The Treasury of Lives

Pende Khenchen Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso (phan bde mkhan chen ngag dbang mkhas grub rgya mtsho) was born in 1917, on the first day of the seventh month of the fire dragon year of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, in Dzinda ('dzi mda' / 'dzin 'da') in Gato, Kham. His father was Jangchub Zangpo (byang chub bzang po) and his mother was named Dondrub Tsomo (don grub mtsho mo). A lama named Mepo Kelzang Gonpo (mes po skal bzang mgon po) identified him as a reincarnation of his teacher, Jampa Pelden Choze (byams pa dpal ldan chos mdzad, d. circa 1915), the sixty-second abbot of Ngor Ewaṃ Choden (ngor e waM chos ldan), who had passed away while staying at the Dzipu Labrang ('dzi phu'i bla brang)^[1] at Tarlam Monastery (thar lam dgon). The identification was confirmed via letter by the Thirty-Eighth Sakya Trizin, Dzamling Chegu Wandu (sa skya khri chen 38 'dzam gling che rgu dbang 'dud, 1855–1919).^[2]

His mother brought him to Nyiga Dorje Chang (nyi dga' rdo rje 'chang, 1846–1925) at Dzinda Hermitage ('dzi mda' ri khrod), which was associated with Tarlam, a week after he was born. Nyiga Rinpoche gave the child the name Chokyong Tenzin (chos skyong bstan 'dzin). His mother brought him back when he was four to receive the blessing empowerment of the Mañuśrīnāmasaṃgīti. He remained at the hermitage under the care of Mepo Kelzang Gonpo, and received reading instruction from the chant master of Tarlam Monastery, Jamyang Gyeltsen ('jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan).^[3]

Pende Khenchen Jamyang Kunzang Tubten Chokyi Gyeltsen (phan bde'i mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs kun bzang thub bstan chos kyi rgyal mtshan), who had served as the sixty-fourth abbot of Ngor in the early 1920s, was then staying at the Dzipu Labrang ('dzi phu'i bla brang). He gave him the initiation into the Three Deities (lha rnam gsum) and other blessings, and, in 1924, gave him novice ordination and claimed him for the Pende Labrang (phan bde bla brang) at Ngor.^[4]

He trained for a short period at Tarlam under a paternal uncle named Kunga Pelzang (kun dga' dpal bzang), who taught him grammar, astrology, and other basic subjects. In the early 1930s he moved to Jyeku Monastery (skyes dgu dgon). He received teachings and empowerments from Gaton Ngawang Lekpa (dga' ston ngag dbang legs pa, 1867–1941), and from a teacher named Gendun Zangpo (dge 'dun bzang po). He then entered retreat at Dzipu.^[5]

In 1933, when Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso was seventeen, he went to Ngor in the company of his cousin Druk Khenpo Ngawang Yonten Gyatso ('brug mkhan po ngag dbang yon tan rgya mtsho, 1902–1963), who was ascending to the abbot's throne that year, and was assigned the position of Pende Zhabdrung (phan bde zhabs drung), or abbatial candidate from the Pende Labrang. From the famous Drukpa Khenpo he received the Lamdre Tsokshe (lam 'bras tshogs bshad)—the "Lamdre for the Assembly," one of two versions of the core Sakya teachings—for the first time. Druk Khenpo also gave him bodhisattva vows and, ultimately, his novice and full ordination vows, with the name Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso (ngag dbang mkhas grub rgya mtsho).^[6]

He also received teachings from Dampa Rinpoche Ngawang Lodro Zhenpen Nyingpo (dam pa rin po che ngag dbang blo gros gzhan phan snying po, 1876–1952), who had served as the sixty-fifth abbot of Ngor in the early 1920s. Dampa Rinpoche gave him the empowerments of the Seven Ngor Maṇḍalas, the twelve maṇḍalas of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatantra (sbyong rgyud dkyil 'khor bcu gnyis), the Thirteen Golden Dharmas of the Sakya (sa skya gser chos bcu gsum) and other teachings.^[7]

