The Treasury of Lives

Kunpang Chodrak Pelzang (kun spangs chos grags dpal bzang) was born in Ralung (ra lung) in 1283. His father was the Newar sculptor Ratnamati, who had been invited from Nepal to create art in the Nyangto (nyang stod) region of Tsang (gtsang).

From the age of five Chodrak Pelzang learned the art of sculpture from his father and became expert in calligraphy, the casting of metals, and blacksmithing. At seven years of age he received lay vows from the master Jangchup Ozer (byang chub 'od zer) and memorized the Five Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos lnga). He traveled to Gungtang (gung thang) monastery the next year, where he received the vows of a novice monk from the abbot Dondrub Pel (don grub dpal). He stayed at Gungtang until he was twelve years old, studying and becoming expert in the literature of the vehicle of the perfections, epistemology, and abhidharma.

Chodrak Pelzang then moved to the great monastery of Sakya (sa skya), where he studied epistemology, the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, and Abhidharma under the master Jamyang Chokyi Gyeltsen ('jam dbyangs chos kyi rgyal mtshan). He became quite famous there when he taught epistemology to a large audience of scholars. Up until the age of twenty-one he traveled around U and Tsang studying at different monasteries. He received many teachings from the great Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290-1364) at Zhalu (zha lu) monastery and from Tarpa Lotsāwa Nyima Gyeltsen (thar pa lo tsA ba nyi ma rgyal mtshan, d.u.) at Sangpu Neutok (gsang phu ne'u thog).

At the age of twenty-three he went to Jonang monastery for the first time and received full ordination from the master Yonten Gyatso (yon tan rgya mtsho, 1260-1327), from whom he also received the Kālacakra initiation, the transmission of the great Vimalaprabhā commentary, many instructions, and gained special experience in meditation.

At the age of twenty-five Chodrak Pelzang received a number of teachings from Choje Dzumpa (chos rje 'dzum pa) at Dzum Cholung ('dzum chos lung). There he also met Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292-1361) for the first time and during discussions came to feel like a small pool in the presence of the ocean. He begged Dolpopa for teachings, saying that he had never met anyone as learned in all his travels, but Dolpopa refused, noting that he was a wandering mendicant and not suitable to be his teacher. Finally, after further begging, Dolpopa agreed to teach him the Kālacakra in detail, and they traveled in secret to the cave hermitage of Kyipuk (skyid phug) near Jonang. Chodrak Pelzang stayed constantly with Dolpopa for twelve years, first receiving the Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakra Tantra for an entire year, and gradually obtaining the transmission of everything Dolpopa himself had received.

When Dolpopa built the great stupa at Jonang from 1330 to 1333, Chodrak Pelzang was the person in charge of all the inner and outer work. At the completion of this massive project, he renounced all mundane activities and mostly stayed in meditation retreat. Then the master Tonpa Yeshe Pel (ston pa ye shes dpal, d.u.) offered him the monastery of Chuzang (chu bzang) near Sakya, where he took up residence, first teaching epistemology for three years and then the Vimalaprabhā. After inviting Dolpopa to consecrate the shrines at Chuzang, Chodrak Pelzang went into strict retreat, during which he had visions of Amitabha and his paradise. During retreat he achieved many extraordinary attainments, such as directly beholding the blazing and dripping of the seminal drops in the channels and cakras of his body, clearly seeing the colors of the five vital winds, experiencing exceptional bliss, and gaining various types of stable clairvoyance and magical abilities.

Chodrak Pelzang also traveled to China as Dolpopa's representative, where he demonstrated his paranormal abilities to the Yuan emperor and his court and taught dharma to the emperor for seven months. He told the story of Dolpopa's life to the emperor, who then asked to be given a Buddhakapela (sangs rgyas thod pa) image that had manifested in Dolpopa's bones after his cremation. Chodrak Pelzang returned to central Tibet and Tsang and taught the Vimalaprabhā and many other topics in various places before finally arriving at his monastery of Chuzang.

When he was eighty-one years old, Chodrak Pelzang was invited to teach at the monastery of Pelteng (dpal steng). He predicted that it would be dangerous for him to go, but accepted the invitation for the benefit of sentient beings. On the road to Pelteng, Chodrak Pelzang was attacked and murdered by an evil warlord named Jangpa Siddhi (byang pa sid d+hi), who stabbed him to death. His body was taken back to Chuzang and cremated in a ceremony attended by Dolpopa's disciples Mati Paṇchen (ma ti paN chen) and Chokle Namgyel (phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1306-1386), and many other teachers. Many miracles occurred during and after the ceremony, and wonderful relics manifested in his bones after the cremation.