Chung Dorje Drakpa (bcung rdo rje grags pa) was born in 1210, the male iron horse year, into the Kyura (skyu ra) clan in Kham. His father was a wealthy man named Konchok Rinchen (dkon mchog rin chen) a member of the Kyura clan (skyu ra). Konchok Rinchen's brother was Neljorpa Dorje (rnal 'byor pa rdo rje), the father of Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel's ('jig rten mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217), thus making Dorje Drakpa the the nephew of Jikten Gonpo. His older brother, Won Sonam Drakpa (dbon bsod nams grags pa, 1187-1234), later served as the third abbot of Drigung Til ('bri gung mthil), the seat of the Drigung Kagyu tradition that Jikten Gonpo had established in 1179. His epithet Chung (bcung) means "younger sibling" in deference to his older brother. A middle brother, Dorje Sengge (rdo rje seng ge) served as the first civil administrator of Drigung, the Drigung Gompa ('bri gung sgom pa). Some sources have it that Konchok Rinchen, also known as Ame Drakgyel (a mes grags rgyal), was a cousin of Jikten Gonpo rather than his brother.
When Chung Dorje Drakpa was almost seven, his elder brother was brought to Drigung to prepare him for the office of abbot, and Dorje Drakpa, together with their extended family, accompanied him to central Tibet. At Drigung Monastery he received monastic vows from Jikten Gonpo with the ordination name Dorje Drakpa. Marking the occasion, Jikten Gonpo declared that Dorje Drakpa was an emanation of the great Indian mahāsiddha Tilopa and, according to legend, stated that, "The positive impact of his teachings, as well as his activities will be vaster than all of ours." This explains why he is sometimes known as Tilo Dorje Drakpa.
Soon after the ordination ceremony, Jikten Gonpo passed away. Dorje Drakpa's older brother Sonam Drakpa cared for all of his needs at the monastery. He began his studies with reading and writing and then went on to receive the entire corpus of the Drigung tradition's teachings from his older brother. He also studied with many other masters, receiving tantric teachings, including Cakrasaṃvara, Hevajra, and the Three Mysteries (gsang gsum) of body, speech, and mind, a central Drigung esoteric instruction.
At the age of twenty-one he entered a sealed retreat and made a commitment to meditate on the two tantric stages of development and completion for thirteen years. It is said that during this time he had many signs of accomplishment and realized many deity yoga practices.
At the age of twenty-five, a few years into retreat, his older brother Won Sonam Drakpa passed away. Dorje Drakpa was summoned back to the monastery, but he refused to return as he had not fulfilled his commitment to complete thirteen years of retreat. Only upon fulfilling that commitment did he emerge from the retreat. In his absence Chennga Drakpa Jungne (spyan snga grags pa 'byung gnas, 1175-1255) served as abbot, the monastery's fourth.
Legend has it that some time after his retreat had ended, he forged a relationship with the Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (karma pa 02 karma pakshi, 1204/1206-1283) that was based on a very unusual foundation. Karma Pakshi had earlier fallen out of favor with the Mongolian Emperor Khubilai Khan (r. 1260-1294) and the Emperor ordered Karma Pakshi be burned alive in a sandalwood fire; he endured the flames for three days, but, according to Drigung histories, was about to give up living when he suddenly had a vision in which a yogi wearing a set of six bone ornaments appeared on a lion in the sky in front of him. A variety of light rays emanated from the yogi and this light, along with three seed syllables, dissolved into Karma Pakshi and blessed his body, making it indestructible. The yogi then requested the Karmapa "to rest in the equipoise of fire samādhi in order to exhaust fear." Karma Pakshi asked the yogi who he was and where he came from. The yogi replied, "In India, I was Tilopa. In Tibet, I am the one from Drigung known as Dorje Drakpa. My emanations are in each of a hundred buddhafields." Saying this, the vision ended. Karma Kagyu historical literature does not include this vision.
Later, after Karma Pakshi had been freed and was back in Tibet, he visited Drigung and received teachings directly from Dorje Drakpa such as Pacifying Dreams (zhi byed rmang lam). The two of were said to be very close after this.
In 1255, at the age of forty-six, Chung Dorje Drakpa was enthroned as the fifth abbot of Drigung Monastery, after which he taught widely to the community. As abbot he also enriched the Tashi Gomang temple (bkra shi sgo mang) at Drigung Til Monastery by upgrading it with precious metals, including gold, silver, and by erecting large statues.
Upon returning to Drigung Monastery, he taught the Five-fold Path of Mahāmudrā and the Six Yogas of Nāropa to a great number of monks. He also heavily promoted practice at sacred mountains in southern Tibet, primarily Mt. Kailash, Labchi, and Tsari, thereby helping to spread the influence of the Drigung tradition at these important centers of pilgrimage.
Towards the end of his life he returned to retreat, and passed away in 1278, the autumn of male earth tiger year, at the age of sixty-nine.
He was succeeded as abbot by Tokkawa Rinchen Sengge (thog kha ba rin chen seng ge, 1226-1284).
参考书目
A mgon rin po che. 2004.Dbon rin po che'i ram thar dad pa'i brgyan. In'Bri gung bka' brgyud chos mdzod chen mo, vol. 53, pp. 85-93. Lhasa.TBRC W00JW501203.
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Dge slong dkon mchog rgyal mtshan. 2013.Bod kyi chos brgyud khag gi ngo sprod dang bka brgyud 'bri gung pa' gdan rabs snying bsdus. Dehradun: Bka brgyud nang bstan mtho slob khang nas par du bskrun, pp: 26-27.
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Kun dga' rin chen. 2003.Gcung rin po che'i rdo rje grags pa'i rnam thar dpag bsam gyi ljon shing. InGsung 'bum / kun dga' rin chen, vol. 1, pp. 172-188. Delhi: Drigung Kargyu Publications.TBRC W23892.