The Treasury of Lives

Zhuchen Tsultrim Rinchen (zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen) was born in 1697, the fire-ox year, near the monastery of Sakar Samdrub Ling (sa dkar bsam 'grub gling) in Denma (ldan ma), also known as Denpakar (ldan pa dkar) or Denkok (ldan khog), in Kham. In his autobiography he identifies his clan (rus) as the Zhangpa (zhang pa), which included many skilled artists such as Sanggye Lhawang (sangs rgyas lha dbang, sixteenth century), Lodro Gyatso (blo gros rgya mtsho, seventeenth century), and Karma Gyatso (karma rgya mtsho). His father was the artist Ngawang Chopel (ngag dbang chos 'phel, seventeenth century), also known as Lekshe Kunga Pel (legs bshad kun dga' 'phel). His mother, Buchok (bu chog), was Ngawang Chopel's second wife. Tsultrim Rinchen described her as a very pious Buddhist who maintained daily religious practices. The couple had two children. The elder child, Tsultrim Rinchen's sister, was named Kandro Kyab (mkha' 'gro skyabs). He was known by the name Tamdrin Zung (rta mgrin gzungs) when he was young.

Born into a family of artists, during his youth he studied traditional artistic skills such as iconometry and styles of painting under the tutelage of his father. He even worked with his father as an assistant on several local painting projects. At age seven, he also began learning reading and writing from one of his father's brothers. The next year he began studying with Trowo Lhagon (khro bo'i lha mgon, also spelled khro bo lha mgon), a physician ('tsho byed) and follower of the Bon religion. For a period of two years, Trowo Lhagon taught him reading, chanting (particularly Bonpo chants), religious dance, and medicine. Around the same time, he also studied the proper reading and recitation of mantras under Kunga Samdrub (kun dga' bsam 'grub).

At some point during his early studies he entered Sakar Samdrub Ling, the monastery in Denma. When he was eleven, he received novice vows and the name Kunga Sonam (kun dga' bsod nams) from Drungpa Kunga Gyatso (drung pa kun dga' rgya mtsho, seventeenth century). By age thirteen he began receiving tantric empowerments from Kunga Tendzin (kun dga' bstan 'dzin), who had arrived at Sakar monastery from Rakchu Namgyel Monastery (rag chu rnam rgyal). Later, at Tsebhrūṃ Monastery (tshe bhrUM dgon) he took up the study of a wide range of topics under various teachers, including the study of grammar with Sera Rabjampa Tashi Gyeltsen (se ra rab 'byams pa bkra shis rgyal mtshan), painting and sculpture with Sanggye Chopel (sangs rgyas chos 'phel), astrology with these same teachers as well as Ngari Rinchen Chokyong (mnga' ris rin chen chos skyong), medicine with the physician Karma Ngawang (karma ngag dbang), and logic and philosophy with Rabjampa Sonam Tenpa (rab 'byams pa bsod nams brtan pa). One of his main teachers was the scholar of literary arts Karma Tutob ( karma mthu stobs), also known as Chime Trinle Tendzin ('chi med phrin las bstan 'dzin), of Tsebhrūṃ, with whom he studied grammar, poetry, and calligraphy. (This person may be the same as Tsebhrūṃ Lama Karma Chime Thubten Rabsel, tshe b+hrUM bla ma karma 'chi med thub bstan rab gsal) These intensive early studies are said to have contributed to his budding reputation as a scholar throughout eastern Tibet.

During this time, Tsultrim Rinchen continued to be involved in artistic projects. In one instance in the early 1720s, he supervised and took part in painting murals of jātaka tales and the life of the Buddha on the walls of a small two-pillar temple at the monastery of Rakchu Namgyel.

In the fourth month of 1725, when he was twenty-nine, the opportunity arose to go to central Tibet. An offering collector from Sakya Monastery (sa skya) was travelling through Kham and Tsultrim Rinchen was able to journey with him to Sakya. While in central Tibet he was especially engaged in the study of tantric teachings under prominent figures from Ngor Ewaṃ Choden Monastery (ngor e waM chos ldan) such as the Thirty-first abbot Tashi Lhundrub (ngor mkhan chen 31 bkra shis lhun grub, 1671-1739) and the Thirty-second abbot Tsultrim Lhundrub (ngor mkhan chen 32 tshul khrims lhun grub, 1676-1730). Tsultrim Lhundrub was enthroned as abbot in an elaborate ceremony shortly after Tsultrim Rinchen's arrival at Ngor in 1725, and it was Tsultrim Lhundrub who bestowed the name "Tsultrim Rinchen" on the young scholar. The teachings Tsultrim Rinchen received at that time included guidance on the Six Dharmas of Niguma (ni gu chos drug), Hevajra empowerments, and Lamdre (lam 'bras) instructions. He also continued to study grammar, metrics, and astrology with Sera Rabjampa and others. For two years at Ngor he served as the personal secretary of the Khangsar Khenchen Jampa Sonam Zangpo (khang gsar mkhan chen byams pa bsod nams bzang po, 1689-1749), the head of one of Ngor's four estates, the Khangsar Labrang (khang gsar blab rang), and the thirtieth abbot of Ngor. While in central Tibet, Tsultrim Rinchen also visited Lhasa and made offerings at the famous religious sites of that city.

