Longsel Nyingpo was born in 1625, the female wood-ox year of the Tibetan calendar, in a village called Trapa (dpra pa, dbra pa, dbra bya, dpra ba) in southeastern Tibet in the vicinity of the sacred mountain Kampo Ne (kaM po gnas) where the high plateaus of Litang (li thang) taper into the verdant valleys of Batang ('ba' thang).[1] Tradition holds him to be an incarnation of the eighth-century translator and disciple of Padmasambhava, Langdro Lotsāwa (lang gro lo tsA ba).[2]
He was the son of humble farmers, and it said that he learned to read at the age of seven with little instruction. From the time he was eight, he began reading the few scriptures that his grandfather had, and he tried to train himself to practice love and compassion. His desire for learning and practice grew, and he longed to join a monastery.[3] His parents, however, needing his help at home, did not support his wish.[4] Despite not being allowed to follow his own path, he did manage to receive empowerment and instruction into the practice of Guru Drakpo from a lama named Drubwang Tenpa Gyatso (grub dbang bstan pa rgya mtsho) who gave him the name Wangdrak Gyatso (dbang grags rgya mtsho).[5] While there are no autobiographical sketches of his early life, it might be assumed that he took Guru Drakpo as his yidam, or chosen deity. This familiarity with the deity may have been a factor in his revelation of a major Guru Drakpo treasure cycle some two decades later. According to Orgyen Tenpel (o rgyan bstan 'pel), author of a long manuscript biography of Longsel Nyingpo, during his youth, he received thorough training as a "village lama," that is, someone who can recite scriptures, lead rituals, heal sicknesses and so forth. This life, however, did not satisfy him.[6]
Training and Retreat
Around 1647, when he was twenty-two, Longsel Nyingpo's restlessness on the farm overcame him, and he absconded to the up-and-coming kingdom of Derge, about a week's journey to the north. He first enrolled as a common monk at a monastery called Kham Ujang (khams dbu byang dgon) in the Garje (sga rje) region which was then in southern Derge and is now in Pelyul County.[7] There, he studied under a lama named Garje Chokyong Gyatso (rga rje chos skyong rgya mtsho). Sources say this master gave him empowerments and meditation instructions, though they are not specified.[8] While he may have received some teachings there, at least one of his songs from his collected works indicates that his time at Kham Ujang left him feeling empty, and that he was very much still finding his way as a spiritual seeker. About this time, he wrote,
After probably less than a year at Kham Ujang, he traveled to the venerable Katok Monastery (kaH thog dgon), Kham's first great Nyingma institution founded in 1159 by Katokpa Dampa Deshek (kaH thog pa dam pa bde gshegs, 1122–1192). Again, despite his indigence, the monastery took him in, and he survived on irregular, meager provisions. One of Katok's best lamas at the time, Ardo Konchok Sengge (a rdo dkon mchog seng ge),[10] accepted him as a student. This lama had been a teacher of Dudul Dorje (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672), the renowned treasure revealer who would later become Longsel Nyingpo's guru. From Ardo Konchok Senge, he trained in the Katok tradition of Mahāmudrā associated with Yeshe Gyeltsen (ye shes rgyal mtshan, b. 1395),[11] and the Gongpa Zangtel cycle (dgongs pa zang thal), or "The Translucid Enlightened Perspective," a renowned Dzogchen teaching from Rigdzin Godem's (rig 'dzin rgod ldem, 1337–1408) Northern Treasures (byang gter).[12] He also trained in Terton Dungtso Repa's (dung mtsho ras pa, fifteenth century) Golden Letters of the Black Quintessence of Great Perfection (rdzogs chen yang ti nag po gser 'bru).[13] Through his practice of these treasures, he mastered resting in the natural state.
