It appears that if they had followed the great
decipherment of the symbolic script of the <;Iakinjs this text would have turned out as long as Sangye Lingpa's Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention.
decipherment of the symbolic script of the <;Iakinjs this text would have turned out as long as Sangye Lingpa's Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
Some he established by glancing at the symbolic script, or because, without efforts, they were self-clarifying in the expanse of his intention.
During these occasions Guru Rinpoche appeared in person, or in the forms of the various treasure-finders, and bestowed upon him the maturation and liberation [of the treasures] in their entirety, all at once.
With most wonderful perseverance, his emi- nence Jamgon Lodro Thaye implored Khyentse Rinpoche again and again to rediscover even a portion of the ancient treasures of which the lineages had been broken altogether.
Accordingly, he found a great many close lineages of reconcealed treasure.
These are preserved in the Store of Precious Treasure.
(iv) Concerning his profound treasures of intention: In 1848 (earth monkey), his twenty-ninth year, while en route to Central Tibet, Khyentse Rinpoche performed the feast offering of the tenth day at Cangdrok Gegyel. Guru Rinpoche actually revealed himself to him and gave his blessing. When Khyentse Rinpoche offered worship before the representative image of Saroruhavajra at Samye, which had been discovered among the treasures of Nyang-rel Nyima Ozer, the image actually turned into Saroruhavajra and gave him blessing and instruc- tion, on the basis of which he brought forth the Doctrinal Cycle of the Innermost Spirituality ofSaroruha, which is the Secret Attainment, among the Three Cycles of the Means for the Attainment of the Guru (bla-sgrub skor-gsum-gyi gsang-sgrub mtsho-skyes snying-thig-gi chos-skor). I n January/February 1855 (rgyal zla-ba, wood tiger), during his thirty-fifth year, when he performed the rites of the service and attainment of the
Immortal Wish-granting Wheel ['chi-med yid-bzhin 'khor-lo, the name of a form of White Tara] he actually beheld the visage of the sublime Tara, who harmoniously chanted her ten-syllable mantra and blessed him. 1183 Later, when he had also been blessed by three masters who had accomplished immortality,1184 he brought forth the Doctrinal Cycle ofthe Innermost Spirituality ofthe Sublime Lady (,phags-ma'i snying-thig-gi chos-skor). The origins of the Cycle of the Innermost Spirituality of the Accomplished Master have already been described [po 804]. These treasures ofKhyentse Rinpoche are supreme among the treasures ofinten- tion, for they comprise verses ofindestructible reality which are no diffe- rent from the tantras, and are beyond the conceptions ofordinary people.
(v) Concerning Khyentse Rinpoche's recollections: Once, while travelling in Tibet, when he passed through the lower valley of Uyuk
. l"b ration and supportmg , . . maturatIOn, 1 , . Throu h his experiential cultIvatIon,
ingly rare contInUOUS teaching and propagatIOn of them,
h g kindled the dying embers of e re
the teaching. . .
(ii) Concermng hIS earth ·nzang the dakinI of pristine
. In his twentieth year, when Khyentse Rinpoche went to Tra mar n chest' it he extracted
. . 11 offeredhimatreasure· R cogmtIOn actua Y C · nate One as Mind at
est the Doctrinal Cycle of the. Great _ and the remains of
(thugs-rje chen-po sems-nyzd Nyingdrung he brought
twenty-one brahmans. From A . t of the Guru's Four Bodzes of h M fior the ttammen OJ
the Cycle OJ t e eans . d relics emanated from a tooth (bla-ma sku-bzhi'i out and offered to him by [the of Guru Rinpoche. These u Yutso he discovered the Cycle
protector] Nyencen Thang a. t rtsa-gsum sgyu-'phrul drva-ba'i of the Magical Net of the the of the Universal Gathering skor); and at Terlung Pemel . , k· skor) which was brought out of the Three. Roots (rtsa-gsum to him. In addition to
by the magIcal power of the . t for some of the root texts he
these there many b:t for the Cycle ofthe Attainment
was not permItted. to . IS t em· s-s rub yid-bzhin nor-bu'i skor) thu
of Mind as the Wzsh-fulfzllmg Gem ( g gbh aBed] "Blazing with . . ge [of Padmasam ava, c
and the representatIVe. lma " hich rested at Tsike Norbu Piinsum;
the Glory of AccomplIshment ,w t nd establish them.
d Ch ur Lingpa to extrac a
ogy of the Means for the Attainment of the
G
he exhorte
In general, the Four Cycles OJ CI 1'the Great Perfection whzch
u. ru (bla-sgrub skor bzhi-ka), the Three . asses o(b . o'i thugs-tig rdzogs-chen
are the Innermost Spirituality of Valrocalna b aln-r combined treasure ppear to have aso ee the d .
sde-gsum), et cetera, a L. [which they discovere ] m troves of this master and Chogyur mgpa,
com m on. . t asures which supplement them: (iii) Concermng the reconcealed re) Guru Rinpoche appeared to
In 1859 (do:z-grub, great treasure-finder Sangye Khyentse Rlnpoche ill the lorm 0
JamyangKhyentse Wangpo 857
858 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
in Tsang, he remembered precisely the place and time at which, for- merly, as the great Cetsun, he had passed away in the body of light. On the basis of this, he established the Innennost Spirituality of Cetsiin (lce-btsun snying-thig). 1185 Then, when he remembered his previous life as Langdro Konjung, he brought to light the Attainment of Longevity) the Innennost Spirituality of Vairocana (tshe-sgrub bai-ro'i thugs-tig), the Alchemy ofWhite Sirrzhavaktra (seng-gdong dkar-mo'i bcud-len) , et cetera.
(vi) Concerning his pure visions: As exemplified by the aforemen- tioned Cycle ofInstructions on CalJejalz) Mother ofLife) from the Innennost Spirituality ofImmortality (,chi-med thugs-tig-gi tshe-yum tsalJeja-lf'i gdams- skor), a recension of the Means for the Attainment of the Guru according to the Innennost Spirituality of Longcenpa) [entitled] "Sealed with the Seminal Point)) (klong-chen snying-thig-gi bla-sgrub thig-le'i rgya-can-gyi
yig-cha) ,1186 and the Meansfor the Attainment ofthe Guru Chogyur Lingpa) the Gathering of the Families of the Three Bodies (mchog-gling bla-sgrub sku-gsum rigs-'dUS),1187 there were undoubtedly many, but he confined the actual propagation to those alone.
(vii) Concerning the aural lineage: While Khyentse Rinpoche was residing in the great pilgrimage centre of Dzongsho Deshek Dupa, he had a pure vision in which he approached the Sailkarakuta Caitya. There, in each of the eight directions there were arrayed the Eight Emanations of the Guru, and, at the centre, all of them gathered together as Guru Rinpoche. They bestowed upon him, as an aural lineage, the heart of the maturation and liberation of the Eight Transmitted Precepts of Great Attainment, the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Magical Net, and so forth; and he established them.
All the above constitutes merely the essence of Khyentse Rinpoche's secret career.
In his seventy-thirq year, after completing, for the while, such marvel- lous and wonderful deeds, on the morning of Monday 18 April 1892 (twenty-first day, second month, water male dragon year), 1188 Khyentse Rinpoche scattered some flowers and gave many benedictions, after which, equipoised in contemplation, he withdrew from the array of his physical body into the expanse of the great master Vimalamitra's inten- tion. Thereafter, just as had been prophesied, his emanational basis at Mount Wu-t'ai-shan made simultaneously manifest the array of five emanational bodies. 1189 So it is that [as the several Khyentse Rinpoches] he has performed, and continues to perform, inconceivable acts on behalf of the teaching and living creatures.
25 ]amgiin Kongtrnl Lodro Thaye
[676 5-693 6] Jam . .
. . gon
y"
onten Gyamtso Lod . . Th 1190 presence of the great translator V . { o aye
was the actual pr. ophesied him in both name . . BU. dd. ha himself clearly
Kmg ofContemplation:
I prophesy one Lodro Thaye
' as It IS saId In the Sutra ofthe
will do much to benefi/sentient beings the conqueror Maitreya, of infinite n whose hand rests supreme contemplation. '
Also itsaysinth S- . +h
' . e utra OJ t e Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, v. 803):
In penod following that, A gUIde who is called Lodro Will teach five knowledges
And come forth as a great warrior.
