The Treasury of Lives

Kunden Rema was born in the Shang region of Tsang probably in the mid thirteenth century. She was the daughter of Jangsem Choje Sonam Gyeltsen (byang sems chos rje bsod nams rgyal mtshan)—a great meditator and holder of the Rechung Nyengyu (ras chung snyan rgyud), or Aural Lineage of Rechungpa (ras chung pa rdo rje grags pa, 1085–1161). She was also known as Yeshe Kunden (ye shes kun ldan) and Trulshik Kunden Rema ('khrul zhig kun ldan ras ma).

It is said that from a young age she was inclined to think about death and impermanence. She developed a strong sense of repulsion to saṃsāra and an intense resolve not to enter the life of a domestic woman.

When she was thirteen, she studied reading and writing and trained the rituals of the peaceful and wrathful deities. At fourteen, she began wandering in remote mountain retreats, dedicating her life to dharma practice. During this time, she encouraged her father to teach, saying,

Since you have done your practice and received teachings, and father, since you are still young, it is not right for you to stay in mountain retreats.  You seem like someone who is blessed by Vajravārāhī. I dreamed that a pig's head grew from the back of your neck and those around you trembled in humility at the sound of its grunting. It would be beneficial if you had a small group of students around you.[1]

She then had a vision of Rechungpa and was inspired to practice.

She is said to have had a vision of everything as golden light at the age of eighteen, and understood that at the conventional level, all phenomena were like illusions, while at the ultimate level, her mind itself could not be pinned down in any way. She thought, "This unchanging native state—this is what I am." From reading the Prajñāpāramitā in Eight Thousand Verses she came to perceive all the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa as illusory.

Her father was a tantric yogi without scholarly training—his own father had encouraged him to focus on practice over study[i]—and he taught her according to his own understanding. He warned her against taking disciples without further study, however, telling her,

When it comes to meditation, you can rely on yourself; but without rigorous learning, how could you nurture disciples? How can you perform empowerments and consecrations? Whatever arises in your mind, it is permissible to share that with disciples, but do not perform empowerment rituals or consecrations. Please make your practice genuine.[2]

With that said, he trained her in mantra and many sādhanas and practices of the new and old tantras. This training was specifically based on the Vajra Verses of the Aural Lineage (snyan brgyud rdo rje'i tshig rkang) the Small Book (gzung chung),[ii] Milarepa's (mi la ras pa, 1040–1143) secret guides (khrid yig sbas pa) and Khyung Tsangwa's (khyung tshang pa, 1115–1176) manuals. Finally, he bestowed all the empowerments and blessings for the father and mother deities (yab bka’ yum bka’) along with all their related pith instructions.

In addition to her father’s training, she is said to have received instructions from early Kagyu masters such the Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (karma pak+Shi, 1204–1283); the First Drukchen, Drubtob Gonye[iii] (grub thob mgon ye); Tarpa Lotsawa Nyima Gyeltsen (thar pa lo tsA ba nyi ma rgyal mtshan); Khedrub Choje (mkhas grub chos rje), and an unidentified figure with the epithet Dzamling Gyen ('dzam gling rgyan), "Ornament of the World." Her biography also states that she received teachings from Tropu Lotsāwa (khro phu lo tsa ba (c.1172–c.1236), however, it seems likely that he lived too early for them to have met directly.

Her father, who had accepted disciples, encouraged her to go into remote retreat, warning her that if she continued to wander the countryside she would probably end up with a husband. He suggested a place called Richung (ri chung) where she walled herself in isolation for a year.

On concluding her retreat, she went to the upper regions of Shang and eventually accepted disciples of her own. She next went to Zapulung (zab phu lung) where she practiced water austerity (chu’i dka’ thub) during which ghosts are said to have presented obstacles. As with other problems she had faced, she overcame them by taking them as allies to her meditation. One night, she dreamed that she was dressed in armor and brandishing a variety of weapons. As many ḍākinīs surrounded her, she slayed thousands of dreadlocked black men who were led by a non-Buddhist king. According to her hagiography, the result of the dream was that she had vanquished the four māras, or negative influences, and no obstacles could thereafter harm her. From then on, she no longer needed to isolate herself from towns, as she was no longer tempted by their charms. She developed a reputation as a Buddhist teacher and was sought after to cure illness in livestock and people.

She is said to have experienced multiple visions, including of Tārā and the buddhas of the three times, while practicing in Pumonkhar (phu smon mkhar) at Zhalu Monastery (zhwa lu dgon). She brought fifteen students on pilgrimage to U where they made offerings to the Jowo in the Lhasa Tsuklakhang (gtsug lag khang) at which point a rain of five-colored flowers is said to have fallen.

On returning to Shang, she entered retreat at a place called Gyere Drak (gye re'i brag). A lunar eclipse occurred while she was in retreat, during which she played the ḍāmaru drum and bell. According to her hagiography, when the eclipse reached totality, the cliff was rendered insubstantial and she fell uninjured through the rocks into the center of the mountain.

She is said to have composed numerous songs of experience, such as "Entering the Solar and Lunar Path of Prāṇayāma" (rlung srog rtsol nyi zla'i lam du tshud). Unfortunately, none of her songs are extant.

According to her hagiography, while teaching the Aural Lineage at Richung, during a gaṇacakra feast, everyone present saw a miraculous appearance: two purple vajras slowly rotated around the white rim of a ritual skull cup. In a state of joy, she told those present,

I did this because of your requests and entreaties. You kept asking me to show a sign of accomplishment, but from the time I was eighteen until my current age of seventy-five, I have practiced in remote solitudes. I am a lion that has roamed free under the unsupported sky. Is that not a sign of accomplishment?[3]

It is said that when she propitiated the protector deities, real fangs appeared on her face and she subdued all malevolent spirits, binding them with vows. She is said to have dedicated all donations she received to her dharma practice without any misappropriation, and that even though she had fully realized emptiness, she spared no effort when it came to engaging with the conditioned world.

She was able to meet Orgyenpa Rinchen Pel (o rgyan pa rin chen dpal, 1229–1309) while he was making his way to Mongolia. Orgyenpa is said to have been intrigued by her and asked her the year of her birth. Later on, he told a disciple, "That woman is the reincarnation of Machik Drozang (ma gcig 'gro bzang), the disciple of Lord Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje (rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje, 1189–1258). She has something obscuring her now. As soon as she clears that obscuration, she is going to be of immense benefit to beings."[4]

Kunden Rema died at the age of eighty. Among her disciples was Kunpang Delek Rinchen (tsha bo kun spangs bde legs rin chen).

 

 

---

Learn more about the Women Initiative, an effort to add 100 new biographies of women by 2026.