The Treasury of Lives

The Seventh Riwoche Jedrung Jampa Junge (ri bo che rje drung 07 byams pa'i 'byung gnas) was born in 1856 into the Shol Danak (zhol zla nag) family of Riwoche Monastery (ri bo che) in Kham, members of the Gar Ratsang clan (mgar ra tsang) which claimed descent from the seventh-century King Songsten Gampo's (srong btsan sgam po) minister Gar Tongtsen (mgar stong rtsan). He was identified as the seventh incarnation of Riwoche Jedrung line, one of two principle lines of incarnate lamas at Riwoche. He was also said to be an emanation of Langdro Konchok Jungne (lang gro dkon mchog 'byung gnas), one of the twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava. His younger brother, Gara Lama Sonam Rapten (mgar ra bla ma bsod nams rab brtan) was born in 1865.

Jampa Jungne received teachings from many of the great lamas of his era, including both Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820-1893) and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas. 1813-1899), and the Fifteeenth Karmapa Khakyab Dorje (kar+ma pa 15 mkha' khyab rdo rje, 1870/1871-1921/1922). He also studied with Khyentse Wangpo's disciple Khenchen Lhagyel (mkhan chen lha rgyal, d.u.).

As head of Riwoche Monastery Jampa Jungne primarily upheld the Taklung Kagyu (stag lung bka' brgyud) teachings, but he also was a master of the Nyingma tradition, and an accomplished treasure revealer. He was also a highly skilled medical practitioner. When he was made abbot of Riwoche he assigned his younger brother, Gara Lama, to take charge of secular affairs for the lands controlled by the monastery.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, when thousands of people fled Kham during the atrocities of the Qing general Zhao Erfeng (1845-1911), and invited by the Pome ruler Kanam Depa (kanam sde pa), Jampa Jungne led some 2,000 followers in search of the mythical hidden realm (sbas yul) of Pemako (pad+ma bkod). He settled first in Chimdo, a region on the in Powe (spo bo), on Tibetan side of the Himalaya, and then moved to Mipi, on the south side of the mountains, where he built a temple called Karmo Ling (dkar mo gling). There the group experienced difficult relations with the local people, the Lopa (klo pa), and many returned to Kham. Jampa Jungne, however, remained with many disciples, and it was there that he encountered Dudjom Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904-1988), who became one of his closest disciples.

In his capacity as a treasure revealer Jampa Jungne revealed the longevity sadhana called The Secret Heart Drop of Padma (pad ma gsang thig) and, which his disciple Kangyur Rinpoche Longchen Yeshe Dorje (bka' 'gyur rin po che klong chen ye shes rdo rje,1898-1975), The Guru and Vajrakilya: The Sphere of Enlightened Mind. His collected writings comprise thirteen volumes including the hidden treasures. He also maintained the treasure tradition of Pema Lingpa (padma gling pa).

When Pome was invaded by the Guomindang in the second decade of the twentieth century, Jampa Jungne returned to Kham to rebuild Riwoche. According to some sources, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876-1933) requested Jampa Jungne to transfer to Taklung, where he spent the rest of his life teaching numerous disciples. However, it is more likely the case that Jampa Jungne was sent to Taklung as a form of house-arrest, having been on the wrong side of the Tibetan-Chinese battle for the Chamdo region in 1917.

Jampa Jungne had a daughter, Yangchen Lhamo (dbyangs can lha mo, 1907- c.1973), whom he trained in medicine, as well as reading, writing, grammar, and poetry. His daughter began practicing medicine at the age of thirteen and would go on to become a prominent doctor at the Lhasa Mentsikhang. 

Jampa Jungne passed away in 1922, and the incarnation line split, one Jedrung being identified at Riwoche, the other being based in Pemako.