Moreover, he was clearly and .
kin? of the doctrine, in the by Orgyen, the anCIent and new treasure tr I e . ecies found In many
t h a t i n t h e p a s t t h i s m a s t e r ] . . n c o n f o r m I t y W I t h t h e s e [ i r i s k n o w n
and accomplished play great. learned Teacher's attendant Anand d h Ia and TIbet, IncludIng the was the emanation of [the ; ? reat translator Vairocana, who
ated the teaching of the C a airocana; and thus he had elucid- Th . . onqueror.
en, thIS magIcal emanation t k b' h
the hidden valley ofRon a h00 Irt, as had been indicated, in
Zelmogang Dokam t gy p. at t e approach to Perna Lhartse in Drida
d ' ,a sunnse on Thursd 2 D ay, tenth month wate b· d ay
ecember 1813 (tenth Tendzin o/thir ;urteenth cycle). 1191 His father was ters, and his mother w eh Ing y. _hyung . clan of accomplished mas-
abilities beyond the ran:: t e Trash! Tsho. He had wondrous f
holy visionaries and many supreme and t
man, who would maintain the teaching a great . IS CI oodgamesre-
860 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures .
. ns as conferring empowerment, teachmg flected only such refined actio F hl·S fifth year he mastered the
alphabet, among other or s d cor Orgyen Rinpoche was ef- . t Undlvlde regar l' .
shown the s c n P . · . . d in reality, contemplative expenences, fortlessly born wlthm hIm, an '. .
and commentaries on the intention of the dialectical vehicle, of which
the foremost were the Madhyamaka, Transcendental Perfection, Vin-
aya, the Treasury of the Abhidharma, and the [Five] Doctrines of Mait-
reya. He also studied all the utterly uncommon transmitted precepts
and treasures, which are the great tantrapitaka of the ancient and new
traditions. His learning, which was not dependent on others, became
like the expanse of sky, whereby he obtained the exalted level to which
. d ·(ng mantras. rom
. .
the doctnne, an reC1l . t ] t dy and reflection, by Just bemg U
and dreams he had only pure
sities of his prevIoUS trammg, da? ,WI nd the other sciences at just a
Kongtrtil awoke to the propen- From about tenth. y. ear, a firm resolve to enter the true
the renowned title of Sarvajiianamahapar! 4ita applied.
l192
is meaningfully
. h I e d art me ! CIne, a h d·d doctnne, e earn , . htforward and gentle, and e 1
glance. His temperament was stralg . ve power of his knowledge ex- h· The expressl h
not transgress IS vows. d th r ways he clearly revealed t e panded these range ofall. Without attributes of a holy w 1 ted them through the power of
striving after necessItieS, he accumu a
great merit. r hed tutors such as Gyurme Under many learned and accom: IS ho knew' the five sciences,
Thutop Namgyel of a pal)ci common sciences. Among Jamgon Kongtrtil's d· d many transmitted precepts
Jamgon Kongtrtil took the revered Camgon Ta'i Situ Perna Nyinje Wangpo as the crown of his enlightened family [i. e. as his root guru]. It was this Situ Rinpoche who disclosed to him the ultimate and defin- itively secret pristine cognition of co-emergent supreme bliss, as exemplified by the nectar of the three vows; and, in doing so, granted him dominion over the essential true lineage.
In particular, in the presence of more than fifty spiritual benefac- tors,1193 without partiality, the foremost of them being Khyentse Wangpo, the embodiment of Jamgon Kongtrtil pursued all the traditions of the paths of the eight conveyances, the lineages of attainment, which had survived in the Land ofSnows; and he completely received the entire profound essence of their maturation, liberation, and instructions. Not leaving any of these as subjects to be studied once, he experientially cultivated each of them and so, with fervent perseverance, raised the banner ofattainment until he had accomplished the attributes which are signs of [success on] the path, just as they are described in the texts. In this way he fully mastered the two accomplish- ments.
When the vase of Jamgon Kongtrtil's mind had been filled with textual exegeses and oral explanations of the transmitted precepts, treatises, tantras, transmissions and esoteric instructions, along with their rituals, practical techniques, and fine points, he·too composed treatises. These form the wonderful legacy of his studies, reflections, and meditations:
(i) The Store which Embraces All Knowledge (shes-bya kun-la khyab-pa'i mdzod) excellently presents the entire corpus of the siitra and mantra traditions, from the paths of the common sciences all the way up to the uncommon Great Perfection, or Atiyoga, which is the culmination of the nine vehicles.
(ii) The Store of Precious Instructions (gdams-ngag rin-po-che'i mdzod) brings together the essential roots of the eight great conveyances, which are lineages of attainment, and the utterly profound essences of their maturation and liberation.
(iii) The Mantra Store of the Lineages of Transmitted Precepts (bka'- brgyud sngags-kyi mdzod) gathers together the means for attainment and mal). cJala ceremonies, and the maturation and liberation, of the trio of
the uncommon, inner SCIences,
e stu Ie
Jamgon Kongtriil £odro Thaye
Jamgiin Kongtrill Lodro Thaye 861
862 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
- antaka (yang-phur-gshin-gsum) and ot? er trans-
]amgijn Kongtriil Lodrtj Thaye 863
Above all, concerning ]amgon Kongtriil's succession to the transmit- ted precepts ofprofound treasures: When the master was in his fifteenth year he met Guru Rinpoche in a pure vision and received his blessing. On that basis many profound, pure visionary doctrines and numerous
Successions to the transmitted precepts of the earth treasures came to him, but he remained indifferent to them. Hence, for the time being, the auspicious coincidence was lost, owing to which it so happened
that inwardly there were signs of the <. Iiikinls' agitation, and outwardly, too, he appeared to be extremely ill. At that time [his consciousness] transferred out of his body, whether in reality or in a dream he could not tell. He met Guru Rinpoche and his consort and conversed with
them a great deal. Finally, they advised him to retake his incarnate existence, at which he experienced himselfto be back in his own physical frame. Encouraged by that dream omen, and by the venerable ]amyang Khyentse Wangpo, he established the PrayerfUl Offering to the Gracious
Goddess (bka'-drin lha-mo'i gsol-kha), whereupon a most radiant spher- ical canopy of rainbows arose in the cloudless sky, and his physical
constitution, too, became clear [i. e. free from ailment].
When Jamgon Kongtriil was performing the rites of service and attainment for the Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention, in a dream he met Guru Rinpoche who conferred on him the blessing of the four empow-
erments, along with the syllables ofthe mantra, saying "This will remove
obstacles to your life during this [astrologically inauspicious] year.
Later, in a few years, we shall meet in reality and my instructions and
advice will come forth gradually. " [How] the meaning intended [came to pass will be revealed below].
During his fortieth year Jamgon Kongtriil met the great treasure- finder Chogyur Lingpa for the first time, and their minds were merged together. He applied in practice the special prophetic inventories which he was given. Furthermore, when they opened the place of pilgrimage
at Dzongsho Deshek Diipa, the all-seeing Khyentse Rinpoche and the great treasure-finder Chogyur Lingpa together requested the master to be seated upon the lofty throne of the doctrine in Citta Sangpuk (Secret
Cave of Mind). There, they presented him with great offerings as an auspicious token, in connection with which they rang the great bell proclaiming his enthronement under the title Chime Tenyi ¥ungdrung Lingpa, which had been conferred upon him by Orgyen, the knower
of the three times. Afterwards, they offered him fervent requests, in connection with prayers for his continuing longevity, concerning the need to restore the auspicious circumstance [for the discovery] of pro-
found treasure, which previously had declined. In this way, the door of good auspices was opened wide.
Then, gradually, as had been predicted by the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche, the inventory of treasure at Lhamdo Burmo Trak came into ]amgon Kongtrtil's 'possession and the master himself developed ex-
Kzla, and Yam hicle of indestructible reality accordIng to the mltted precepts of the ve d h f the tantrapitaka cycles of the
Ancient Translation School, an t ose 0 k .
