Sonam Drakpa (bsod nams grags pa) as born in 1187, the eldest son of a wealthy man named Konchok Rinchen (dkon mchog rin chen), a member of the Kyura clan (skyu ra). Konchok Rinchen's brother was Neljorpa Dorje (rnal 'byor pa rdo rje), the father of Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel's ('jig rten mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217), thus making Sonam Drakpa the the nephew, Won (dbon), of Jikten Gonpo. Sonam Drakpa's younger brother Dorje Drakpa (rdo rje grags pa, c.1210-c.1278), later known as Chung Rinpoche (gcung rin po che), would later serve as the Drigung Monastery's ('bri gung) fifth abbot. A third brother was Dorje Sengge (rdo rje seng ge, c.1200), who served as the first Drigung Gompa ('bri gung sgom pa), the civil administrator of the monastery. Some sources have it that Konchok Rinchen, also known as Ame Drakgyel (a mes grags rgyal), was a cousin of Jikten Gonpo rather than his brother.
Disciples of the aging Jikten Gonpo requested that the monastery be headed in the future by a member of the Kyura clan, to which Jikten Gonpo belonged, and so one disciple, Śrīpukpa (ShrI phug pa, d.u.) was sent to Kham with the mission of bringing some of his nephews back to Drigung.
Sonam Drakpa reportedly was delighted at the idea of going to stay with his uncle Jikten Gonpo, and his father not only gave his permission, but even promised that the whole family would move there before long. Sonam Drakpa arrived at Drigung at the age of eleven and took novice ordination at the hand of his uncle, receiving on that occasion the name by which he is known. He studied many subjects including Vinaya at Drigung itself, while he studied the tantric teachings of Hevajra from a teacher named Nubton Yonten Drak (gnubs ston yon tan grags) at Takpu (stag phu).
Sonam Drakpa spent lengthy periods in retreat, four, six and even thirteen years. He experienced his first sealed retreat at the age of thirteen, and he remained in it doing practices of the two processes (rim gnyis) for three years. When Jikten Gonpo died, Sonam Drakpa was asked to become the second abbot, but as he was in the middle of a four-year retreat he declined the request to end it. Gurawa Tsultrim Dorje (gu ra ba tshul khrims rdo rje, 1154-1221) was made abbot instead.
In 1221, when he was thirty-five, Sonam Drakpa took the abbot's seat. In 1228 he completed and consecrated the very elaborately sculptured stupa as a memorial to Jikten Gonpo. It had 2,800 divine images on its exterior surfaces. His daily schedule was tied to the two phases of the moon, in line with the practice of his lineage predecessors. During the waxing phase of the moon he would spend the mornings in seclusion and in the afternoons give dharma talks to the gathering of monks. During the waning phase he spent all of his time in silence in strictly sealed retreat.
Sonam Drakpa died at age forty-nine. His successor to the abbot's chair was Chennga Drakpa Jungne (spyan snga grags pa 'byung gnas, 1175-1255), who was a member of the Lang (rlang) family that controled Densatil Monastery.
参考书目
Dkon mchog rgya mtsho. 2004. Gdan rabs 03 dbon bsod nams grags pa (b. 1167). In 'Bri gung chos 'byung, pp. 348-351. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. TBRC W27020.
Grags pa 'byung gnas. 2002. Dbon po rin po che bsod nams grags pa la phul ba'i chab shog. In Gsung 'bum / grags pa 'byung gnas, vol. 1, pp. 66-71. Delhi: Drikung Kagyu Publications. TBRC W23785.
Khetsun Sangpo. 1973. Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. Dharamsala: LTWA, vol. 9, pp. 239-247.
Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, p. 609.