In 1730, after four years in central Tibet, Tsultrim Rinchen returned to Kham. He was accompanying Tashi Lhundrub to Derge (sde dge), where the latter had been invited by Tenpa Tsering (bstan pa tshe ring, 1678-1738), the King of Derge. In the early 1730s, the Derge kingdom had just begun to enter a phase of intensive cultural efflorescence. Over the previous century, the kingdom had expanded its territory and influence significantly. The political and military successes of the Derge court brought them new economic resources that they poured into religious projects. By the late 1720s, the Derge court was funding the production of a xylograph edition of the entire Kangyur (bka' 'gyur), the canon of translated Buddhist scripture. This major project, lasting from 1729-33, was sponsored by Tenpa Tsering and under the editorial direction of Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (si tu paN chen chos kyi 'byung gnas, d.1774), the famous eighteenth-century Karma Kagyu savant. Tashi Lhundrub and Tsultrim Rinchen quickly became involved in the publishing activities of the new Derge Printing House (sde dge par khang).

Tashi Lhundrub encouraged Tenpa Tsering to undertake a publication of the Sakya Kambum (sa skya bka' 'bum), the collected works of the five main Sakya hierarchs. The king agreed and in 1734 Tsultrim Rinchen was put in charge of editing the new edition. To carry out his work he consulted numerous manuscript exemplars as well as some texts from an older printed edition of the Sakya Kambum, the Gongkarwa (gong dkar ba) edition. The Derge edition was finished in 1736 and came to fifteen volumes.

The next year after completing the Sakya Kambum project, Tenpa Tsering made Tsultrim Rinchen Chief Editor of Derge's most ambitious publishing project yet—a new edition of the Tengyur (bstan 'gyur), the commentarial literature on the Buddhist scripture. This project, like the Kangyur and Sakya Kambum publications, was a significant undertaking requiring a staff of hundreds, including managers, editors, scribes, artists, paper makers, wood cutters, block carvers, and others. The management of this huge project occurred at a personally difficult time for Tsultrim Rinchen. During work on the Tengyur, his mother passed away in Denma. Not long after that, Tenpa Tsering and Tashi Lhundrub also passed away (in 1738 and 1739, respectively). While these deaths slowed the pace of the Tengyur project, work continued nevertheless.

By 1740, the treatises on the sutras and sciences consisting of 128 volumes had been edited and written out by the scribes. Editing and writing out of the treatises on tantras was completed in 1743 and the entire project concluded in 1744. At the request of the Derge King Puntsok Tenpa, (phun tshogs bstan pa, 1714-1751), also known as Kunga Trinle Gyatso (kun dga' phrin las rgya mtsho), Tsultrim Rinchen wrote the catalog for the new Derge edition of the Tengyur. This work, more than just a catalog of texts in the Tengyur, contains a lengthy history and treatise on the Tibetan Buddhist canonical collections as well as a detailed history of the Derge kingdom. The Tengyur project required a renovation and addition to the Derge Printing House in order to accommodate all the new blocks. Tsultrim Rinchen supervised and took part in the painting of the murals to decorate the walls of the new addition. He wrote a catalog of this project, too, which includes descriptions of the design of the murals and the work involved in building and decorating the new printing house.

Due to his work on the Sakya Kambum and Tengyur projects at the Derge Printing House, he became known as the 'Great Editor' (zhu chen). He remained in Derge for much of the latter part of his life and continued to engage in editorial work at the Derge Printing House. A number of colophons from Derge publications during the 1740s carry his signature, including such Tibetan classics as The Five Chronicles (thang yig sde lnga), Buton's History of the Dharma (bus ton chos 'byung), and The Life and Songs of Milarepa (mi la ras pa'i rnam thar dang mgur 'bum). Most of these publications, according to their colophons, were requested by the thirty-fourth abbot of Ngor, Pelden Chokyong (ngor mkhan chen 34 dpal ldan chos skyong, 1702-1760), a close associate of Tsultrim Rinchen during the former's sojourn in Derge throughout much of the 1740s and 50s.