After about three years of formal training, he was confident enough to deepen his practice on his own.[14] Therefore, not aspiring to become a scholar or institution-bound monk, around 1650, when he was twenty-five, he paid a brief visit to his family back home and then isolated himself in remote sites, such as Cholung Ritro (chos lung ri khrod), Kholri (khol ri), Kampone Cave (kaM po gnas phug), and Tromgyi Dzongnak (khrom gyi rdzong nag). Inspired by the life stories of Yeshe Tsogyel (ye shes mtsho rgyal), Milarepa (mi la ras pa, 1040–1123), and Chetsun Senge Wangchuk (lce btsun seng ge dbang phyug, twelfth century),[15] he endured hunger and exposure and gained profound meditative experiences, realizations, and visions.[16]
During this period, he signed his writings as The Beggar, Jangchub Gyeltsen (sprang po byang chub rgyal mtshan), and he summed up his experiences in the following way:
Becoming a Treasure Revealer
In some of his visions, Longsel Nyingpo received prophecies from ḍākinīs indicating that he would become a treasure revealer, or terton (gter ston) and that his destined guru was Dudul Dorje.[18] This great master, after an illustrious career as an influential treasure revealer in Derge and central Tibet, had retired from public life and was living, teaching, and meditating in the out-of-the-way southern region of Powo. In 1653–1654, the water-snake year,[19] Longsel Nyingpo went to Powo to find him, and, it is said, because of their connections in past lives, he was immediately treated as his close disciple and lavished with teachings and transmissions.[20] After less than two years, Dudul Dorje entrusted Longsel Nyingpo with his own treasures and confirmed that it was his destiny to reveal treasures as well.[21] He then told him not to stay with him but to return to his homeland and continue practicing.[22]
While his time with Dudul Dorje was relatively brief, and while he may have already had some confidence in his own realization before meeting him, he would always hold Dudul Dorje as his root guru whose blessings fully confirmed his own enlightenment. In Longsel Nyingpo's collected works, hundreds of prayers and songs invoke Dudul Dorje's name.
In 1656, when he was thirty-two years old, he stayed in retreat at a Kalong Hermitage (mkha' klong ri khrod). As he did intensive mantra practice, an impressive, dark red man dressed in the traditional bone accouterments of a tantric yogi appeared to him. This man handed him the text of a treasure registry (kha byang)—that is, the names and places of treasures he was meant to reveal. Longsel Nyingpo considered this man to be an emanation of Padmasambhava.[23] Later, in at least one of the guru yoga liturgies Longsel Nyingpo composed, Padmasambhava is described in this yogi's image.[24]
Committing himself to the path of a terton, for most of the next two years he engaged in "treasure accomplishment" (gter sgrub) practices to hasten their discovery. On the tenth day of the first month of the earth-dog year, 1658, at Ke Mingyur Dorje Drak (khe mi 'gyur rdo rje brag), he revealed his first treasure cycles: The Vajra Essence of the Three Kāyas (sku gsum rdo rje'i snying po) and The Vajra Essence of the Three Roots (rtsa gsum rdo rje'i snying po), which he put into practice and accomplished.[25]
It is said that he revealed treasures at sixteen different sites, mostly in Litang and Batang.[26] These treasures included statues, images, implements, sacred substances, and, most importantly, major textual cycles. Of his thirteen treasure cycles, the most widely practiced have been Guru Drakpo, Blazing Wisdom (bla ma drag po ye shes rab 'bar), Vajra Essence of the Limpid Expanse (klong gsal rdo rje'i snying po), Unexcelled Ultra-Secret Great Compassionate One (thugs rje chen po yang gsang bla med), and the Gathering of the Eight Maṇḍalas' Sugatas (bka' bryad bde gshegs yong 'dus).[27]