In 1935 Druk Khenpo, an ardent crusader against the controversial deity Dorje Shukden, clashed openly with a former abbot of Ngor, Ngawang Khyenrab Jampel Nyingpo (ngag dbang mkhyen rab 'jam dpal snying po, 1871–1952), a fervid promoter of Shukden and a member of the aristocratic Zhalu Kuzhang (zha lu sku zhang) that had long patronized Ngor and other Sakya monasteries in Tsang. Druk Khenpo, a Khampa from the Ga region, refused to display the expected deference to the elderly lama, who lived at Khangsar Labrang (khang gsar bla brang).^[8]

Insulted by the abbot's lack of respect for the former abbot, the Khangsar monks stormed Pende Labrang while Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso was in retreat in a room known as the Four-Pillared Pende Temple (phan khang ka bzhi). They bound the Druk Khenpo in their temple in a failed attempt to force him to pay his respects to the elderly lama. He was released and finished his term, but left in 1936 for Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon) and then Bhutan.^[9]

That year Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso was elevated to the abbot's throne, becoming the seventieth abbot of Ngor and serving for three years, until 1938. During his tenure he went frequently to Tanak Monastery (rta ngag dgon) to receive teachings from Dampa Rinpoche. These included the Compendium of Tantras (rgyud sde kun btus), in 1938, which he received alongside the young Chogye Trichen (bco brgyad khri chen, 1919–2007), whose ordination he participated in the following year, serving as the ceremonial master (slob dpon).^[10]

In 1941, at the age of twenty-five, he returned to Kham, settling for several years at Jyekundo to teach. He taught the Compendium of Sādhanas, the Seven Ngor Maṇḍalas, and other collections. Among his many disciples there were the Luding Zhabdrung Jamyang Tenpai Nyima (klu lding zhabs drung 'jam dbyangs bstan pa'i nyi ma, b. 1931–2022), who later served as the seventy-fifth abbot of Ngor.^[11]

He then returned to Ngor to serve as abbot again, from 1948 to 1951. The year he stepped down he gave the empowerment of the twelve maṇḍalas of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatantra, for which his disciple, Jamyang Kunga Tenpai Gyeltsen ('jam dbyangs kun dga' bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, 1933–1987), who would later serve as the seventy-fourth abbot of Ngor, gave the explanation.^[12]

During his tenure Pende Labrang was deeply in debt, the result of long-term mismanagement, and the reputation of the labrang suffered for it. His biographer Jamyang Tubten Nyingpo ('jam dbyangs thub bstan snying po, b. 1968) credits Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso for restoring the labrang to financial stability. Jackson notes that another of his disciples, a man named Kunzang Gyatso (kun bzang rgya mtsho), a monk of the Tartse Labrang who nevertheless considered Ngawang Khedrub Gyatso to be his main teacher, spent three years collecting donations as payment for the transmission of the Lamdre teachings.^[13]

In 1954 he returned again to Kham. He gave empowerments of the One Hundred Sādhanas (sgrub thabs brgya rtsa) and the twelve maṇḍalas of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatantra to patrons and monks at Jyekundo, and then spent several years teaching at the Sakya monasteries of the region such as Tarlam and Pangshar (pang shar dgon), where he collected donations to relieve Pende Labrang's debts.^[14]

In 1958, when it became too difficult to remain in Kham due to the Communist takeover, he returned to Ngor, from where he fled into India. With several attendants he made his way through Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Deradhun, ultimately settling in Rajpur.

He transmitted multiple teachings to the young Forty-First Sakya Tridzin (sa skya khri 'dzin 41, b. 1945), including Hevajra, the collected works of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (ngor chen kun dga' bzang po, 1382–1456), and Bhairava.^[15]

He passed away in Rajpur around the year 1969. His funeral services were conducted by the Sakya Trizin and Khenpo Appey (mkhan po a pad, 1927–2010).^[16]

 

_________________________________________________

Publication of this biography was made possible through support of National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Additional Bios Sponsored By National Endowment for the Humanities