Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk received the Kālacakra empowerment multiple times, from Shingza Tsang (shing za tshang, d.u.), Jigme Trinle Gyatso ('jigs med phrin las rgya mtsho, 1866-1948) and the Ninth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Tubten Chokyi Nyima (paN chen bla ma 09 lo bzang thub bstan chos kyi nyi ma, 1883-1937). He gave the empowerment ten times.
At the age of thirty-one in 1954, Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk was enthroned as throne holder of Labrang Tashikhyil. He served for about three years, during which he distributed to the monks much of the wealth of the monastery, apparently foreseeing its coming theft by the Chinese military.
Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk was accused and charged for acting as one of the chief leaders in plotting protests against the Communist government of China; it was alleged that guns and a telegraph-machine were found at his residence in Amdo. He was also charged with refusing an invitation to visit Beijing and also refusing the offer of designated posts in Chinese administration. Initially he was to be executed but the punishment was changed to life imprisonment and he was put into a series of different labor-camps for the next twenty-one years. He was forced to do hard labor – carpentering, shoemaking, building walls and so forth.
In 1979 he was released. While staying in a guest house a large number of people learned of his release and gathered for an audience, and again Chinese accused him of collecting money for anti-Chinese actions. The Gungtang Lama replied: "The people gathered here by themselves; I am a simple monk and I need no money and I never engage in any violent action. Anyway, you can put me back into the prison if you like for me to be isolated from public." The Chinese took no action, but they continued to monitor his activity and prevented him from engaging in any religious activity.
In December 1979, Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk was appointed as an executive member of the National Association of People's Representatives. Other positions he held included: standing member and vice chairman of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference, member and standing member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, executive director and vice chairman of the National Buddhist Association, vice chairman of the Provincial Buddhist Association, and vice president of the Buddhist Academy.
In March 1981, while speaking in the general meeting of monks of Labrang Monastery, he recalled his twenty-one years in the prison in details that brought tears to the eyes of the monks.
During the 1980s the tradition of performing religious-dance in the Lingtsang Labrang was gradually restored and in the Autumn of 1987 the Gungtang Lama was invited to attend. While speaking on the aims and objectives of the dance, he stated that posters advocating for a free Tibet are not useless, but that the holder would likely undergo a great hardship. He continued, "If posters and other things are useful for our freedom, I am ready to do anything." Despite such comments, Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk continued to travel across Amdo and Tibet aiding in the revival of Buddhism, and made one trip to the United States, further elevating his stature inside China and, perhaps, insulating him from further arrest.
In 1990, the reconstruction of the General Assembly Hall of Labrang Tashikhyil was completed and the Gungtang Lama again ascended to the seat as the Ninety-first abbot and served for one year. He gave a public empowerment on the Mitra system of the Vajramala in 1991 during which he again spoke about the future welfare of Tibet. In August/September 1994, he gave his tenth and last Kālacakra empowerment to an audience of many thousands at the end of the ceremony, he announced that while the purpose of the gathering was to receive the empowerment, one of his objectives at the event was to pray for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the return of peace to Tibet.
Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk had a great concern for the education of future generations of Tibetans and worked very hard in different fields. He established an education scholarship fund for young Tibetans with an initial personal donation of twenty thousand yuan. In 1994 the organization gave forty thousand yuan to Tibetan students. He also donated over forty thousand yuan to the schools in Amdo that he frequently visited. He also donated a large amount of money for health centers and other welfare organizations.
When the Fourteenth Dalai Lama confirmed the identity of the Eleventh Paṇchen Lama, Gendun Chokyi Nyima (dge 'dun chos kyi nyi ma, b. 1989) in 1995, the Chinese government gathered over eighty reincarnated lamas throughout Tibet to support the identification of an opposing candidate, Chokyi Gyelpo (chos kyi rgyal po, b. 1990), the Gungtang Lama refused to support the Chinese and stated that the Chinese government should give approval to the identification done by the Dalai Lama. The Gungtang Lama refused to attend any meeting relating to Chokyi Gyelpo. He also avoided the ordination ceremony at Tashilhunpo Monastery (bkra shis lhun po) in Tsang on June 1, 1995, using the excuse of illness.
In 1996, Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk felt ill and was taken to Beijing where he was admitted to a hospital and underwent a kidney operation. According to many followers, he never believed the diagnosis he was given, and suspected the three daily injections were unrelated to any disease.
Four years later, at the age of seventy-five, in the morning of March 11, 2000, the year of iron-dragon year of the seventeenth sexagenary cycle, Jigme Tenpai Wangchuk passed away in the hospital in Beijing. Many relics are said to have been found in the ashes following his cremation: the Tibetan letter A was found in embossed form in the outer ring and an embossed image of Mañjuśrī in the inner ring of his skull; and syllables of the mantra of Mañjuśrī were found on the rib-bones.
A seven-day long nirvana-prayer sponsored by Gomang Geshe Tubten from the United States was held in the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. Nirvana-prayers were also held by communities in the other parts of India including Mundgod and Dehradun. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama composed a prayer for his swift reincarnation.
参考书目
Bstan pa bstan 'dzin. 2003. Chos sde chen pod pel ldan 'bras spungs bkra shis sgo mang grwa tshang gi chos 'byung chos dung g.yas su 'khyil ba'i sgra dbyang. Mundgod: Dpal ldan 'bras spungs bkra shis sgo mang dpe mdzod khang, pp. 300-310.
Garratt, Kevin. 2002. "Biography by Installment: Tibetan Language Reportage on the Lives of Reincarnate Lamas, 1995-99." In Tibet, Self, and the Tibetan Diaspora. Leiden: Brill, pp. 57-104. pp. 94-95.
Grags pa 'byungs gnas and Blo bzang mkhas grub. 1992. Gangs can mkhas sgrub rim byon ming mdzod. Lanzhou: Kan su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 256-258.
Wei Yuan and Min Zu. 2003. Gansu Sheng Zhi (di 70 juan, "Minzu Zhi") 甘肃省志. 第七十卷, 民族志. Lanzhou: Gansu Renmin Chubanshe, p. 729.