Of these, the Vajra Essence of the Limpid Expanse—the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo—has stood out for its impact. This cycle came to be the backbone of the Katok tradition's Dzogchen teachings. In the early twentieth century, the Third Katok Getse, Gyurme Tenpa Namgyel (dge rtse 03 'gyur med rnam rgyal, 1886–1952) gathered the previous generations of Katok lamas' instructions on the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo and published them in a compendium titled The Jewel Mirror of Guiding Instructions (khrid yig nor bu me long). It is common for Katok-affiliated practitioners to do the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo preliminary practices. The cycle also contains a widely practiced powa ('pho ba), or transference-of-consciousness liturgy.[28]
A detailed description of all his treasures, as they appeared on his registry list, can be found in Orgyen Tenpel's Biography of Longsel Nyingpo.[29] It is also said that he left some treasures in place, to be revealed in future lives.[30]
During this period of intensive writing and teaching—the late 1650s through the 1660s—he traveled extensively, mostly through Litang and Batang, attracting disciples, renovating old temples, and constructing statues of Padmasambhava.[31] Many of his students came from the regions of Bubor (bu 'bor), Sa-ngen (sa ngan), and Chagdud (lcags mdud) in Nyarong.[32]
His closest disciple during these early years was Pema Khakyod Wangpo (pad+ma mkha' spyod dbang po), a lama from the Tromge (khrom dge) clan of Tromtar (khrom mthar), which would produce several important masters of the centuries.[33] He also had contact with people who would later help found Mindroling Monastery (smin grol gling dgon) in 1676.[34]
Family Life
Probably in the late 1660s or early 1670s, Longsel Nyingpo married a woman named Lhakyi (lha skyid). The pair had a daughter, named Chokyi (chos skyid), and a son, Sonam Deutsen (bsod nams lde'u btsan, 1670s–1723), whom he recognized as the reincarnation of his teacher, Dudul Dorje.[35] Longsel Nyingpo is said to have had another son named Sonam Tseten (bsod nams tshe brtan) with an unnamed woman from the region of Ba ('ba').[36] A son of Sonam Deutsen, Japur Lama ('ja' phur bla ma) left Katok and lived in Powo on his way to settlement in Pemako. There, he had a son name Kengen Tulku (mkhan rgan sprul sku), who was the father of Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms rin po che 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987).
Early Career and Mongol Patrons
Sections of Longsel Nyingpo's Guru Drakpo cycle dedicate colophons to a Chonyid Rangdrol (mtsho kha dpon chos nyid rang grol), the chief of a major Oirat-Mongol tribe around Lake Kokonor, just to the north of the north-eastern Tibetan province of Amdo.
Through trading and plunder, Oirat Mongols had been active in Tibet since the Yuan Dynasty, and by the seventeenth century, because no political force, Mongolian or Tibetan, had fully established themselves in the region, their presence had intensified. At the end of the 1630s, the Koshot-Oirat strongman Gushri Khan (gu shri khan, 1582–1655) joined forces with the Fifth Dalai Lama (tA la'i bla ma 05, 1617–1682) to consolidate power in central Tibet and beyond. As long as their power remained incomplete in eastern Tibet, however, other Mongolian strongmen could stake claims there.
During these years, the 1660s through the mid 1670s, Longsel Nyingpo was based at Kolri Monastery (khol ri dgon) in Litang, also known as Kolri Sang-ngak Ling (khol ri sang bsngags gling), founded as a Katok branch monastery in the thirteenth century.[37] It seemed to have fallen into disrepair, and there was no resistance to him assuming custody of it.
