The Treasury of Lives

Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (ngor chen kun dga' bzang po) was born in 1382 at Sakya Monastery in Tibet. His mother was Sonam Pelden (bsod nams dpal ldan). The identity of his father is somewhat complicated. According to the biography writen by his chief disciple, Muchen Konchok Gyeltsen (mus chen dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1388-1469), Ngorchen's father was Pontsang Drubpa Yonten (dpon tshang grub pa yon tan), the "great attendant" (nye gnas chen po) of the Sakya Tsok, which was most likely a special section of the Sakya general assembly. His forefathers, after having moved from Dringtsam ('bring mtshams) to Sakya, had lived as nomads and then served as personal valet (gsol ja ba) to the head lama of the Zhitok Labrang (gzhi thog bla brang) at Sakya. However, some sources have it that Pontsang Drubpa Yonten was only Ngorchen's father outwardly (phyi ltar), and that inwardly (nang ltar), his hidden or secret father (sbas pa'i yab) was Tawen Kunga Rinchen (ta dben kun dga' rin chen, 1339-1399) of the Zhitok Labrang, who served as the Seventeenth Sakya Tridzin.

At age six Kunga Zangpo began his formal studies and at nine he took lay and novice monastic vows from his early teacher, Sharchen Yeshe Gyeltsen (shar chen ye shes rgyal mtshan, 1359- 1406). Under Sharchen's guidance, Kunga Zangpo went on to take full monastic, bodhisattva, and mantrayana vows, and became an expert in both sutra and tantra. He had an especially strong grasp of the rituals and practices particular to Sakya and became Yeshe Gyeltsen's principle disciple.

At age twenty-five, after Yeshe Gyeltsen passed away, Kunga Zangpo traveled to Shang Chokor Gang (shangs chos 'khor sgang) to study with Kyabchok Pelzang (skyabs mchog dpal bzang, d.u.). During his studies with Kyabchok Pelzang, Ngorchen was not able to receive the full Lamdre transmission, and afterwards he searched for a qualified Lamdre teacher. In Sakya, however, qualified teachers had either recently passed away or were not present at the time. Ngorchen then heard about Buddhaśrī (bu d+ha shrI, 1339-1420) aka Sanggye Pel (sangs rgyas dpal), who was at Zhi Gon (zh dgon). It is said that when he arrived at Zhi he found the monastery and Buddhaśrī exactly as he had previously seen them in a vision.

After studying with Buddhaśrī at Zhi, Kunga Zangpo returned with this master to Sakya where he continued to study with him. In addition to the masters mentioned above, Kunga Zangpo's teachers included Pelden Tsultrim (dpal ldan tshul khrims, 1333-1399), Kunga Gyelsten (kun dga' rgyal mtshan, d.u.), Zhonnu Lodro (gzhon nu blo gros, 1358-1412/24), Tashi Rinchen (bkra shis rin chen, d.u.), and Lotsāwa Kyabchok Pelzang (lo tsA ba skyabs mchog dpal bzang, d.u.).

Having made a name for himself as a master of tantra, Kunga Zangpo defended the Sakya teachings from an attack by Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang (mkhas grub rje dge legs dpal bzang, 1385-1438), who questioned the authenticity of the Hevajra teachings. The nascent Geluk tradition of which Khedrubje was a leader and Kunga Zangpo's Sakya tradition were then in competition for the rising Rinpung family's (rin spungs) patronage.

When Kunga Zangpo was twenty-nine, he went to Sabzang Monastery (sa bzang dgon) and took up a position of authority, offering his students a broad range of religious instruction including commentaries on texts, empowerments and reading transmissions, and ordination ceremonies. He remained at Sabzang for three years.

In 1429, at the age of forty-eight, Kunga Zangpo established Ngor Ewaṃ Choden Monastery (ngor e waM chos ldan), which subsequently developed into the seat of the Ngor sub-tradition, one of the three main divisions of the Sakya tradition. According to his autobiography, Kunga Zangpo, who strictly observed the Vinaya's monastic codes, found Sakya too active, and sought out a place for quite practice. The Ngor Valley, he wrote, was a "remote place devoid of barmaids." Nevertheless, Ngor soon developed into a major center of Sakya practice, and at its largest supported over a thousand monks. The curriculum at Ngor was based directly on the Sakya lineage, oral instructions, and the four classes of tantra, and it was the institutional center of the Tsokshe (tshogs bshad) transmission of the Lamdre teachings. At the new monastery Kunga Zangpo oversaw the construction of a main temple as well as many statues and other material supports for religious practice. He also a created a monastic college and commissioned a Kangyur written in gold.

Following the invitation of the kings of Mustang (glo bo smon thang), Ngorchen travelled three times to this kingdom. His first two journeys took place in 1427 and 1436 following the invitation of Ame Pel (a me/ma dpal, 1388-1440), the king of Mustang, and his third journey from 1447-1449, following the invitation of Amgon Zang (a mgon bzang, b. 1420), the son and successor of Ame Pel. During his three journeys, Ngorchen established a Vinaya seminary called Tenchen Duldra Domsumling (steng chen 'dul grwa sdom gsum gling), the Drakar Chode Tekchen Dargyeling (brag dkar gyi chos sde theg chen dar rgyas gling), and the Jampa Lhakang (byams pa lha khang). Moreover, he lead the production of an edition of the Kangyur and initiated the creation of a Kangyur in golden letters. He also ordained the king of Mustang Ame Pel, as well as the king of Guge, Tri Namkhai Wangpo (khri nam mkha'i dbang po, d.u.) in Khorchak ('khor chags).

Kunga Zangpo's many students included the next seven abbots of Ngor, or Ngor Khenchen: Muchen Sempa Chenpo Konchok Gyeltsen (mus chen sems dpa' chen po dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1388-1469), Jamyang Sherab Gyatso ('jam dbyangs shes rab rgya mtsho, c.1396-1474), Kunga Wangchuk (kun dga' dbang phyug, 1424-1478), Pelden Dorje (dpal ldan rdo rje, 1411-1482), Gorampa Sonam Sengge (go rams pa bsod nams seng ge, 1429-1489), and Konchok Pelwa (dkon mchog 'phel ba, 1445-1514). Other students included Lodro Wangchuk (blo gros dbang phyug, b. 1402), Shākya Chokden (shAkya mchog ldan, 1428-1507), Paṇchen Bumtrak Sumpa (paN chen 'bum phrag gsum pa, 1432/3-1504), Markam Drakpa Zangpo (smar khams pa grags pa bzang po, d.u.), and the Second Drukchen, Kunga Peljor ('brug chen 02 kun dga' dpal 'byor).

Kunga Zangpo was extremely prolific, and his collected works contain nearly two hundred titles. Due to his many written works, the teachings he gave, his accomplishments as a practitioner, and the major monastic institution he established, Kunga Zangpo is included among the famous Sakya masters who came to be known as the Six Ornaments of Tibet.