. h 1of Marpa and Ngo .
new translatIOn sc 0 0 , distils the elixir or refined essence
(iv) The Store ofPrecwus Treasured of the ocean of profound treasures
the Ancient Translation School.
. ed from the sixfold lineage of env
z'n pa'z' mdzod) forms the -
St (thun-mong ma-y
(v. a) The Uncommon ore" Kon trill's own profound treasures,
secret, special wealth of Jamgodn g ts which will be explained including the yellow scrolls an sacramen ,
below. , d Precepts (rgya-chen bka'- (v. b) The Extensive of he composed, and which
mdzod) compiles the vanous opuscu es . d above . h [h ther Stores] mentlone
.
are connected wlt e 0 "I wI brought forth five great stores
In this way Jamgon Kongtru ne Yd nted l'n the world. These are h' h were unprece e . d
or conveyances, w I C " ed works" of one who, having obtame
not merely the so-called from study and thought in each
some general understandmg . b a writer and the deSIre to d by the deSIre to e .
on d few texts devoid of praiseworthy ments. compose, and so. authore a i d the vitality of all contmuous Rather, it is as If they as their death approached.
field, was urge
' r which produced over . J "n Kongtru s caree ,
transmissions of the teachmg, wlt
So if we examme amgo . , . as ifhe spent his whole
ninety volumes of wonderful scnpture, It IS
life as an author. . . ks of his teaching and propagation of the None the less, If one thIn . , t uctl'ons recitational transmlS-
'd e esotenc Ins
empowerments, gUI anc , , d new sutras and tantras, an
d
(. " th of the anCIent an h' sions, and so lor , 'thout bias it is as if he spent IS
' d ts and treasures, WI ,
transmltte precep ' A n d if one investIgates ow,
whole life an? and purification, beginning wlth the y g of creation and perfection as- he experientially t e f mandalas it seems as if he sociated with myna up with mud. passed the length of hIS. hfe m a "Kongtrtil expanded the new
Likewise, if one conSIders how amgfon, ent in Tsandra Rincen
' , t the places 0 attamm
monastic commumtles a " a n d how he renovated many 0
ld
T akl194 and Dzongsho Deshek Dupa, , b f new repres- r " d ' oncelVable num ers 0
establishments, commlSSIOne mc h d 'nd performed more than
entations of the buddha-body, speec mIt l'n'volvl'ng mandala clus-
' f at attammen , ,
one hundred and fifty ntes 0 gre P , Jewels and venerated the
the Three recIOus ,
' 1 ' connection WIth the ten
hort hIS egacym ,, 1 monastic commumty - m s . . ' . e assed his whole life diligent y
h'
ters offered wors lp to
' "
modes of doctnnal conduct -It IS as Ifh, l? t In these ways [hIS career] , h f work and aCtlvi y, ,
engaged m the sp each of those who are truly sublIme. was inconceivable, wnhm only the r
r,
'h
864 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures h d
. . In his fifty-eighth year he extracted t e oc-
traordinary clear he Three Roots' Intention (rtsa-gsum dgongs-pa trines of the Gathenng oft . . in Lhamdo Burmo. From Kumcok Decen 'dus-pa) from Decen Pemako 11 f the Doctrinal Background for
Cave he brought forth (rtsa-gsum the Gathenng of the T. ree b f Hllmkara et cetera; from Un rgyab-chos shog-ser), the secret ro e 0 image of Guru Pad-
Jetsun Cave in Fortune's Glory", longevity masambhava called Blazmg d d at Maratika, the great
R· he had compoun e
pills which Guru mpoc r g. us king Trhisong Detsen's sash
Preceptor robe, the re I I0 h. Terdzong the Doctrinal
]amgon Kongtrill Lodro· Thaye 865 Chogyur Lingpa had unearthed the doctrinal treasure of the Attainment ofMind, the DisPelkr ofAll Obstacks, but had not been able to establish
its yellow scroll, Khyentse Rinpoche had helped by assisting With the establishment. So, on this particular occasion, too, he promised to help Jamgiin Kongtriil with the establishment of the Gathen'ng of the Three
Roots'Intention, the Group ofDoctrines which Gather Together the Five
Great Stores in their Entirety (rtsa-gsum dgongs-'dus mdzod-chen rnam-lnga
yongs-'dus-kyi chos-sde). Then, gradually, the mantra protectress Ekajarj
clearly revealed in visions on two Occasions the decipherment of the
symbolic scripts, the time to release the sealed transmitted precepts, and so forth.
Once, especially, during the evening of the twenty-ninth, [month and year unspecified], the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche experienced a pure vision of the guru, Jamgiin Kongtriil himself, manifested in the
form of the accomplished awareness-holder HUl)lkara, whereupon there
arose within him a visionary clarity in which he was given the empow-
erments, guidance, and esoteric instructions of the Gathering of the
Three Roots' Intention. He said that owing to this the entire significance of the yellow scroll clearly emerged from his mind.
Also, among [the texts of] the Gathering ofthe Three Roots' Intention, the two Jamgons together catalogued the Group of Doctrines of the Su- preme Attainment of the Guru, the Awareness-holder (bla-ma rig-'dzin mchog-sgrub-kyi chos-sde).
It appears that if they had followed the great
decipherment of the symbolic script of the <;Iakinjs this text would have turned out as long as Sangye Lingpa's Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention. None the less, they agreed that if they were to follow the medium de-
cipherment it would be of a suitable intermediate length, and that this would be best. They had established only about six chapters when they were interrupted by the visit of certain aristocrats and the venerable
f M ng Trugu Tras 1 ,
r o m _ . n 0 t h e G a t h e r i n g o f t h e T h r e e R o o t s
, Background for the f? aktn! khif,_,gro'i rgyab-chos), the Cycle ofthe
a n d s o f o r t h ;
Intention dgongs-/j's -raMother ofLife (tshe-yum tsalJej,a-lf'z
if
scrolls of the Cycles of the . sgrub-skor-gyi shog-ser), the
Hayagrfva (tshe-dpag-med rta-mgnn . from Tsang-rok Trashi ·11 f M ndarava et cetera, .
longevity pI s 0 a d 'ellow scrolls of the Meansfor the Attam-
Tsekdzong the sacraments an y -brgyad-kyi dam-rdzas dang sgrub-
ment ofthe Eight Closest Sons (nye-srcas f Yeshe Tshogyel at Tsandra ) d f the Secret ave 0 h
thabs shog-ser ; an rom £ h h ellow scroll of the cycles of t e
Rincen Trak,. he brought Transmitted Precepts olthe Father
Means for the Attamment 0 alJ. k Sheldrak Odzong, the yellow sgrub-skor), among others; : : n s ; ; :he Attainment of Amitayus and
means for attamment belongmg . r h Mother Consort of the Secret h 7: ittedPreceptsOJ te )
Consort and t. 1 h. b-bka'yum-bka'i sgrub-skor shog-ser ,
Innermost Spzntualuy (gsang-t z? ya 1 reness-ho1ders 1195 and so . f h· t n Immorta awa ,
the longevity pIlls 0 t lr ee h also found an indescribable n Together with each treasure trove e 1 b.
o . . 1 brme sacramenta 0 Jects.
number of exceedmg y su 1 . hl. ch did not come into
t"ll certam treasures w
Moreover, there s 1 . time and circumstance, though they
the master's . by t the venerable Khyentse Rin-
were within hIS dommIOn. ue tOto the treasure guardians, the
poche's proclamation s ommissioned and discovered
C
treasure-finder Lerap Lmgpa was d b the great treasure-finder
Khyentse Wangpo fell ill. That the time to discover the remaining portion was lost appears to have been the fault of the feeble merits of
h t 0 were extracte
some; and ot ers, 0 , h Chogyur Lingpa. These were t en
y . . ded over to the master [Jamgon
the world at large. 1197
During that period, whatever first arose in the venerable Jamgon
Kongtrtil] himself.