Katokpa Jamyang Gyatso (kaH thog pa 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, 1929–1999), in his Pilgrimage Guide to Kolri Sang-ngak Ling (khol ri gsang sngags chos gling gi gnas yig) tells a legend about when Longsel Nyingpo was living there. In this account, the wife of a Mongolian chief in the region of Washul had gone mad, and the ruler had sought help from many eminent lamas to no avail. Eventually an appeal was sent to Longsel Nyingpo. It is said that he anticipated the messenger and met him on the way to Washul, where he was able to cure the woman's madness, gaining the ruler's patronage and support to formally control and renovate Kolri. Here, the ruler is called only "the Elder Washul Taiji of the Left Banner" (wa shul g.yon ru'i dpon mi rgan thal ji).[38] Orgyen Tenpel's Biography also refers to the man as "an Elder Taiji" who sponsored his religious activity.[39]
That figure is most likely one and the same as the most powerful Mongolian patron he gained during this period—Prince Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong,[40] a grandson of Gushri Khan, who sources agree gave Longsel official control of Kolri.[41] Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong, however, is thought to have had his Tibetan base in nearby Dzachuka (rdza chu kha).[42]
In the 1650s, Prince Khandro was an ally of the Fifth Dalai Lama, acting as his eastern Tibetan representative. In the 1660s, however, he began planning to take control of Tibet for himself and patronized Nyingma and Kagyu lamas, including Longsel Nyingpo.[43] He also sought an alliance with the Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje (karma pa chos dbying rdo rje, 1604–1674), who had spent much of his life in exile, having been driven away from central Tibet by the Fifth Dalai Lama's regime. The Tenth Karmapa, however, expressed skepticism about Prince Khandro's political and military hubris and avoided involvement with him.[44]
Longsel Nyingpo was also initially wary of the strongman and did not accept his invitation to meet. Instead, he sent Prince Khandro prophecies, telling him that he would ritually clear his path in eastern Tibet if the Mongolian would help him establish a seat at Kolri. To convince Prince Khandro of his ritual power, Longsel Nyingpo began intensive rituals based on his Guru Drakpo, Blazing Wisdom treasure cycle. Before long, stories of miracles began to spread. For example, monks in attendance claimed to have seen him fill the earth and sky with fierce, resplendent, dark-red forms of Guru Drakpo that then dissolved into his heart and shot back out as a ferocious red wind that overwhelmed and subjugated legions of local spirits.[45]
Soon, Prince Khandro granted Longsel the title dishi (ti shri), or imperial preceptor, and Longsel legitimized Prince Khandro by commemorating him in many of his treasure colophons and promoting Tibetan acceptance of Mongol rule.[46]
In one song, written in retreat near Prince Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong's palace, presumably somewhere near the Lake Kokonor region, although the location remains uncertain, Longsel Nyingpo offers an interesting perspective on the politics of the time and how a Buddhist practitioner should relate to them. He seems to have felt that the Mongols' strength was inexorable and that it would be wise to harness their wealth and power in the support of Buddhism. Some verses read,
Another time, when conducting a large empowerment ceremony in Kolri, Longsel Nyingpo noticed how much Chinese silver and porcelain was in circulation and how many non-Tibetans were at the gathering wearing hats, against Tibetan custom. He remarked that these were indications that Tibet would soon be overtaken by outsiders.[48]
Whatever the exact nature of Longsel Nyingpo's relationship with Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong and his opinion on the region's Mongolian population during this period, he found himself flush with patronage. At Kolri, he used these funds to renovate the main temple and added a new temple called the Rigzin Lhakhang (rig 'dzin lha khang) or "Vidyādhara Temple," also known as Khandro Bumdzong (mkha' 'gro bum rdzong) or "Ḍākinī Fortress." This was decorated with murals depicting Longsel Nyingpo's visions, which he described in his Jewel Garland of Pure Visions (dag snang nor bu'i phreng ba). Longsel Nyingpo remained closely connected to this center for the rest of his life. It would later be administered by Gyelse Norbu Yongdrak (rgyal sras nor bu yongs grags), Dudul Dorje's son.[49] He also traveled extensively throughout adjacent regions in eastern Tibet with a particularly strong mission to build statues of Padmasambhava in temples and sacred sites that lacked them.[50]
Partnership with Derge
In 1675, Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong was assassinated through joint efforts by the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Manchu emperor Kangxi.[51] This left Longsel Nyingpo open to new patrons, and after an extremely productive 1660s and early 1670s, other powerful players in eastern Tibet took notice of Longsel Nyingpo's skill as a terton, preservationist, and institutional leader.
