The Treasury of Lives

Chennga Drakpa Jungne (spyan snga grags pa 'byung gnas) was born in 1175, in a minor region of eastern Tibet called Chi (lci), near Nangchen (nang chen). His father, named Yonchen Gyelwa Kyab (yon chen rgyal ba skyabs), was a member of the Lang (rlang) family, to which Pakmodrupa Dorje Gyelpo (phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po, 1110-1170) belonged. The Lang clan continued to control Pakmodrupa's seat of Densatil Monastery (gdan sa mthil dgon) in the decades after his death. His wife, named Drodogza Khuyuk Men ('bro ldog bza' khu byug sman), gave birth to three sons, including the one that would be called Drakpa Jungne. Later Yonchen took a second wife named Deguma (de gu ma) who had yet another son.

Drakpa Jungne took his novice ordination at Yogu (g.yo gu) in his eleventh year, receiving together with it the name Drakpa Jungne. For a three-year period he received guidance in meditation at the feet of one of Pakmodrupa's disciples Yelpa Yeshe Tsek (yel pa ye shes brtsegsm 1134-1194). One day when he was fifteen, he told his father that he needed to travel with Yelpukpa as his attendant, so his father gave him a fine horse and he ran away, riding it to Karsho (dkar shod). There he met a countryman of Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel ('jig rten mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217) This man told him that the fulfilment of his karma and aspirations were to be found in U (dbus). With his lama supplying all his needs, he set out for Drigung Monastery ('bri gung).

When Drakpa Jungne arrived at Drigung he was greeted by his paternal kinsman Yeshe Lama (ye shes bla ma). Together they went for an audience with Jikten Gonpo who was seated on the red teaching chair. According to legend, the great lama smiled and placed his hands on top of Drakpa Jungne's head saying, “This child is bright and his past accumulations are great, and seeing the way you wear your hat you will make a great meditator.” It is said that the moment the teacher touched his head he experienced “the king of contemplative concentrations in which all dharmas are equalized and free of intrusions by mental projections.”

Jikten Gonpo gave Drakpa Jungne a hut and he practiced meditation for a few years. When Jikten Gonpo went to Dakpo he went along as his attendant, and served in this position for nearly two decades, right up until the time he became an abbot. This is why the title Chennga (spyan snga), which means “servant,” was given to him. Although his duties took up much of his time, he would sit at Jikten Gonpo's right-hand side when there were teachings. He did his recitations in the evening and engaged in quiet meditation at midnight. Sometimes he tutored other monks who had problems understanding the teachings.

In 1208 there was a dispute based in different ideas about how best to preserve the books of Pakmodrupa at Densatil. Jikten Gonpo thought they would be safer at Daklha Gampo (dwags la sgam po), the seat of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nam rin chen, 1079-1153) and he sent Drakpa Jungne to oversee the transfer and serve as abbot of Densatil. Some accused him of doing damage to Densatil, to which Jikten Gonpo responded, “I will make the Headquarters (gdan sa) a hundred, even a thousand times better.” In fact Densatil had been seeing hard times, including local fighting and famines that might in turn explain why there had been problems keeping monks there. So Drakpa Jungne had been entrusted with a difficult job. The former relationship of teacher and student as well as employer and servant was reversed. Jikten Gonpo even told him, “Until now I was the lama, but from now on you are my lama.”

As abbot of Densatil, Drakpa Jungne involved himself exclusively in the internal affairs of the monastic community, spending most of the time he was not teaching meditating in seclusion. He insisted that his monks also spend much time meditating and that they observe the rules of the Vinaya. Jikten Gonpo's predictions proved true, since the monastery flourished under his abbacy.

In 1234 or 1235, Won Sonam Drakpa (dbon bsod nams grags pa, 1187-1234/1235), the third abbot of Drigung, passed away, and Drakpa Jungne attended the funeral rites at Drigung. While he was there the elders held a council and requested him to be their abbot, which he accepted. For the most part his abbacy of Drigung went very smoothly, except in 1239 or 1240, when an advanced force of the Mongols -- a reconnaissance mission under the command of a General Doorda sent by the Mongol prince Köden (1206-1251) to determine who controled Tibet -- reached Drigung. The threat of a Mongol invasion had been hanging over Tibet for years, certainly since the fall of the Tanguts in 1226. The Mongols burned both Reting (rwa sgreng) and Gyel Lhakang (rgyal lha khang), two early Kadam institutions -- although it is worth noting that the Kadam tradition at the time enjoyed no Mongolian patronage, something both the Sakya and various Kagyu traditions did.

When the Mongol general Miliji (mi li ci) met with Drakpa Jungne face to face, it is said that he felt drawn to him by faith, thinking of him has his own father. The general promised to support him with offerings at a later time and turned back. Just twenty-eight days later when the second Mongol general Dora (rdo rta) arrived, there was a shower of stones from the sky. They say it is because the Mongols were so impressed by this prodigy they caused very little harm to Tibet. In fact, Tibet never underwent a Mongolian military occupation as so much of the northern parts of Eurasia suffered in those times.

Drakpa Jungne's disciples during his later years included very many of the significant Kagyu figures of the day. Among them was Yanggonpa Gyeltsen Pel (yang dgon pa rgyal mtshan dpal, 1213-1258).

When Drakpa Jungne died in his bedroom in Drigung at the ripe age of eighty-one, his funeral was very widely attended. It is recorded that when his body was cremated there were a number of marvelous occurrences. Flowers fell from the sky. Rainbows appeared. Since everything touched by the smoke from his pyre started producing crystalline relic spheres called ringsel, it is said that ringsel fell down like rain.