On such occasions as these, at t ou
tset in conformity with the ld begin by collaborating
prophetic inventories, two. J way. When the profound
in the performance of vanous tO . .
. h· posseSSIOn, Jamgon
Kongtrtil gave them all to
treasures came mto IS
.
C'
The latter too belore an
d
h
after arrayed many ceremon . . K tru. . l was bringing fort t e
the venerable K
yentse
W ngpo to mspect. a . f'C'.
" . 1 nd mandalas of matena
h h
Kongtriil's mind subsequently developed effortlessly, like the flow of a river. I;>akinls congregated and many other extraordinary omens oc- curred. Once, at dawn, he experienced a clear vision in which there
appeared a perfectly arrayed temple. Inside ofit sat one who, he thought, was Guru Rinpoche in essence, but the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche
in form, and Whose body of light, [the coalescence of] appearance and emptiness, revealed no definite form. Jamgon Kongtriil bowed down in reverence and repeated after Khyentse Rinpoche the refuge, cultiva-
tion of the enlightened attitUde, and sevenfold service according to the
Daily Yoga of the Awareness-holder Crig-'dzin rgyun-gyi rnal-'byor).
Khyentse Rinpoche, having performed the creation of the deity and the invocation of bleSSing, then took up a vase and placed it on the
an
131feast0lenngsa . . h h
' . 1 hnJamgonong
offering. In partlcu ar, w e h . . r the Three Roots Intentwn
. f the Gat enng OJ h
great doctnnal treasure 0 f£ rings of gifts. Previously, w en Khyentse Rinpoche made profuse 0 e
,.
866 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
crown of Jamgon Kongtriil's head. He conferred on him the secret empowerment consisting of the "enlightened mind" [produced] in union with a consort. In the empowerment of discerning pristine cognition,
he entrusted him with awareness in the form of a woman. Then, Khyentse Rinpoche projected forth from his heart a crystal and showed
it to Jamgon Kong
from the depths, like a piece of crystal. Whatever arises is the expression
of luminosity, spontaneously present, just like the luminouS glow of a crystal radiating outwards. " Having conferred introduction on him that way,\198 his body vanished. Then, reappearing in the form of an active
heruka, he instantly summoned the protectors of the transmitted pre-
cepts and treasures, so that it was as if [the place] was seething with on
, Jamgon Kongt "zLo
gnmage, and, in conformit . ru dro Thaye 867
aged [to discover] th ' y WIth them, Chogyur Lin
open their gates H e gUidebooks to these pilgrim gpa was encour-
of the Twenty-ji;e Padrak he discovered and to open the gates to tho : gnmage Places, due to which ham nventory
following the orders th aces of pilgrimage, and so fort: able to d,tIOns of the lac e venerable Khyentse Rin . oreover, of pilgrimage :rP es of pIlgrimage at Aliii Peldeu all the con- bythesupremeJewar. 'whIchISanadjunctofTsand t egreatplace
Th amgon Kongtriil.
Kong
(lam-z
triil
ab
recitational transmission,
When Jamgo
triil
, saying, "All things are primordially pure, clear
Kongtriil was entrusted with their transmitted precepts. Then, after Khyentse Rin- poche had granted permissory initiation and the entrustment of his
instructions, Jamg
prophetic inventories, at the end of which he was roused from this spiritual experience. During the song of indestructible reality at [a
subsequent] feast offering blissful heat forcefully arose within him and he grew exhilarated. Other signs marking the great descent of blessing
also emerged,
The yellow scroll of the Father Consort and Mother Consort, [Trans-
mitted Precepts] of the Secret Innermost Spirituality (gsang-thig yab-yum)
was also established with the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche. Jamgon
himself established the Seven Chapters on the Profound Path /e'u-bdun-ma) and had a pure vision of one Pema Rikdzin, in the guise of Guru Padmasambhava, who thrice conferred on him its
Kongtriil reported to the venerable guru [Khyentse Rinpoche] that he had reason to discover, at Dagam Wangpuk, the Doctrinal Cycle of the Means for the Attainment of the Seven Lines (tshig-
bdun sgrub-thabs-kyi chos-skor) in the form of a pure vision and aural lineage, he was offered representative symbols of the five wheels of inexhaustible ornament, as well as writing materials, and was encour-
aged to establish it. Accordingly, when he had mostly completed its establishment the twO masters together performed the feast offering of the emanational body, Saroruhavajra, and the venerable Khyentse Rin-
poche experienced extraordinary visions,
When he established the Means for the Attainment of TroW Cgro-lod
sgrub-thabs) at the "tiger den" of Rongme Karmo, the tWO masters performed feast offerings together, at which time the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche had a vision of tWO huge scorpions, white and
black. He said that it was a portent of great severity1199
Clear visions arose in which the "palaces" of both Tsandra Rincen Trak and Dzongsho Deshek Diipa appeared to be great places of pil-
Katok, Pelyiil, Z::ce: individuals Un schools Dyapa, Gelukpa, Drigungpa Taklu cen, a ong with adherents
. . Irectly and indir I . ' ngpa and Karma Ka kmdness and by ect y, h,S service to livin b ' mtsang
tured], expanded sacramental by tf:hat WIdeth d Ionssothathis rh anuac-
their presence. At Khyentse Rinpoche's order Jamg
on
. e oor for all connections with h' en Ig tened activity opened urIng hIS empowerments' 1m to be meaningful
n
Kongtriil heard many verses, which seemed like
D
and so forth, there were of great attainment, feast s
e empowerments d ' , established b J " a n transmISSIOns worthy dis 'YI amgon Kongtrtil spread far
. CIPes,whowereh d d
ra,. were mdicated d '
clodmbmon: nectar boiled; °flmens which all could
u esensed ,ver owed;thef ' clouds sh at a great dIstance' there ragrance of elIxir
, owersoffl ,w ere canop' f ' ;:;ithrough the he
h
'ld ppearances as truly e '
,m stone, Because he dI'd eII d
ImpreSSIOns of his hand d notgraspa san
ve as a destroyer of b
bheen clearly stated in the In particular, t at h,S hfe would b IC mventory ofhis r £ a tructible reality and by means h. e hprolonged the dura'tIon of his rf,IS energy channeIs and currents eIg ty-seventh year his complexion 1 e,. so that when he reached grew clear again. In the less became youthful and
lOner greatness, were the SIgns of his accomplish-
IS manner Jamgon K " Y proven,
sonal d d ' ongtrul compl t d tor he
1899 (t:eenSt' hhIS eighty-seventh year T'h td while, his per-
y-Slxt da I , u r s ay 28 D
panied by m y, e eventh month earth . ecember
into the ex any wonderful miracles he withd Pflg yea,r),1201 accom- . panse ofthe mind of h '. . rew rom h,S bodil ar
III the western Citadel of _ t e spIrItual warrior ThopeI' T antapurI,1202
The number of di '
great mas ,sclples who issued from h
Yb ray urn utsel
fearless rr::;t:ra mconceivable, but amon; :nd mind of this
guru and di . Khyentse Wangpo S· ehoremost was the J
SCIP e to one another, the h' mce, t ey both were as armOlllOUS reputation of
of
the
d collections
an WIde among II h'
L' ages ofthe Treasures 868 History: Close me
" ,,1203 has been as well
"1
ho were both Jamgons 1 d the wind, to everyone from, earne
"Khyentse and Kongtru w
known up to, the present day the districts of Tlbet and
scholars to slmple cowherds,
, h' to others who Kham. d his entlre teac lngs .