In the late 1670s, the king of Derge, Sanggye Tenpa (sangs rgyas bstan pa, 1638–1710) invited Longsel Nyingpo to his capital.[52] According to the eighteenth-century Nyingma historian Guru Tashi (gu ru bkra shis), Sanggye Tenpa regretted that Longsel Nyingpo's teacher, Dudul Dorje, had been driven away by court politics in the late 1650s after serving a few years as the kingdom's honored chaplain. Having heard that Longsel Nyingpo was Dudul Dorje's regent, he was eager to meet him.[53] Longsel Nyingpo was at first distrustful of the king and his court, but after some discussion through messengers, he agreed to visit and enjoyed the king's warm favor and patronage. While he was there, he performed extensive rituals for the benefit of the kingdom and renovated and restored the shrines and images that had previously been linked to Dudul Dorje. According to the Royal Genealogies of Derge (sde dge'i rgyal rabs), Longsel Nyingpo revealed the scorpion-shaped Derge royal seal as a treasure, and a narrative developed that Longsel Nyingpo greatly benefitted the kingdom.[54]
Becoming the Leader of Katok
By far the most consequential outcome of this relationship—one that would reshape the Nyingma tradition to the present day—was Longsel Nyingpo's appointment as abbot of Katok Monastery, where he had studied for a few years in the late 1640s. By the 1670s, Katok's glory had declined significantly, having been mismanaged by several generations of administrators known as the Drungpa line.[55] Katok's decline was seen as an opportunity for Derge because it was situated in the southern reaches of the kingdom, which were still restive. By taking control of Katok, Derge could extract economic value from its lands, cultural value from its long history, and political value from its network of devotees.[56] The monastery and temple complex were given to Longsel Nyingpo with a mandate to restore their honor and influence. Derge also gave Longsel Nyingpo half of the monastery's traditional estates, which included neighboring villages and valleys. The other half of the estate was used to generate tax revenue for the Derge kingdom.
Once he reached Katok in 1677–1678,[57] he began renovating its dilapidated temples,[58] commissioning new paintings, and purchasing and installing a new set of the Litang Kangyur, which had been published in the early 1600s.[59] He also constructed new statues, at least one of them fashioned by his own hand.[60] These projects at Katok demonstrate the value he placed on Buddhism's material culture throughout his life. In one song in his collected works, written to celebrate the installation of a new edition of the Collected Nyingma Tantras (rnying ma rgyud 'bum) for an unnamed institution, Longsel Nyingpo extols the benefits of having physical access to such sacred books:
Thanks to his preservation and promotion of the Nyingma canon at Katok, the ground was laid for Katok to be the future site of large publishing projects, especially Katok Getse Mahāpaṇḍita's (dge rtse ma hA paNDi ta, 1761–1729) editing and expansion of the Collected Nyingma Tantras in the early nineteenth century and the massive recension of the Nyingma Kama (rnying ma bka' ma) in the twentieth century.
Longsel Nyingpo's teaching efforts were just as impactful, if not more so. He introduced thousands of monks and devotees to the Dzogchen teachings, to which they previously had little exposure from qualified masters.[62]
Broadening Katok's Influence
Apart from his activities on site, in his early days at Katok he formed close relationships with Lama Sanggye Tashi (sangs rgyas bkra shis) from Katok's branch institution, Nyingon Monastery (nyin dgon dgon)[63] and other great Nyingma lamas from institutions in Derge like Pelyul (dpal yul) and Dzogchen (rdzogs chen). In particular, he was very close with the founder of Dzogchen Monastery, Pema Rigdzin (pad+ma rig 'dzin, 1625–1697), with whom he would exchange teachings and posthumously entrust with the training of his son, Sonam Deutsen.[64]
Other disciples and colleagues he met during the Katok period included, Pema Dechen Lingpa (pad+ma bde chen gling pa); Kunzang Kyabdel Lhundrub (kun bzang khyab gdal lhun grub), Takla Rigdzin Pema Norbu (stag bla rig 'dzin pad+ma nor bu), Pema Dorje (pad+ma rdo rje),[65] who taught Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu ('jigs med rgyal ba'i smyu gu, 1765–1842); Orgyen Yeshe (o rgyan ye shes); Orgyen Tingdzin (o rgyan ting 'dzin); Kunzang Sherab (kun bzang shes rab)[66] of Pelyul; Khyungdrak Dorje (khyung brag rdo rje);[67] Sanggye Drakpa (sangs rgyas bstan pa, 1638?–1710); Takrepa (stag ras pa); and Taksham Nuden Dorje (stag sham nus ldan rdo rje, b. 1655).[68]