From 1753-55, Tsultrim Rinchen was the Chief Editor of the fourteenth-century Nyingma master Longchen Rabjampa Drime Wozer's (klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer, 1308-1364) Seven Treasuries (mdzod bdun), the first major Nyingma publication from the Derge Printing House. Jann Ronis has suggested that the choice of Tsultrim Rinchen, a Sakya scholar, as Chief Editor on the project was probably a result of its Nyingma proponent's anxiety over its acceptance at the Sakya institution; advocates from Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon), where the project was spearheaded, probably felt that the inclusion of the Sakya Tsultrim Rinchen as Editor would help their project gain acceptance at the Derge court.¹

Today, the Derge Printing House holds a collection of close to 300,000 printing blocks, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Great Editor Tsultrim Rinchen. During his time in Derge, he oversaw the creation of tens of thousands of printing blocks. We know from his descriptions of the editorial process in his catalogs and colophons, as well as comments in his autobiography, that he took his editorial responsibilities seriously. This fact, along with his reputation as a scholar of grammar and the literary arts, certainly contributed to the high esteem generally paid to Derge editions within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

In addition to his work at the printing house, Tsultrim Rinchen continued to plan and supervise artistic works, focusing particularly on illustrations of the narratives of the Buddha's previous lives from the Wish-fulfilling Vine (dpag bsam 'khri shing) and images of the sixteen arhats. For example, he supervised a set of paintings illustrating episodes from the Wish-Fulfulling Vine commissioned by Pelden Chokyong in 1750. Over the following few years, he received several more commissions to paint either tangkas or murals relating to the Wish-fulfilling Vine. Nancy Lin writes on this period of his work that "Zhuchen's services were in great demand and his reputation as a desirable artistic director for Vine paintings must have been well-established by this point." His work on the arhats included revising a set of previously existing xylographic illustrations of the famous group of Indian Buddhist elders, modifying them slightly and adding illustrations of Dharmatāla and Hvashang.²

From 1751 to 1752 he supervised the renovation, including the execution of new murals and sculptures, for the Chode Temple (chos sde'i gtsug lag khang), a royal monastery of Derge in his home area of Denma. This was a significant project—the monastery was almost completely rebuilt and a group of over sixty people worked on the paintings. The work was sponsored by the Derge court. He wrote catalogs for two more similar projects to build, paint, and furnish monasteries. The first was the building of Ganden Namgyel Ling (dga' ldan rnam rgyal gling) in Denma undertaken in the early 1760s, for which he composed a catalog in 1763. The second was the building of Yilhung Lhagyel Chode (yid lhung lha rgyal chos sde), for which he composed a catalog in 1764.

Toward the end of his life, he was requested by his disciple Lhundrub Puntsok (lhun grub phun tshogs) to sketch a series of five paintings illustrating Tsultrim Rinchen's own life. On this project, like several other previous ones, he collaborated with Lhundrub Puntsok and two brothers from Karma Lhateng (karma lha stengs). To accompany the paintings, Tsultrim Rinchen composed a short autobiographical work in verse.

Tsultrim Rinchen died on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in 1774, the wood-horse year of the thirteenth sexagenary cycle. His body was cremated and the remains interred in a silver stupa. Tsultrim Rinchen, although steeped in the Sakya Ngor tradition, was known as someone who cut across sectarian affiliations in his associations and scholarly endeavors. His editing work, as seen above, spanned across several Tibetan Buddhist traditions and his writings include works related to Nyingma and Kagyu practice. He is said to have had many disciples throughout Kham to whom he taught the Lamdre teachings and, perhaps more significantly, he is often credited with initiating a renaissance of learning in the language arts, visual arts, and medicine in the Kham region through his teaching and writing on these subjects. One of his closest disciples was his nephew, Ngawang Gelek Lhundrub (ngag dbang dge legs lhun grub), who supplemented Tsultrim Rinchen's autobiography with details about his final year and death.

Among his other disciples were Gelukpa figures such as Rabjampa Sonam Rabten (rab 'byams pa bsod nams rab brtan) and members of the Derge court including the twelfth king of Derge. Lodro Gyatso (blo gros rgya mtsho, 1722-1774) and his sister Derge Queen Yangchen Dolma (sde dge rgyal mo dbyangs can sgrol ma, d.1786).

Tsultrim Rinchen is remembered as a virtuoso in composing both prose and verse, and his writings were collected and printed at Derge in ten volumes. His diverse literary oeuvre contains, among other things, ornate poetry (including a verse biography of the Buddha, collections of letters exemplifying his mastery of poetic forms, and many eulogistic verses); his famous two-volume record of teachings received (gsan yig); biographical works, including his own lengthy autobiography; catalogs and records of various artistic, publishing, and construction projects; and a large body of work on tantric practice and ritual.

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Image source: http://www.sothebys.com/fr/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/the-richard-magdalena-ernst-collection-n09800/lot.966.html

¹ Ronis, 143-45.

² Lin, 151.