Jamgon Kongtriil also entruste h h Iders ofthe Kagytipa teaChlng, became his true regents, namely, to t e °Drukpa Drigungpa, and Tak- including [the masters of) the being ;he fourteenth and fifd
lungpa subsects, ,among the Karmapa, and the tenth
th successive lllcarnatlons of a a and Ngorpa teachlllg,
teen h T-a'i Situ' to the holders of the SakYWp 0 1204 and Dzongsar elevent ' J g Loter angp . f including Thartse Ponlop reat holders of the teachlllg 0
. Cho}'e Ktinga Jamyang, to g M' ham Jamyang Namgyel, Ngan . nSh 1suchas lp . d
the Ancient Translatlo c, 0 0 , and the lords of my own the treasure-finder Lerap Llllgpa'1 _ the venerable Gyurme Ngedon family [i. e. my own root, gurus i un ne; and also to many
Wangpo and Jedrung rGelukpa school), reme individuals among the lWO "me and Trayap Dongtrtil Khec? Yeshe Kongpel, the preceptor ofhGYu all the innumerable major
Ngawang Tamco Gyamtso. In s and experienced masters, and and minor learned rea the region from Central
'rl'tual benefactors dunng that era,
Spl h er lower an T 'bet and Tsang to t e u p p , h
1 no one w 0 it appears that there was
disciple.
26 Mipham Jamyang Namgyel Gyamtso
d ml'ddle districts of Dokam,
d'd not become hlS persona
1
,1
[693. 6-713. 5] Mipham Jamyang Namgyel Gyamtso,1205 the great prom- ulgator of the teaching of the Ancient Translation School was born in 1846 (fire horse year, fourteenth cycle) at a place well known as Yacu Tingcung, on the banks of the slow-flowing [Yalung] River in Dokam. His father was Gonpo Targye of the Lha clan of Ju, and his mother was Mukpodongza Singcungma. His paternal uncle, On Lama Perna Targye, conferred the name Mipham Gyamtso as a crown upon him.
From his childhood he naturally possessed all the powers of the enlightened family of the greater vehicle, such as faith, renunciation, discriminative awareness, and compassion. From his sixth or seventh year he memorised the Ascertainment of the Three Vows and studied the preliminaries of astrology and divination. From about his tenth year on, he had an unobstructed command of reading and writing, and so he began to make all kinds of oral compositions. From the beginning of his twelfth year, he lived as an ordinary student and monk at Mehor Sa-nga Choling in Ju, which was a branch monastery of Zecen [Zhecen] Tenyi Targye Ling, in the doctrinal lineage of Orgyen Mindroling. At that time he was praised by all as a learned young monk.
In his fifteenth year Mipham studied for some days an ancient text of the Svarodaya and he learned it completely after praying to MafijusrI. He propitiated MafijusrI in the form of V§dlsirpha for eighteen months at the hermitage of Junyung and, by performing the pill rites (ril-bu'i las-sbyor),1206 he obtained extraordinary signs [of accomplishment]. From then on he did not fail to master whatever texts he chanced to examine, including those concerning siitras, mantras, and sciences. Therefore, he said that he did not have to study anything apart from simple exegetical transmissions. 1207
When he was in his seventeenth year disturbances in Nyarong caused all the nomadic herdsmen to migrate to Golok, and the venerable Mipham went there, toO. 1208 From about this time he became known for his great skill in arithmetic (sa_ris). 1209
870 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures 1 G _ . accom anied his maternal unc e yur
. ' toCentra 1e zang on a pllgnmage
From Peltrtil Orgyen Jikme Choki Wangpo, Mipham received the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction -to the Conduct of a Bodhisattva (Ch. 9) in five days, whereupon he totally mastered the words and meaning of the text in its entirety. Later, he also composed the Commentary on the Discriminative Awareness Chapter (sher-tfk), and so forth. 1211
In particular, practising the three means to delight the guru, he at- tended on the lotus feet of Perna Osel Do-nga Lingpa, or Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, who was the lord of his enlightened family [i. e. his root guru] owing to connections established through the deeds 'of his former lives. This master regarded Mipham as his unique inner spiritual son; so, having first given him the permissory initiation of White Maii-
jusrf according to the System of kfati, he opened for him the gateways of the doctrine. From that time onwards, as if filling a pot to the brim, Khyentse Rinpoche bestowed on Mipham many approaches to the ordinary and special textual traditions, the especially sublime texts of the sutras and of the mantras which had come down through his close lineages, and all the maturation, liberation, supporting transmis- sions, esoteric instructions, practical techniques, and guidance which lays bare the teaching, for all transmitted precepts, treasures, and pure visions belonging to the most secret vehicle of indestructible reality.
Moreover, at one time or another, he received the ordinary sciences from Jamgon Lodro Thaye, including the Grammar of Candragomin and the methods for refining mercury, as well as such special maturing empowerments and liberating instructions as those of Maiijusrf) Lord of Life) Iron-like and Iron-evil ('jam-dpal tshe-bdag lcags-'dra lcags- sdig). 1212 From many spiritual benefactors, including Padmavajra, the preceptor of Dzokcen Monastery, he received limitless cycles ofteaching concerning the sutras, mantras, and sciences. He did not just receive these teachings and leave it at that, but he truly cultivated them experi- entially. Primarily because Mipham had trained himself well during innumerable lives and so possessed the cultivated potential of the posit- ive enlightened family, and secondly, since [that potential] had been totally aroused by the guru's compassion and power to transfer the blessing of his intention, Mipham thoroughly mastered all the profound and vast topics of the Sugata's scriptures, by means of the four modes of genuine individual awareness, and without contradicting the four kinds of reliance. Thus, he mastered the vision of naturally present pristine cognition, which is extensive as the sky, and liberated the eight great treasures of brilliance.
From the spiritual benefactor Ju-on Jikme Dorje, Mipham received the transmission of the root text of the Verse Summation ofthe Transcend- ental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness, and immediately afterwards he discoursed upon it for one month. Then, when he studied the
In his eighteenth year Mlpham 1 T'b Pt during which he attended a
. ' monastlc college at a . Lh d k while on a side-tnp dunng w lC
. G nden Monastery
h' h
when he went to Kharcu ill ? l , e places in the south, ordinary
he travelled to many of the :1 appeared arose as the union
appearances were transforme an lW s he experienced the warmth of . . ess For severa day . f h 1 le
ofbhssandemptln. . d b theblesslng0 t at oca .
bliss He maintained that thlS seeme t. o. e ' n which a volume entitled . hh hadapureVislon1 .
On the road nort ell-Seeing Svarodaya dbyangs- the Crystal Mtrror of. the Great A e into his hands. How thlS took place
'char chen-mo shel-g)i2 me-long) cam k
is clearly stated at the end of that wor . "
'-
\. . . -
hTh for about one mont. en,
. . . ' fWh'teMan)uSn
according to the System of Matt signs of accomplishment
Lapkyapgon Wangcen Gyerap se during both the conferral
which are described in that text Yaro e 'of the subsequent "bean- d the penormanc M' h 's
of the empowermen;. an ) 1210 In this way the lotus of lP am sprout rites" 1 las-sbyor .
MiphamJamyangNamgyelGyamtso
.
On his return he received the
inltlatlOn 0 • '. I -dkar-gyi rjes-gnang) from
discernment blossomed.
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyamtso 871
872 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Introduction to the Madhyamaka under Ngawang lungne, the spiritual benefactor of Bumsar, he requested only the exegetical transmission, so as not to trouble that master. On the very day the master completed the exegetical transmission, he ordered Mipham to sit for an examina- tion. Starting from the very beginning, Mipham explained the Introduc- tion to the Madhyamaka with the result that the spiritual benefactor praised him in the midst of the assembly, saying, "Though I have obtained the title 'spiritual benefactor', I do not even possess a fraction of his intellect! "
In the presence of Ponlop Loter Wangpo he studied the Treasury of Logical Reason (tshad-ma rigs-gter); and from Solpon Perna he received the exegetical transmissions of varied texts, including the Doctrines of Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Level, through their continuous lineages alone. Immediately afterwards, Mipham gave extensive discourses upon them. Illustrated in this way, all the meanings of the siitras, tantras, and the commentaries on their intention poured forth spontaneously from his mind. He roamed freely, like a fearless lion, in the midst of the multitudes who propounded myriad textual traditions. That he was unimpeded in teaching, discourse, composition of textual comment- aries, and so forth, was demonstrably visible to all. No one at all could deny it.
