The Treasury of Lives

Tseten Chodzom (tshe brtan chos 'dzoms) was a daughter of Lhagyari Tri Songwanggyel (khri srong dbang rgyal, 19th century), the Thirteenth Lhagyari ruler of Eyul in Lhokha (lho kha).

Her mother was Tashi Gyelmo (bkra shis rgyal mo, 19th c.) from the aristocratic Tetong family (bkras mthong) which had an estate near Shigatse (gzhis ka rtse). Tseten Chodzom was the youngest of seven children: Tobjor Wangchuk (stobs 'byor dbang phyug, 19th c.); Guru Rinpoche (gu ru rin po che), a monk at Tawang Monastery (rta dbang); Yondo Rinpoche (yon mdo rin po che), a lama at Yardrok Yondo Monastery (yar 'brog yon mdo); Namgyel Wangchuk (rnam rgyal dbang phyug), Ogyen Chodron (o rgyan chos sgron); and Yeshe Wangmo (ye shes dbang mo). Her oldest brother Tobjor Wangchuk became the Fourteenth Ruler of Eyul after their father's death.

At the age of seventeen, Tseten Chodzom married Surkhang Wangchen Tseten (zur khang dbang chen tshe brtan, 1891-1953) from the prominent Surkhang family (zur khang) in Lhasa. Together they had six children: Wangchen Gelek (dbang chen dge legs), Lhawang Topgyel (lha dbang stobs rgyal), Dorje Yudon (g.yu thog rdo rje g.yu sgron), Lhawang Dronma (rong brag lcam lha sgron), Wangchuk Dorje (dbang phyug rdo rje) and Sonam Namgyel, a son who died in infancy.

The marriage did not last. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama Tubten Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876-1933) sanctioned the divorce, as was the custom for noble families. As the split was occasioned by Wangchen Tseten having had an affair, it was Wangchen Tseten who moved out into a new residence while Tseten Chodzom and the children remained at Surkhang House (zur khang gzims shag). Their oldest son Wangchen Gelek became the head of the Surkhang family.

Wangchen Tseten, now Surkhang Surpa (zur khang zur pa), was reassigned as Depon (mda' dpon), fourth rank general, and sent to Kham. He later became Governor General of Eastern Tibet (mdo smad spyi khyab) in 1936. After the divorce, Tseten Chodzom took a vow of celibacy and a set of precepts formulated for lay devotees from Khangsar Dorjechang (khang gsar rdo rje 'chang, 1888-1941) of Drepung Monastery ('bras spungs).

In September 1951, the Chinese People's Liberation Army marched into Lhasa city, beginning a decade of uneasy coexistence as the government of the young Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tendzin Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 14 bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho, b. 1935) tried to accommodate the Communists. In March 1959, Tseten Chodzom went to India with her daughter Yuthok Dorje Yudon and other family members.

She died at the end of 1959 from cancer, at Kildare House in Mussourie, where her son Wangchen Gelek, who continued in his position as Kalon in the Tibetan government, was based. She took nun's vows from her root guru the Third Trijang, Lobzang Yeshe Tendzin Gyatso (khri byang 03 blo bzang ye shes bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho, 1901-1981) just before her death.

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