliates by supporting the construction of retreat centers and temples, and, according to her hagiography giving teachings to literally thousands of disciples. She taught men and women, lay and monastic, often in groups of several hundred, and also as individuals. Among her students were her nephews, the Fourth Minling Trichen, Pema Tendzin (smin gling khri chen 04 pad+ma bstan 'dzin, 1737-1761) and the Third Minling Khenchen, Orgyen Tendzin Dorje (smin gling mkhan chen 03 o rgyan bstan 'dzin rdo rje, b. 1742), as well as many previous disciples of her father.

She also exchanged teachings with several well-known figures, including the Dzogchen master Traktung Jigme Dorje (khrag 'thung 'jigs med rdo rje, 17th century) Katok Zhabdrung Gyurme Zhenpen Wangpo (kaH tog zhabs drung 'gyur med gzhan phan dbang po) the Second Dzogchen Drubwang, Gyurme Tekchok Tendzin ('gyur med theg mchog bstan 'dzin, 1699-1758), and her brother, the Third Minling Trichen, Rinchen Namgyel (smin gling khri chen rin chen rnam rgyal, 1694-1768).

Mingyur Peldron was an active practitioner and throughout her lifetime was said to have spent more than a decade in retreat. She composed several texts, including liturgies and practice manuals for empowerments and rituals related to Narak Dongdruk as well as generation and completion stages of tantric practice. She composed gur (mgur), or songs of spiritual attainment, as well as instructions for Dzogchen practice associated with her father's treasure texts.

Khyungpo Repa Gyurme Osel (khyung po ras pa 'gyur med od gsal, b. 1715) was her personal attendant from about 1723 until her death in 1769. Thirteen years after she passed away, he completed her hagiography, a work which is highly fantastic, full of miraculous occurrences and expressions of Mingyur Peldron's high level of realization.

Learn more about the Women Initiative, an effort to add 100 new biographies of women by 2026.