The Samding Dorje Pakmo is a long, powerful and influential female incarnation line. The line dates from the fifteenth century and has its seat at Samding Monastery in Yardrok, established by the Second Dorje Pakmo. The line began with Chokyi Dronma, the daughter of a royal family from Gungtang, and one of the few women historically to receive full ordination and start an incarnation line. The Dorje Pakmo incarnations enjoyed the patronage of the rulers of Nakartse as well as the leading Geluk lamas of the Ganden Podrang, with several members being identified in the families of Paṇchen and Dalai lamas.
Biographies
The First Samding Dorje Pakmo, Chokyi Dronma
b.1422 - d.1455/1467
Chokyi Dronma, the First Samding Dorje Pakmo, was one of the few Tibetan women historically to receive full monastic ordination and to spawn an incarnation line. The daughter of a royal family in Gungtang, she married and had a child before becoming a nun and disciple of the great masters Bodong Chokle Namgyel and Tangtong Gyelpo, who identified her during her life as an incarnation of the deity Vajravārahī.
The Second Samding Dorje Pakmo, Kunga Zangmo
b.1459 - d.1502
Kunga Zangmo was recognized as the reincarnation of Chokyi Dronma, and given the title Second Samding Dorje Pakmo. With the support of the local rulers of Yardrok she established Samding Monastery by restoring a preexisting site, which henceforth became the seat for the incarnation line.
The Third Samding Dorje Pakmo, Nyendrak Zangmo
b.1503/1534 - d.1542/1586
Nyendrak Zangmo was the Third Samding Dorje Pakmo. She studied with several Bodong teachers as well as with the Fourth Zhamar, Chodrak Yeshe. She authored several works on tantric practices, although none appear to be extant today. She founded Buddhist colleges at both Samding Monastery and Nyemo Chekar.
Orgyen Tsomo was the Fourth Samding Dorje Pakmo, a female incarnation line based at Samding Monastery. She was the first in the lineage to be associated with Vajravārāhī, or Dorje Pakmo. She may have had a consort named Chime Wozer, himself identified with Vajravārāhī's consort Cakrasaṃvara. With the patronage of the Nakartse rulers, she may have founded a tantric college at Yargyeb Tem. Because sources disagree over whether she died at the age of ten or lived to be over fifty, it is possible that some of her biography has been conflated with that of the Fifth Dorje Pakmo.
The Fifth Samding Dorje Pakmo, Yeshe Tsomo
late 16th cent.
Yeshe Tsomo was the Fifth Samding Dorje Pakmo, a Bodong female incarnation line based at Samding Monastery. Several notable events in her biographies include supervising the construction of Mañjuśrī temple at Samding, serving as the fourteenth abbot of Shelkar Chode in Tsang, and meeting a young Fifth Dalai Lama in 1620. However, uncertainty around her date of birth could mean that some activity ascribed to her is derived from the life of her predecessor.
The Sixth Samding Dorje Pakmo, Dechen Trinle Tsomo
b.1641 - d.1707?
Dechen Trinle Tsomo was the Sixth Dorje Pakmo, a female incarnation line of the Bodong tradition based at Samding Monastery. She was trained in sutra and tantra according to the Bodong tradition. She was also supported by the Nakartse Zhabdrung, a maternal uncle to the Fifth Dalai Lama, who thus viewed the incarnation line favorably.
The Seventh Samding Dorje Pakmo, Chodron Wangmo
b.1708 - d.1753
Chodron Wangmo was the Seventh Dorje Pakmo, a line of female incarnations of the Bodong tradition based at Samding Monastery. During her lifetime, the incarnation line solidified its connection with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government. In several legendary accounts, she is credited with facing down the Dzungar army during their invasion of Tibet by appearing as a fierce, flaming boar or, alternately, in a pack of pigs roaming the monastery.
The Eighth Samding Dorje Pakmo, Kelzang Choden Wangmo
b.1746/1753 - d.1802/1774
Chodron Wangmo was the Eighth Dorje Pakmo, a line of female incarnations of the Bodong tradition based at Samding Monastery. She was the niece of the Tenth Zhamar and the Sixth Paṇchen Lama, who gave her Nenying Monastery in Gyantse. She received her novice vows from the Seventh Dalai Lama, as well as teachings from the Fifth Ganden Ritro Tulku, and the Fourth Jorra. She received the empowerment of nine Yamāntakas from the Panchen Lama and was invited to the Qing court by the Qianlong emperor, though it is unknown whether she actually visited China.
The Ninth Samding Dorje Pakmo, Choying Dechen Tsomo
b.1805 - d.1843
Choying Dechen Tsomo was the Ninth Samding Dorje Pakmo, a line of female incarnations of the Bodong tradition based at Samding Monastery. A member of the Lhalu family, she was related to both the Eighth Dalai Lama and the Seventh Paṇchen Lama. Like her predecessors, she enjoyed support of the Tibetan government and received extensive teachings from masters from multiple traditions. For example, she exchanged teachings and composed works with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, which ultimately lead to the introduction of Dzogchen at Samding Monastery. She expanded the monastery with the support of the minister Shatra Dondrub Dorje. She is said to have revealed treasure texts, although the details of these are not known.
The Tenth Samding Dorje Pakmo, Ngawang Kunzang Dechen Wangmo
b.1857 - d.1897
Ngawang Kunzang Dechen Wangmo was the Tenth Samding Dorje Pakmo, a female incarnation line based at Samding Monastery. Little is known about her life, save for a brief account by the Bengali scholar Sarat Chandra Das, to whom she gave medical treatment. She was entrusted as a protector of the Removal of All Obstacles, a revelation of Chokgyur Lingpa.
Tubten Choying Pelmo was the Eleventh Samding Dorje Pakmo, a female incarnation line based at Samding Monastery. She trained with Bodong masters and received renunciate vows from the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama stayed at Samding while fleeing the Manchu invasion of Lhasa in 1910, and again in 1912 upon his return to Tibet. During his second visit she received teachings and empowerments from him. In 1920 she was photographed by Rabten Lepcha, who visited Samding with Charles Bell. Bell also recorded his impressions of her in his book, The People of Tibet.
