The Treasury of Lives

Umapa (dbu ma pa), also known as Tsondru Sengge (brtson 'grus seng ge) or, by his tantric name, Pawo Dorje (dpa' bo rdo rje), was born in Markham region of eastern Tibet in the mid-fourteenth century. Barring his few years in central Tibet, which were recorded sporadically in biographical accounts of other Tibetan masters, most of his activities were carried out in and around the region of Markham.

Considering that early masters like Rendawa Zhonnu Lodro (red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros, 1349–1412) and Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357–1419) only referred to Umapa by his birth name or tantric name, there is a greater likelihood that the name Umapa, meaning "adherent of Madhyamaka [philosophy]," is an sobriquet accorded by later biographers such as Khedrub Gelek Pelzang (mkhas grub dge legs dpal bzang, 1385–1438) and Tokden Jampel Gyatso (rtogs ldan 'jam dpal rgya mtsho, 1356–1428) for his role as an intermediary between bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and Tsongkhapa in the elucidation of the Madhyamaka philosophy. Rendawa, in one case, referred to Umapa as Lama Milampa (bla ma rmi lam pa), the 'Dream Lama,' because of his unceasing dreams of Mañjuśrī.

According to legend, as a young boy herding his family livestock, Umapa had the Mañjuśrī mantra—arapacanadhī—reverberating from within his belly. He also reminisced having hazy visions of Mañjuśrī during those years. Later, upon undergoing rigorous meditation, he gained greater clarity in these unique experiences. Umapa was nonetheless intrigued by the numerous instances of the visions and was unsure of whether or not they were authentic.

Spurred by his religious and spiritual quest, he traveled to central Tibet and joined the famed Sangpu Neutok Monastery (gsang phu ne'u thog). As he studied Prajñaparamitā texts there and began undertaking exam tours (grwa skor) to other monasteries, his deity Mañjuśrī is said to have spoken to him: "Give away everything to the monastics. Go forth and you shall unearth a great treasure." Having given away all his possessions, he asked what treasure awaited him now that he had followed the advice. To his surprise, he allegedly heard Mañjuśrī say, "Good, you have indeed given away everything. Go forth and live the life of a true renunciant."

He then traveled to Kongpo and studied the Mahāmudrā teachings according to the Kamtsang Kagyu (kam tshang bka' brgyud) tradition. At Samye Monastery (bsam yas), he received teachings on the Six Branches of Yoga (sbyor ba yan lag drug) from Tokden Chokarwa (rtogs ldan chos dkar ba, c. fourteenth century). As a result, he experienced an enhanced clarity of the visions and sounds. Umapa later met Lama Zhongyelwa (bla ma gzhon rgyal ba, c. fourteenth century), who taught him the art of yogic communication through signs and responses (brda lan) according to the Sakya Lamdre (lam 'bras) tradition. Later, upon hearing Umapa describe the communication he had with his tutelary deity, Lama Zhongyelwa confirmed that the modes and symbology of their communication corresponded precisely to those mentioned in the four-fold tantric initiation liturgies of the Lamdre tradition.

According to a biography of Tsongkhapa, Umapa had sojourned in Demchok Teng (bde mchog steng) in 1390. Tsongkhapa, who later was credited as the founder of the Geluk tradition, was resting at Cholung (chos lung) in Rong on his way to see his teacher Rendawa in Tsang. At that time, when two of Tsongkhapa's attendants—Ngochi Ponpo Sonam Drak (sngo phyi dpon po bsod nams grags, fourteenth-fifteenth centuries) and Domepa Geshe Sherab Drak (mdo smad pa shes rab grags, fourteenth-fifteenth centuries)—sought an audience with Umapa, he expressed his desire to seek Sarasvatī initiation (dbyangs can ma'i rjes gnang) from their master. During the meeting between the two masters, Umapa received the Sarasvatī initiation and recounted the vision and conversations he had had with Mañjuśrī since his childhood years in Kham. He mentioned how even this Sarasvatī initiation was sought at Mañjuśrī's behest.

Still unsure about the nature of his experience, Lama Umapa asked Tsongkhapa for advice on how to examine it further. Tsongkhapa put Umapa's claim to the test by posing difficult and tricky questions on Madhyamaka philosophy to Mañjuśrī through Umapa as their intermediary. While this encounter took place when Tsongkhapa, then thirty-four, was beginning to rise to eminence in the Tibetan intellectual circles, he had already earned much renown for his composition of Golden Rosary of Elegant Teaching (legs bshad gser phreng), a commentary to one of the fundamental treatises on Prajñaparamitā called Abhisamayālaṃkāra, or Ornament of Clear Realization. Convinced that the responses from Mañjuśrī agreed precisely with the teachings of Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, and Candrakīrti, Tsongkhapa relied on Mañjuśrī, with Umapa as a medium, for further clarifications on subtle points concerning the Madhyamaka views.

