The Treasury of Lives

Ngawang Chokyi Wangchuk (ngag dbang chos kyi dbang phyug) was born in 1606, the fire-horse year of tenth sexagenary cycle, in Pundruk Dzong (spun drug rdzong) in central Tibet. His father was an aristocrat with the title of Depa (sde pa) named Gambu Dondrub (sgam bu don grub). His mother, named Sonam Butri (bsod nams bu 'khrid), was a niece of the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 03 bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588).

At the age of five he was identified as the rebirth of Tatsak Lhawang Chokyi Gyeltsen (rta tshag lha dbang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1537-1603) and given the title of Tatsak Jedrung (rta tshag rje drung). Chokyi Gyeltsen had himself been identified as the reincarnation of Baso Chokyi Gyeltsen (ba so chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1402-1473). With the initiation of the Tatsak Jedrung incarnation line, Baso Chokyi Gyeltsen was enumerated as the First Tatsak Jedrung. A man named Wonpo Lhakyab (dbon po lha skyabs, 1474-1502), who had been the nephew of the First Pakpa Lha, First Pakpa Lha, Dechen Dorje ('phags pa lha 01 bde chen rdo rje, 1439-1489), was given the title of Second Tatsak Jedrung, and a fictional person named Liyul Chogyel (li yul chos rgyal, 1509-1526) was created to bridge the gap between the Second and the Fourth.

The Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 04 yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589-1616) gave him monastic tonsure and the name Ngawang Chokyi Wangchuk Tenpai Gyeltsen (ngag dbang chos kyi dbang phyug bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan). After some years studying at Drepung ('bras spungs) he went to Tatsak Lhundrub Dechen (rta tshag lhun grub bde chen) in Lhorong (lho rong), which had been established by Baso Chokyi Gyeltsen.

When he returned to Lhasa he continued receiving teachings from various masters, including the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 05 ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617-1682) and the Fourth Paṇchen Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (paN chen 04 blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662), who gave him full ordination.

He later returned to his seat in Kham, Japuk Do-ngak Dargyeling (bya phug mdo sngags dar rgyas gling) and assumed the administration of the monastery and over thirty branch monasteries and lay communities in the region. In 1643 he combined five monasteries in Dokhok (mdo khog) and established Ganden Shedrub Ling (dga' ldan bshad sgrub gling).

He passed away in 1652, the water-dragon year of eleventh sexagenary cycle. His compositions are said to have been collected into two volumes, but none seem to be extant.

Sonam Dorje is a PHD candidate in Dunhuang Tibetan Manuscripts at North-west Nationalities’ University in Lanzhou.

Published January 2014

དཔྱད་གཞིའི་ཡིག་ཆ་ཁག།

Bsod nams dbang grags. 1995. Rta tshag rje drung rin po che'i 'khrungs rabs gser gyi 'phreng ba. Lhasa: Bod ljongs nang bstan. TBRC W4493.

Bstan pa bstan 'dzin. 2003. Chos sde chen po dpal ldan 'bras spungs bkra shis sgo mang grwa tshang gi chos 'byung dung g.yas su 'khyil ba'i sgra dbyangs. Mundgod: Dpal ldan 'bras spungs bkra shis sgo mang dpe mdzod khang, vol. 1, pp. 488-489. TBRC W28810.

Chab spel tshe brtan phun tshogs and Mi 'gyur rdo rje, eds. 1991. Bod kyi gal che'i lo rgyus yig cha bdams bsgrigs. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, pp. 285-286. TBRC W19220.

Don rdor and Bstan 'dzin chos grags. 1993. Gangs ljongs lo rgyus thog gi grags can mi sna. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, p. 654. TBRC 19803.

Dung dkar blo bzang 'phrin las. 2002. Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, p. 2129. TBRC W26372.

Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho. 2009. Sa glang pho brang chen po po ta lar don gnyer can mang po la 'dod chos gyid skabs nyang stod gnas rnying zhabs drung khri pa blo bzang kun dga' bde legs rin cen rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po dang / bar khams nas ba so sprul pa'i sku gnyis nged rang gi rnam thar zhig rtsom dgos tshul nan chas pas ngo ma bzlog par khas lan tsam byas pa/ slar lcags yos nang du ba so sprul sku ngag dbang chos kyi dbang phyug bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan dpal bzang pos tshigs su bcad pa'i 'phrin yig rtogs rjod yang skyor du bskul ba dang / dbang phyogs gong ma'i rgyal khab nas myur du ldog dgos pa'i lan skal bzang thog mar 'char ba'i skya rengs. In Gsung 'bum ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, vol. 22, pp. 335-337. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang. TBRC W1PD107937.

Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho. 2009. Ba so sprul sku ngag dbang chos kyi dbang phyug bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po'i sprul sku gsal por byon pa'i bden tshig tu brjod pa. In Gsung 'bum ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, vol. 24, pp. 28-30. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang. TBRC W1PD107937.

གང་ཟག་འདིའི་གསུང་རྩོམ་ཁག་བོད་ཀྱི་ནང་བསྟན་དཔེ་ཚོགས་ལྟེ་གནས་སུ་འཚོལ།