The master himself said:
During my childhood there were many excellent spiritual benefactors of the ancient and new traditions alive, so it was like an era in which the wheel of the doctrine was turned. None the less, I did not study much apart from, in Peltriil Rinpoche's presence, the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva. Later, by the kindness of my guru and that of my favoured deity, the hard points of texts would become unravelled without great difficulty when I merely read over them. Moreover, during the beginning of my studies I found it easier to learn the works of the new schools and the texts of the ancient schools seemed hard to understand. Still, this being solely due to my own lack of understanding, I thought that these profound texts of the lineage of awareness-holders certainly harboured great essential points of true understanding. Apart from that, I did not experience the arising of doubts even for a moment. In consequence, my own discriminative awareness came to be fully mature. Later, when I looked at them, I saw that all the profound essential points were only to be found in the doctrinal traditions which had been transmitted through the precious lineages of the Ancient Translation School; so especially great certainty was born within me.
MiPhamJamyan N,
During that same p . d g amgyel Gyamtso 873
of indestructible realiteyno , the lord of refuges and hold m ' Khyentse R' h er . e to compose some textbooks ac e, commanded
tlOn. . ToComplywiththe ur'cormgtoOUrowntradi- own mtellect, holding onlY:h u s and to enrich my
querors in my heart I e precIOUS teaching of the co S-t ' composed n- u ra cycles and so forth Wh'l I some textbOoks on the
thetent f . 1ewassodoi I
e s 0 OUr own traditi ng, emphasised
some extent. But [the adh on, and expounded them to systems took them to be of] the other philosophical and so forth arriVed from and later many critical a been motivated to . . a quarters. Yet in fact I
co wnte m orde fi
and with the ho e r to. u fil my guru's
I? unng the present day the there bemg some benefit. tlOn School has almost b of the Ancient Transla- no light], a painted butter lamp
and . 1? qUlre as to just what are few W? O even consider tradItIOn's philosophical the essentIal points of Our other traditions. Apart rather, most simply imitate
such motivations as I never felt, even in
nons, or self-congratulatory 1It? towards other tradi- Pn
those Who possess the eye of . e. [m my own] - if even me, I have nothing of wh' h pnstme cognition gaze upon
As for What I h . IC to be ashamed! tI ave wntten in
so orth: Since I have not ob . response to my critics and Who are sublime how c 1 tamed the attributes of those fundities of d I ever understand all the pro-
be proven, or less, if I state what may precepts of the lure ymg upon the immaculate theIr mtention, which are the the commentaries on
promulgators of India and T'b amp-lIke Words of the great selftoo h .
(iv) Concerning his profound treasures of intention: In 1848 (earth monkey), his twenty-ninth year, while en route to Central Tibet, Khyentse Rinpoche performed the feast offering of the tenth day at Cangdrok Gegyel. Guru Rinpoche actually revealed himself to him and gave his blessing. When Khyentse Rinpoche offered worship before the representative image of Saroruhavajra at Samye, which had been discovered among the treasures of Nyang-rel Nyima Ozer, the image actually turned into Saroruhavajra and gave him blessing and instruc- tion, on the basis of which he brought forth the Doctrinal Cycle of the Innermost Spirituality ofSaroruha, which is the Secret Attainment, among the Three Cycles of the Means for the Attainment of the Guru (bla-sgrub skor-gsum-gyi gsang-sgrub mtsho-skyes snying-thig-gi chos-skor). I n January/February 1855 (rgyal zla-ba, wood tiger), during his thirty-fifth year, when he performed the rites of the service and attainment of the
Immortal Wish-granting Wheel ['chi-med yid-bzhin 'khor-lo, the name of a form of White Tara] he actually beheld the visage of the sublime Tara, who harmoniously chanted her ten-syllable mantra and blessed him. 1183 Later, when he had also been blessed by three masters who had accomplished immortality,1184 he brought forth the Doctrinal Cycle ofthe Innermost Spirituality ofthe Sublime Lady (,phags-ma'i snying-thig-gi chos-skor). The origins of the Cycle of the Innermost Spirituality of the Accomplished Master have already been described [po 804]. These treasures ofKhyentse Rinpoche are supreme among the treasures ofinten- tion, for they comprise verses ofindestructible reality which are no diffe- rent from the tantras, and are beyond the conceptions ofordinary people.
(v) Concerning Khyentse Rinpoche's recollections: Once, while travelling in Tibet, when he passed through the lower valley of Uyuk
. l"b ration and supportmg , . . maturatIOn, 1 , . Throu h his experiential cultIvatIon,
ingly rare contInUOUS teaching and propagatIOn of them,
h g kindled the dying embers of e re
the teaching. . .
(ii) Concermng hIS earth ·nzang the dakinI of pristine
. In his twentieth year, when Khyentse Rinpoche went to Tra mar n chest' it he extracted
. . 11 offeredhimatreasure· R cogmtIOn actua Y C · nate One as Mind at
est the Doctrinal Cycle of the. Great _ and the remains of
(thugs-rje chen-po sems-nyzd Nyingdrung he brought
twenty-one brahmans. From A . t of the Guru's Four Bodzes of h M fior the ttammen OJ
the Cycle OJ t e eans . d relics emanated from a tooth (bla-ma sku-bzhi'i out and offered to him by [the of Guru Rinpoche. These u Yutso he discovered the Cycle
protector] Nyencen Thang a. t rtsa-gsum sgyu-'phrul drva-ba'i of the Magical Net of the the of the Universal Gathering skor); and at Terlung Pemel . , k· skor) which was brought out of the Three. Roots (rtsa-gsum to him. In addition to
by the magIcal power of the . t for some of the root texts he
these there many b:t for the Cycle ofthe Attainment
was not permItted. to . IS t em· s-s rub yid-bzhin nor-bu'i skor) thu
of Mind as the Wzsh-fulfzllmg Gem ( g gbh aBed] "Blazing with . . ge [of Padmasam ava, c
and the representatIVe. lma " hich rested at Tsike Norbu Piinsum;
the Glory of AccomplIshment ,w t nd establish them.
d Ch ur Lingpa to extrac a
ogy of the Means for the Attainment of the
G
he exhorte
In general, the Four Cycles OJ CI 1'the Great Perfection whzch
u. ru (bla-sgrub skor bzhi-ka), the Three . asses o(b . o'i thugs-tig rdzogs-chen
are the Innermost Spirituality of Valrocalna b aln-r combined treasure ppear to have aso ee the d .
sde-gsum), et cetera, a L. [which they discovere ] m troves of this master and Chogyur mgpa,
com m on. . t asures which supplement them: (iii) Concermng the reconcealed re) Guru Rinpoche appeared to
In 1859 (do:z-grub, great treasure-finder Sangye Khyentse Rlnpoche ill the lorm 0
JamyangKhyentse Wangpo 857
858 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
in Tsang, he remembered precisely the place and time at which, for- merly, as the great Cetsun, he had passed away in the body of light. On the basis of this, he established the Innennost Spirituality of Cetsiin (lce-btsun snying-thig). 1185 Then, when he remembered his previous life as Langdro Konjung, he brought to light the Attainment of Longevity) the Innennost Spirituality of Vairocana (tshe-sgrub bai-ro'i thugs-tig), the Alchemy ofWhite Sirrzhavaktra (seng-gdong dkar-mo'i bcud-len) , et cetera.
(vi) Concerning his pure visions: As exemplified by the aforemen- tioned Cycle ofInstructions on CalJejalz) Mother ofLife) from the Innennost Spirituality ofImmortality (,chi-med thugs-tig-gi tshe-yum tsalJeja-lf'i gdams- skor), a recension of the Means for the Attainment of the Guru according to the Innennost Spirituality of Longcenpa) [entitled] "Sealed with the Seminal Point)) (klong-chen snying-thig-gi bla-sgrub thig-le'i rgya-can-gyi
yig-cha) ,1186 and the Meansfor the Attainment ofthe Guru Chogyur Lingpa) the Gathering of the Families of the Three Bodies (mchog-gling bla-sgrub sku-gsum rigs-'dUS),1187 there were undoubtedly many, but he confined the actual propagation to those alone.