During this decade he toured eastern Tibet, visiting most of Katok's many satellites and restoring its wide influence.[69] In Orgyen Tenpel's biography of him, it is said that once, when Longsel Nyingpo was giving empowerments in the region of Tsangshi (gtsang gshis), a representative of the Fifth Dalai was present and, in an audience, informed him that the Dalai Lama held him in high regard.[70]
While Longsel Nyingpo was never able to travel to central Tibet, at some point, he sent his nephew, Won Orgyen Lhundrub (dbon o rgyan lhun grub), along with two monks, on a low-key mission to Lhasa to deliver volumes of his treasures, along with their transmissions.[71] Orgyen Tenpel, though not entirely clear on the matter, suggests that this happened when both Longsel Nyingpo and the Fifth Dalai Lama were alive, so it would have been just before the Dalai Lama's death in 1682. Other sources, still not clear, suggest that Longsel Nyingpo's treasures were only transmitted in Lhasa after his death in 1692.[72]
Whenever it happened, receiving support from the central Tibetan government put Katok and its new treasure teachings back on the national map.
Administrative Reform
Longsel Nyingpo's administrative reforms strengthened the standing of his and Dudul Dorje's treasures at Katok. They also contributed to Katok's future leadership by incarnate lamas.[73]
His tenure as the leader of seventeenth-century Katok was not without conflict. For one thing, he was a non-celibate tantric lama rather than a monk, and therefore unable to transmit Vinaya ordination and enforce its observance. The Drungpa system had been designed so that a rotating succession of uncles and nephews would lead the monastery. This allowed the monastery to usually be led by ordained monks who were under no burden to produce an heir, and so would, at least in theory, be less inclined to nepotism.
Longsel Nyingpo was not constrained to the Drungpa line of succession, so he was free to delegate authority as he saw fit. During his tenure as head of Katok, his most important assistant was his younger brother, Tashi Wozer (bkra shis 'od zer), who had trained with Dudul Dorje at his brother's side and who was an ordained monk. This latter distinction likely made him an effective liaison between the community of monks and their married leader. After Longsel Nyingpo's death, he assumed the administrative throne and actively promoted Dudul Dorje's and his brother's treasures.
His nephew and treasure custodian, Won Orgyen Lhundrub greatly increased Katok's prestige, and his other nephew, Jewon Tashi Puntsok (rje dbon bkra shis phun tshogs), is considered one of Katok's great lineage masters who taught the First Drime Zhingkyong (dri med zhing skyong 01, b. 1724) and the First Moktsa, Namka Chöwang (rmog rtsa nam mkha' chos dbang).
Finally, Longsel Nyingpo's son, Sonam Deutsen, was sent to complete his training under several of the greatest Nyingma masters of the era. Until his untimely death at age forty-nine, he sat on Katok's throne for several years after the tenures of Orgyen Lhundrub and Kunzang Kyabdel Lhundrub (kun bzang khyab gdal lhun grub).[74] His succession of reincarnations, known as the Drime Zhinkyong tulkus, would play an important role in Katok's administration to the present day. Other Katok masters of this generation also become fountainheads of new incarnation lineages like the Getse (dge rtse), Moktsa (rmog rtsa), Nyingon (nyin dgon), Situ (si tu), and Chaktsa (phyag tsha) tulkus who would oversee the monastery on a rotating basis.[75]
Not only was Longsel Nyingpo not a monk, he was also not a scholar deeply trained in traditional canons. His religious prestige was based on his identity as a treasure revealer, yet Katok, at that time, was not an institution built around treasure teachings. In its first several centuries under the administration of the Thirteen Lamas of Katok (bla rabs bcu gsum), the monastery emphasized the practice and study of the kama (bka' ma)—older teachings passed down from Indian sources that were translated into Tibetan during the imperial period of the seventh to ninth centuries or composed by Tibetans shortly after the imperial period. It also emphasized rigorous adherence to the rules of the Vinaya.