Tsongkhapa advised Umapa to avoid skepticism, telling him that while the visions and sounds were not experiences of sense consciousnesses, they were images of divinities appearing to his mental consciousness. To clear Umapa's doubt of these experiences as "empty," Tsongkhapa emphasized the mutuality of the nature of conventional appearances and ultimate emptiness. He advised Umapa to cherish and nurture these unique experiences. With his faith in Mañjuśrī renewed, Umapa continued relying on the mystical visions and speeches until his death.

While at Cholung, Umapa studied the Madhyamaka text Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya, or Auto-Commentary to "The Entry to the Middle Way" under Tsongkhapa. In return, Umapa imparted the cycle of Mañjuśrī teachings ('jam dbyangs chos skor), in particular the teachings on Vajrabhairava and Yamāntaka, to Tsongkhapa at Gadong (dga' gdong). To this day, Umapa remains a prominent figure in the short transmission lineage (nye brgyud) of the cycle of Mañjuśrī teachings within the Geluk tradition, where he is revered as the human recipient of a class of esoteric teachings that descend from Buddha Vajradhara through bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Today, a considerable number of rituals relating to the White Cakrasaṃvara are believed to have been based on the Mañjuśrī cycle of teachings transmitted by Umapa, and are therefore called the "Umapa tradition."

Umapa left Lhasa for Kham in 1392. At that time, Tsongkhapa traveled to Lhasa to bid him farewell and exchange teachings, giving Umapa the four initiations of Guhyasamāja-akṣobhya. Umapa spent the remaining years of his life in Markham region of Kham.

Umapa is credited with the writing of Teachings on the Parity of Samsara and Nirvana: Ways of Practicing the Four-Session Yoga (srid zhi mnyam nyid kyi lta' ba'i khrid thun bzhi'i rnal 'byor nyams su len tshul), the core contents of which are attributed to Mañjuśrī. As a text primarily explicating the meaning of Clear Light ('od gsal) according to Guhyasamāja Tantra from the Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka perspective, it is also interspersed with citations from the works of Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, and Candrakīrti. Considering Tsongkhapa's epilogue eulogizing Umapa, the identification of the scribe as Umapa, and Tsongkhapa's promotion of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka views during those years, this work might be a collaborative effort between the two masters. According to tradition, Umapa conversed with Mañjuśrī on a regular basis and he seems to have had no dream in which Mañjuśrī did not impart any teachings. He undertook every action, however minor, per Mañjuśrī's instruction. Other texts and teachings attributed to Umapa include Apropos "Anthology of the Dharmarāja Atiguhya" (chos rgyal yang gsang dug ri nag po'i be'u bum gyi skor), and Amitāyu Longevity Initiation (tshe dpag med kyi dbang). These too are said to have been imparted to him by Mañjuśrī.

While in Markham, a family brought a five- or six-year-old boy for blessing and Lama Umapa, who informed them that their boy would grow up to benefit the dharma. He advised the parents to send the boy to central Tibet to study under Tsongkhapa, whom he identifies as both his teacher and his disciple. At seven, the boy received the upāsaka vows for laypersons from Umapa. At fourteen, Umapa having passed away, the boy received the śramaṇa or novice vows from Doto Drakpa Lodro (mdo stod grgs pa blo gros, mid fourteenth–early fifteenth centuries), who named him Drakpa Zangpo (grags pa bzang po, late fourteenth–mid fifteenth centuries). The boy later grew up, traveled to central Tibet, received the bhikṣhu vows for full monastic ordination from Tsongkhapa, and became a teacher to a hundred others. Considering that Drakpa Zangpo, then above twenty, received the bhikṣu vows, from Tsongkhapa before his death in 1419, Umapa's death must have occurred in or around the year 1400.

Lama Umapa was said to have died a saintly death. When his followers cremated his body, it is maintained that onlookers witnessed smoke billowing in the forms of sword and Utpala flower—the symbol of Mañjuśrī—with details vivid and resembling an artist's creation. After the cremation, pure, crystalline and proliferating saffron relics appeared in the pyre.

The reincarnations of Jamyang Zhepa ('jam dbyangs bzhad pa), beginning with the person of Ngawang Tsondru (ngag dbang brtson 'grus, 1648–1721/1722), the founder of Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery (bla brang bkra shis 'khyil) in Amdo, were later identified as incarnations of Lama Umapa.