(vii) Concerning the aural lineage: While Khyentse Rinpoche was residing in the great pilgrimage centre of Dzongsho Deshek Dupa, he had a pure vision in which he approached the Sailkarakuta Caitya. There, in each of the eight directions there were arrayed the Eight Emanations of the Guru, and, at the centre, all of them gathered together as Guru Rinpoche. They bestowed upon him, as an aural lineage, the heart of the maturation and liberation of the Eight Transmitted Precepts of Great Attainment, the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Magical Net, and so forth; and he established them.
All the above constitutes merely the essence of Khyentse Rinpoche's secret career.
In his seventy-thirq year, after completing, for the while, such marvel- lous and wonderful deeds, on the morning of Monday 18 April 1892 (twenty-first day, second month, water male dragon year), 1188 Khyentse Rinpoche scattered some flowers and gave many benedictions, after which, equipoised in contemplation, he withdrew from the array of his physical body into the expanse of the great master Vimalamitra's inten- tion. Thereafter, just as had been prophesied, his emanational basis at Mount Wu-t'ai-shan made simultaneously manifest the array of five emanational bodies. 1189 So it is that [as the several Khyentse Rinpoches] he has performed, and continues to perform, inconceivable acts on behalf of the teaching and living creatures.
25 ]amgiin Kongtrnl Lodro Thaye
[676 5-693 6] Jam . .
. . gon
y"
onten Gyamtso Lod . . Th 1190 presence of the great translator V . { o aye
was the actual pr. ophesied him in both name . . BU. dd. ha himself clearly
Kmg ofContemplation:
I prophesy one Lodro Thaye
' as It IS saId In the Sutra ofthe
will do much to benefi/sentient beings the conqueror Maitreya, of infinite n whose hand rests supreme contemplation. '
Also itsaysinth S- . +h
' . e utra OJ t e Descent to Lanka (Ch. 10, v. 803):
In penod following that, A gUIde who is called Lodro Will teach five knowledges
And come forth as a great warrior.
Moreover, he was clearly and .
kin? of the doctrine, in the by Orgyen, the anCIent and new treasure tr I e . ecies found In many
t h a t i n t h e p a s t t h i s m a s t e r ] . . n c o n f o r m I t y W I t h t h e s e [ i r i s k n o w n
and accomplished play great. learned Teacher's attendant Anand d h Ia and TIbet, IncludIng the was the emanation of [the ; ? reat translator Vairocana, who
ated the teaching of the C a airocana; and thus he had elucid- Th . . onqueror.
en, thIS magIcal emanation t k b' h
the hidden valley ofRon a h00 Irt, as had been indicated, in
Zelmogang Dokam t gy p. at t e approach to Perna Lhartse in Drida
d ' ,a sunnse on Thursd 2 D ay, tenth month wate b· d ay
ecember 1813 (tenth Tendzin o/thir ;urteenth cycle). 1191 His father was ters, and his mother w eh Ing y. _hyung . clan of accomplished mas-
abilities beyond the ran:: t e Trash! Tsho. He had wondrous f
holy visionaries and many supreme and t
man, who would maintain the teaching a great . IS CI oodgamesre-
860 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures .
. ns as conferring empowerment, teachmg flected only such refined actio F hl·S fifth year he mastered the
alphabet, among other or s d cor Orgyen Rinpoche was ef- . t Undlvlde regar l' .
shown the s c n P . · . . d in reality, contemplative expenences, fortlessly born wlthm hIm, an '. .
and commentaries on the intention of the dialectical vehicle, of which
the foremost were the Madhyamaka, Transcendental Perfection, Vin-
aya, the Treasury of the Abhidharma, and the [Five] Doctrines of Mait-
reya. He also studied all the utterly uncommon transmitted precepts
and treasures, which are the great tantrapitaka of the ancient and new
traditions. His learning, which was not dependent on others, became
like the expanse of sky, whereby he obtained the exalted level to which
. d ·(ng mantras. rom
. .
the doctnne, an reC1l . t ] t dy and reflection, by Just bemg U
and dreams he had only pure
sities of his prevIoUS trammg, da? ,WI nd the other sciences at just a
Kongtrtil awoke to the propen- From about tenth. y. ear, a firm resolve to enter the true
the renowned title of Sarvajiianamahapar! 4ita applied.
l192
is meaningfully
. h I e d art me ! CIne, a h d·d doctnne, e earn , . htforward and gentle, and e 1
glance. His temperament was stralg . ve power of his knowledge ex- h· The expressl h
not transgress IS vows. d th r ways he clearly revealed t e panded these range ofall. Without attributes of a holy w 1 ted them through the power of
striving after necessItieS, he accumu a
great merit. r hed tutors such as Gyurme Under many learned and accom: IS ho knew' the five sciences,
Thutop Namgyel of a pal)ci common sciences. Among Jamgon Kongtrtil's d· d many transmitted precepts
Jamgon Kongtrtil took the revered Camgon Ta'i Situ Perna Nyinje Wangpo as the crown of his enlightened family [i. e. as his root guru]. It was this Situ Rinpoche who disclosed to him the ultimate and defin- itively secret pristine cognition of co-emergent supreme bliss, as exemplified by the nectar of the three vows; and, in doing so, granted him dominion over the essential true lineage.
In particular, in the presence of more than fifty spiritual benefac- tors,1193 without partiality, the foremost of them being Khyentse Wangpo, the embodiment of Jamgon Kongtrtil pursued all the traditions of the paths of the eight conveyances, the lineages of attainment, which had survived in the Land ofSnows; and he completely received the entire profound essence of their maturation, liberation, and instructions. Not leaving any of these as subjects to be studied once, he experientially cultivated each of them and so, with fervent perseverance, raised the banner ofattainment until he had accomplished the attributes which are signs of [success on] the path, just as they are described in the texts. In this way he fully mastered the two accomplish- ments.
When the vase of Jamgon Kongtrtil's mind had been filled with textual exegeses and oral explanations of the transmitted precepts, treatises, tantras, transmissions and esoteric instructions, along with their rituals, practical techniques, and fine points, he·too composed treatises. These form the wonderful legacy of his studies, reflections, and meditations:
(i) The Store which Embraces All Knowledge (shes-bya kun-la khyab-pa'i mdzod) excellently presents the entire corpus of the siitra and mantra traditions, from the paths of the common sciences all the way up to the uncommon Great Perfection, or Atiyoga, which is the culmination of the nine vehicles.
(ii) The Store of Precious Instructions (gdams-ngag rin-po-che'i mdzod) brings together the essential roots of the eight great conveyances, which are lineages of attainment, and the utterly profound essences of their maturation and liberation.
(iii) The Mantra Store of the Lineages of Transmitted Precepts (bka'- brgyud sngags-kyi mdzod) gathers together the means for attainment and mal). cJala ceremonies, and the maturation and liberation, of the trio of
the uncommon, inner SCIences,
e stu Ie
Jamgon Kongtriil £odro Thaye
Jamgiin Kongtrill Lodro Thaye 861
862 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
- antaka (yang-phur-gshin-gsum) and ot? er trans-
]amgijn Kongtriil Lodrtj Thaye 863
Above all, concerning ]amgon Kongtriil's succession to the transmit- ted precepts ofprofound treasures: When the master was in his fifteenth year he met Guru Rinpoche in a pure vision and received his blessing. On that basis many profound, pure visionary doctrines and numerous
Successions to the transmitted precepts of the earth treasures came to him, but he remained indifferent to them. Hence, for the time being, the auspicious coincidence was lost, owing to which it so happened
that inwardly there were signs of the <. Iiikinls' agitation, and outwardly, too, he appeared to be extremely ill. At that time [his consciousness] transferred out of his body, whether in reality or in a dream he could not tell. He met Guru Rinpoche and his consort and conversed with
them a great deal. Finally, they advised him to retake his incarnate existence, at which he experienced himselfto be back in his own physical frame. Encouraged by that dream omen, and by the venerable ]amyang Khyentse Wangpo, he established the PrayerfUl Offering to the Gracious
Goddess (bka'-drin lha-mo'i gsol-kha), whereupon a most radiant spher- ical canopy of rainbows arose in the cloudless sky, and his physical
constitution, too, became clear [i. e. free from ailment].