Then, in the fifteenth century, the Drungpa Line was established by the descendants of the treasure revealer Ratna Lingpa (ratna gling pa, 1403–1479). Under these leaders, from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, Katok continued to preserve the kama and Vinaya, but they also incorporated some treasures of Ratna Lingpa[76] and other early tertons like Guru Chowang (gu ru chos dbang, 1212–1270), Nyangrel Nyima Wozer (nyang ral nyi ma 'od zer, 1124/1136–1192/1204), and Rigdzin Godem, whose treasures Longsel had learned at Katok in the 1840s.[77] Because Katok had declined under the Drungpas, some blamed it on their neglect of the kama and Vinaya traditions in favor of treasure teachings[78]—an opinion that would be expressed in the early eighteenth century by Katok Rigdzin Tsewang Norbu (kaH thog rig 'dzin tshe dbang nor bu, 1698–1755) as he sought support from the central Tibetan government and powerful figures in Kham to unseat the First Drime Zhingkyong and install the Tenth Zhamarpa Chodrub Gyatso (zhwa dmar 10 chos grub rgya mtsho, 1741–1792) to lead Katok.[79] To thrive as the leader of Katok, Longsel Nyingpo needed to find a way to build on Katok's complex historical character and the tension between kama and terma there.[80]
One way he did this was to reveal a new treasure cycle that resonated with Katok's institutional interests. One of the most important sections of the kama teachings is the collection of scriptures and commentaries related to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the Secret Essence (gsang ba'i snying po), also known as the Magic Net (sgyu 'phrul drwa ba). Inspired by this historical legacy and the memory of Katok's founder, Dampa Deshek—in whose former cave he meditated—Longsel Nyingpo revealed a cycle called the Distilled Secret of the Magic Net (sgyu 'phrul gsang ba yang khol). In connection with this treasure, he claimed to have, in visions, inherited the entire kama tradition from its original Indian masters and their Tibetan heirs.[81] While this cycle did not enjoy lasting popularity after Longsel Nyingpo's death, it no doubt helped him establish himself as a leader at Katok who was sensitive and respectful of its unique history. It also prepared Katok to embrace his treasure teachings and those of his teacher Dudul Dorje.[82]
Death and Reincarnation
[1] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, ff. 1b–2a; Ronis 2009, pp. 56–57; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 571.
[2] Bya bral, p. 88; Khyentse Wangpo 2014, vol. 23, p.382; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 3a, 39b, 40b, 44a.
[3] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2a.
[4] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 45b.
[5] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2a; Ronis 2009, p. 57; Bya bral, pp. 88–89; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, 571.
[6] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 46a–b.
[7] Ronis 2009, 57n98.
[8] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2a; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 47.
[9] Klong gsal snying po 2014, pp. 576–577.
[10]Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 752; Ronis 57n100; Sakya, vol. 6, p. 32; Mkhyen brtse dbang po n.d., vol. 11, f. 2b. There is some confusion about his name, as he is called by a variant, Konchok Gyeltsen earlier in Gu ru bkra shis 1990 (p. 571), which is repeated in Bya bral (p. 89) and Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1996 (p. 88) and O rgyan bstan 'phel (f. 47a) [in this manuscript, folios 46 and 47 are out of order with each other].
[11] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 47a.
[12] Klong gsal snying poʼi rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2a; o rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 47a
[13] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 47b.
[14] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 46a.
[15] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 48a–b.
[16] Klong gsal snying poʼi rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2b; Ronis 2009, p. 58; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 571; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 49a–56a.
[17] Klong gsal snying po 2014, pp. 576–578.
[18] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2b; Ronis 2009, p. 59.
[19] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 56a.
[20] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 56b.
[21] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 2a; Bya bral, p. 89–90; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572.
[22] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 59a–60a.
[23] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 60a–63b.
[24] Klong gsal snying po 2004. pp. 5–6.
[25] Ronis 2009, p. 59; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 74b; Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, ff. 2b–3a.
