The Treasury of Lives

The Eightieth Ganden Tripa, Drakpa Dondrub (dga' ldan khri pa 80 grags pa don grub) was born in southern Amdo. Details of his birth and childhood are not known but based on his enthronement on the Golden Throne it can be assumed that he was born in the first decade of nineteenth century, the late thirteenth or early fourteenth sexagenary cycle.

In his youth Drakpa Dondrub travelled to Lhasa and matriculated in Samlo House of Gomang College of the Drepung Monastic University ('bras spungs sgo mang bsam blo khang tshan) from where derived his title Samlo. There he studied Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Madhyamaka, Abhidharmakośa, Pramāṇavārttika, and Vinaya, the major subjects of the Geluk monastic curriculum, and obtained a Geshe Lharampa degree.  Subsequently he enrolled in Gyume College (rgyud smad grwa tshang) to trained in tantra.

He then served the various posts, including abbot of the college as per customary requirement for becoming Jangtse Choje (byang rtse chos rje) at Ganden Jangtse, one of the two Ganden posts from which the Ganden Tripa ascends to the Golden Throne.

In 1870, the year of iron-horse of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, Drakpa Dondrub ascended to the Golden Throne as the Eightieth Ganden Tripa, the post that he served for the full term of seven years, until 1876. Alternately, he served from 1871 to 1877. In addition to his duties as Tripa he served as tutor to the Twelfth Dalai Lama Trinle Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 'phrin las rgya mtsho, 1857-1875).

In 1864 the Twelfth Dalai Lama's personal attendant, Pelden Dondrub, who was also the general abbot of Ganden Shartse (dga' shar grwa rigs spyi khyab mkhan po dpal ldan don grub, d. 1871), challenged the new regent, Lobzang Khyenrab Wangchuk (blo bzang mkhyen rab dbang phyug, 1853-1859), who had previously served as the Seventy-sixth Ganden Tripa. Pelden Dondrub sought to overthrow not only the Regent but the authority of the Dalai and Paṇchen Lamas as well, and had backing from monk at Drepung and Ganden Shartse. A Kashag minister was apparently murdered when he attempted to warn the Regent; when the surviving ministers and the Regent attempted to arrest Pelden Dondrub, he fled Lhasa and was killed. A number of monks involved in the plot were arrested, but, according to his biography, Trichen Drakpa Dondrub successfully petitioned to the Dalai Lama and the Regent and secured their release.

He retired in 1876 or 1877 and he was succeeded by Ngawang Norbu (ngag dbang nor bu).