The Treasury of Lives

Pema Tsering Wangmo (padma tshe ring dbang mo), known affectionately as Tselu (tshe lu) to her family and close friends, was born in the Rongpatsa valley of the Trehor district of eastern Tibet in either 1923 or 1925.[1] The addition of "lu" to the first syllable of her name to form the diminutive is common in Rongpatsa. Her mother, Dechen Tso (bde chen mtsho), was a princess from Ling who married two brothers from the Aduk Lakar family (a sdug lwa dkar tshang): Tutob Namgyel (mthu stobs rnam rgyal) and Sonam Tobgyel (bsod nams stobs rgyal).^[2] It is thought that her biological father was Sonam Tobgyel,[3] who was said to be an emanation of Gaṇapati (tshogs bdag), while her younger sister, Khandro Tsering Chodron (mkha' 'gro tshe ring chos sgron, 1929–2011), was the daughter of Tutob Namgyel. The two sisters also had a brother who died in infancy.

The Lakar family were wealthy traders who supported senior lamas from Kham and often hosted them at their home. This was how Tsering Wangmo, as a young girl, met the famed Dzogchen teacher Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1941), who was a regular visitor to the Lakar home. He is said to have recognized her as an emanation of the deity Uṣṇīṣavijayā (gtsug tor rnam rgyal ma).^[4] According to an oral account, on one occasion the young Tselu was told by her father to offer Ngawang Pelzang a precious bottle of wine recently acquired from China. Ngawang Pelzang saw this as an auspicious sign and, although a monk, accepted the bottle without hesitation, opened it and even drank from it. Tsering Wangmo also received instructions from the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935), whom she considered her root teacher.

In 1947 Pema Tsering Wangmo gave birth to a boy, Sonam Gyaltsen, who would later become known as Sogyal Rinpoche (bsod rgyal rin po che, 1947–2019). The father, from whom she soon separated, was Jamgyel ('jam rgyal), a nephew of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 'byor, 1910–1991).

She then began a relationship with Tsewang Paljor (tshe dbang dpal 'byor, 1909–1999), the nephew and secretary of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959). Jamyang Khyentse is said to have warned his nephew that Tsering Wangmo possessed such a powerful character that marrying her would necessitate the recitation of one hundred million mantras of the deity Vajrakīla.^[5] They had a son, Thigyal (phrin rgyal), in 1953.

In a private interview, Tsering Wangmo recalled being present on numerous occasions when Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro gave empowerments and teachings, as well as when he himself received the reading transmission for the entire Kangyur, or translated Words of the Buddha,^[6] most likely from Lama Ngawang Tenpa (bla ma ngag dbang bstan pa) of Ga Tubten Monastery (sga thub bstan dgon).

In 1955 Tsering Wangmo accompanied Jamyang Khyentse and her sister, Tsering Chodron, who by then was married to Jamyang Khyentse, as they travelled from Dzongsar in eastern Tibet to Lhasa. The company often stayed overnight in tents. Sometimes their morning departures would be delayed while Tsering Wangmo applied the make–up she had bought in China, including the distinctive white face powder that she wore throughout her life.[7]

Tsering Wangmo was present when Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro met the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (ta la'i bla ma 14, b. 1935) in Lhasa and when he visited the major pilgrimage sites of central and southern Tibet, including the Jokhang (jo khang) and Samye Monastery. The party crossed into Sikkim in 1957, where they were received as guests of the royal family, but soon left on a pilgrimage to the major Buddhist sites of India and Nepal. When they reached Siliguri, Tsering Wangmo went straight to hospital where she gave birth to her daughter Dechen. According to Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, this event caused the party to miss their train to Bodhgaya. They performed a feast offering while waiting at the railway station in Siliguri. Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro insisted that Tsering Wangmo, who had given birth only hours previously, must also attend the feast. She did so, and during the confession and fulfilment phase of the practice she suddenly leapt up, danced about, and uttered unfamiliar syllables, which some of those present took as a sign of her extraordinary qualities.^[8]

Jamyang Khyentse composed a sādhana of Red Tārā at Tsering Wangmo's and Khandro Tsering Chodron's behest.^[9] He is also said to have kept a locket containing hair from both sisters.[10] Later, Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje (smyo shul mkhan po 'jam dbyangs rdo rje, 1931–1999) told Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche that he too wore a lock of Tsering Wangmo's hair around his neck and considered her to be a special ḍākinī.[11]

After Khyentse Chokyi Lodro passed away in 1959 Tsering Wangmo and her husband Tsewang Paljor settled in a house called Lu Sharmar (lus shar mar) above Gangtok.[12] Her fourth child, Jigme Losel Wangpo ('jigs med blo gsal dbang po) born in 1964, was recognized as the Seventh Dzogchen Rinpoche and enthroned in a ceremony led by the Fourth Dodrupchen Rinpoche (thub bstan phrin las dpal bzang po, 1927–2022) on October 8, 1972.

In 1987 Tsering Wangmo traveled to Europe for the first time. As part of the visit, she met Kalu Rinpoche (kar lu rin po che, 1905–1989), who was from the same region of Trehor Rongpatsa in eastern Tibet—his name is formed with the same affectionate diminutive as Tselu. Together with Tsewang Paljor, she visited America in 1990. In 1991 she travelled to the site in the Languedoc region of southern France that would become Sogyal Rinpoche's center, Lerab Ling, and her future home. In 1992 she was present at the inauguration of Dzogchen Monastery in Kollegal, South India.

Following Tsewang Paljor's death in April 1999, Tsering Wangmo moved to Lerab Ling in France. There she made a deep impression on the local community on account of her unfailing generosity, joviality, and candor, and became known to everyone as “Mayum-la.” It was largely at her insistence that a temple was constructed in Lerab Ling large enough to accommodate more than a thousand people. In 2006 she was joined in Lerab Ling by Khandro Tsering Chodron. The sisters lived together in the site's converted farmhouse. They attended teachings and empowerments and received regular visits from lama friends and former disciples of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, including Trulshik Rinpoche ('khrul zhig rin po che, 1924–2011), who composed a prayer for Tsering Wangmo's longevity in 2003,[13] and Pewar Rinpoche (dpe war rin po che, 1933–2022), Alak Zenkar Rinpoche (a lags gzan dkar rin po che, b. 1943), and Khenpo Pema Sherab (mkhan po pad+ma shes rab, b. 1936).

In 2005, with the assistance of Ringu Tulku (, ri mgul sprul sku, b. 1952) and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche ('dzi sgar kong sprul, b. 1964), Tsering Wangmo wrote a brief history of the Lakar family, from its legendary origins through to the birth and recognition of Dzogchen Rinpoche.[14]

In her final years Tsering Wangmo continued to reside in Lerab Ling. She died there on June 25, 2022. Her cremation took place at the sacred hilltop site of Tashiding in Sikkim on October 14, 2022, and was attended by lamas and monks from Dzogchen Monastery, Namdroling Monastery, Chorten Gompa, and Tashiding itself, as well as family and devoted friends from all over the world.

 

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Publication of this biography was made possible through support of National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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