[26] Ronis 2009, p. 59; gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572; klong gsal snying poʼi rnam thar mdor bsdu, ff. 3a–3b; bya bral, pp. 90–91; gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572; o rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 83b.
[27] Ronis 2009, pp. 77–78.
[28] Chagdud Khadro 2003.
[29] O rgyan bstan 'phel, ff. 63a–74a.
[30] Bya bral, pp. 91–92.
[31] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 573.
[32] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 84b.
[33] O rgyan bstan 'phel, ff. 74b–75a.
[34] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 84b.
[35] Bya bral, p. 93; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 86a.
[36] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 86a.
[37] 'Jam dbyangs blo gros rgyal mtshan in karma rgyal mtshan 2005, p. 348; Ronis 2009, p. 60n105.
[38] 'Jam dbyangs blo gros rgyal mtshan in karma rgyal mtshan 2005, p. 349. The ruler's name is given only as Elder Telji (mi rgan thal ji).
[39] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 88a.
[40] Klong gsal snying poʼi rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 4a; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 573; Bya bral, p. 93; Ricard 2003, p. 565; Gyurme Pema Chogyel; Shastri and Russell 1987, p. 19.
[41] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 573; Cya bral, p. 93.
[42] Ricard 2003, p. 565.
[43] Ronis 2009, p. 62; Shakabpa 2010, p. 378n68; Venturi 2020, pp. 37–42.
[44] Shamar 2012, pp. 50, 217–218; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 88b.
[45] Bya bral, p. 92; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572. Although the former two sources offer little chronological context for this event, O rgyan bstan 'phel places it in relation to Khandro Lobzang Tenkyong (f. 89a).
[46] Ronis 2009, p. 63.
[47] Llong gsal snying po 2014, pp. 713–714. Thanks to Ryan Jacobson for help understanding the verses.
[48] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 102a.
[49] Ronis 2009, p. 60–61; 'Jam dbyangs blo gros rgyal mtshan in karma rgyal mtshan 2005, pp. 345–366.
[50] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 572.
[51] Venturi 2020, p. 42; Dorje 2020, p. 22.
[52] klong gsal snying poʼi rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 4a; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 95b.
[53] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 95b.
[54] Ronis 2009, p 65–66; Kolmaš, p. 91; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, pp. 752–753.
[55] Chatral. p. 63; Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1996, pp. 65–68
[56] Ronis 2009, pp. 68–70
[57] Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1996, p. 89.
[58] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 96a.
[59] Ronis 2009, p. 69–70; Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1996, p. 89; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 753; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 98a
[60] Khenpo Ngaga, p. 199.
[61] Klong gsal snying po 2014, pp. 170–171.
[62] Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1990, p. 89.
[63] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 96b.
[64] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 754.
[65] ʼjigs med rgyal baʼi myu guʼi rnam thar, p. 10.
[66] Namcho Mingyur Dorje and Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, p. 1–6; Dpal yul ba'i mkhas grub 'ga'i mdzad rnam lhan bsdus, pp.1–81; O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 109b–110a.
[67] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 11b, 113b.
[68] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 116a.
[69] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 753; Bya bral 97; Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, pp. 89–90.
[70] O rgyan bstan 'phel, f. 108a.
[71] Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1996, p. 90–91.
[72] Ronis 2009, p. 80n140 citing Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan 1990, p. 91–92.
[73] Ronis 2009, p. 79.
[74] Klong gsal snying po'i rnam thar mdor bsdu, f. 4a.
[75] Eimer 1981; Ronis 2009, p. 81.
[76] Bya bral, p. 63.
[77] Ehrhard 2003. p. 9; Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 751; Mkhan chen 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, pp. 92–93.
[78] Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 751.
[79] Ronis 2009, pp. 68, 100–107.
[80] Ronis 2009, pp. 1, 9–14.
[81] Ronis 2009, pp. 72–75.
[82] Ronis 2009, pp. 77–78.
[83] https://www.abhayafellowship.org/about
དཔྱད་གཞིའི་ཡིག་ཆ་ཁག།
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