When Jamgon Kongtriil was performing the rites of service and attainment for the Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention, in a dream he met Guru Rinpoche who conferred on him the blessing of the four empow-
erments, along with the syllables ofthe mantra, saying "This will remove
obstacles to your life during this [astrologically inauspicious] year.
Later, in a few years, we shall meet in reality and my instructions and
advice will come forth gradually. " [How] the meaning intended [came to pass will be revealed below].
During his fortieth year Jamgon Kongtriil met the great treasure- finder Chogyur Lingpa for the first time, and their minds were merged together. He applied in practice the special prophetic inventories which he was given. Furthermore, when they opened the place of pilgrimage
at Dzongsho Deshek Diipa, the all-seeing Khyentse Rinpoche and the great treasure-finder Chogyur Lingpa together requested the master to be seated upon the lofty throne of the doctrine in Citta Sangpuk (Secret
Cave of Mind). There, they presented him with great offerings as an auspicious token, in connection with which they rang the great bell proclaiming his enthronement under the title Chime Tenyi ¥ungdrung Lingpa, which had been conferred upon him by Orgyen, the knower
of the three times. Afterwards, they offered him fervent requests, in connection with prayers for his continuing longevity, concerning the need to restore the auspicious circumstance [for the discovery] of pro-
found treasure, which previously had declined. In this way, the door of good auspices was opened wide.
Then, gradually, as had been predicted by the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche, the inventory of treasure at Lhamdo Burmo Trak came into ]amgon Kongtrtil's 'possession and the master himself developed ex-
Kzla, and Yam hicle of indestructible reality accordIng to the mltted precepts of the ve d h f the tantrapitaka cycles of the
Ancient Translation School, an t ose 0 k .
. h 1of Marpa and Ngo .
new translatIOn sc 0 0 , distils the elixir or refined essence
(iv) The Store ofPrecwus Treasured of the ocean of profound treasures
the Ancient Translation School.
. ed from the sixfold lineage of env
z'n pa'z' mdzod) forms the -
St (thun-mong ma-y
(v. a) The Uncommon ore" Kon trill's own profound treasures,
secret, special wealth of Jamgodn g ts which will be explained including the yellow scrolls an sacramen ,
below. , d Precepts (rgya-chen bka'- (v. b) The Extensive of he composed, and which
mdzod) compiles the vanous opuscu es . d above . h [h ther Stores] mentlone
.
are connected wlt e 0 "I wI brought forth five great stores
In this way Jamgon Kongtru ne Yd nted l'n the world. These are h' h were unprece e . d
or conveyances, w I C " ed works" of one who, having obtame
not merely the so-called from study and thought in each
some general understandmg . b a writer and the deSIre to d by the deSIre to e .
on d few texts devoid of praiseworthy ments. compose, and so. authore a i d the vitality of all contmuous Rather, it is as If they as their death approached.
field, was urge
' r which produced over . J "n Kongtru s caree ,
transmissions of the teachmg, wlt
So if we examme amgo . , . as ifhe spent his whole
ninety volumes of wonderful scnpture, It IS
life as an author. . . ks of his teaching and propagation of the None the less, If one thIn . , t uctl'ons recitational transmlS-
'd e esotenc Ins
empowerments, gUI anc , , d new sutras and tantras, an
d
(. " th of the anCIent an h' sions, and so lor , 'thout bias it is as if he spent IS
' d ts and treasures, WI ,
transmltte precep ' A n d if one investIgates ow,
whole life an? and purification, beginning wlth the y g of creation and perfection as- he experientially t e f mandalas it seems as if he sociated with myna up with mud. passed the length of hIS. hfe m a "Kongtrtil expanded the new
Likewise, if one conSIders how amgfon, ent in Tsandra Rincen
' , t the places 0 attamm
monastic commumtles a " a n d how he renovated many 0
ld
T akl194 and Dzongsho Deshek Dupa, , b f new repres- r " d ' oncelVable num ers 0
establishments, commlSSIOne mc h d 'nd performed more than
entations of the buddha-body, speec mIt l'n'volvl'ng mandala clus-
' f at attammen , ,
one hundred and fifty ntes 0 gre P , Jewels and venerated the
the Three recIOus ,
' 1 ' connection WIth the ten
hort hIS egacym ,, 1 monastic commumty - m s . . ' . e assed his whole life diligent y
h'
ters offered wors lp to
' "
modes of doctnnal conduct -It IS as Ifh, l? t In these ways [hIS career] , h f work and aCtlvi y, ,
engaged m the sp each of those who are truly sublIme. was inconceivable, wnhm only the r
r,
'h
864 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures h d
. . In his fifty-eighth year he extracted t e oc-
traordinary clear he Three Roots' Intention (rtsa-gsum dgongs-pa trines of the Gathenng oft . . in Lhamdo Burmo. From Kumcok Decen 'dus-pa) from Decen Pemako 11 f the Doctrinal Background for
Cave he brought forth (rtsa-gsum the Gathenng of the T. ree b f Hllmkara et cetera; from Un rgyab-chos shog-ser), the secret ro e 0 image of Guru Pad-
Jetsun Cave in Fortune's Glory", longevity masambhava called Blazmg d d at Maratika, the great
R· he had compoun e
pills which Guru mpoc r g. us king Trhisong Detsen's sash
Preceptor robe, the re I I0 h. Terdzong the Doctrinal
]amgon Kongtrill Lodro· Thaye 865 Chogyur Lingpa had unearthed the doctrinal treasure of the Attainment ofMind, the DisPelkr ofAll Obstacks, but had not been able to establish
its yellow scroll, Khyentse Rinpoche had helped by assisting With the establishment. So, on this particular occasion, too, he promised to help Jamgiin Kongtriil with the establishment of the Gathen'ng of the Three
Roots'Intention, the Group ofDoctrines which Gather Together the Five
Great Stores in their Entirety (rtsa-gsum dgongs-'dus mdzod-chen rnam-lnga
yongs-'dus-kyi chos-sde). Then, gradually, the mantra protectress Ekajarj
clearly revealed in visions on two Occasions the decipherment of the
symbolic scripts, the time to release the sealed transmitted precepts, and so forth.
Once, especially, during the evening of the twenty-ninth, [month and year unspecified], the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche experienced a pure vision of the guru, Jamgiin Kongtriil himself, manifested in the
form of the accomplished awareness-holder HUl)lkara, whereupon there
arose within him a visionary clarity in which he was given the empow-
erments, guidance, and esoteric instructions of the Gathering of the
Three Roots' Intention. He said that owing to this the entire significance of the yellow scroll clearly emerged from his mind.
Also, among [the texts of] the Gathering ofthe Three Roots' Intention, the two Jamgons together catalogued the Group of Doctrines of the Su- preme Attainment of the Guru, the Awareness-holder (bla-ma rig-'dzin mchog-sgrub-kyi chos-sde).
It appears that if they had followed the great
decipherment of the symbolic script of the <;Iakinjs this text would have turned out as long as Sangye Lingpa's Gathering ofthe Guru's Intention. None the less, they agreed that if they were to follow the medium de-
cipherment it would be of a suitable intermediate length, and that this would be best. They had established only about six chapters when they were interrupted by the visit of certain aristocrats and the venerable
f M ng Trugu Tras 1 ,
r o m _ . n 0 t h e G a t h e r i n g o f t h e T h r e e R o o t s
, Background for the f? aktn! khif,_,gro'i rgyab-chos), the Cycle ofthe
a n d s o f o r t h ;
Intention dgongs-/j's -raMother ofLife (tshe-yum tsalJej,a-lf'z
if
scrolls of the Cycles of the . sgrub-skor-gyi shog-ser), the
Hayagrfva (tshe-dpag-med rta-mgnn . from Tsang-rok Trashi ·11 f M ndarava et cetera, .
longevity pI s 0 a d 'ellow scrolls of the Meansfor the Attam-
Tsekdzong the sacraments an y -brgyad-kyi dam-rdzas dang sgrub-
ment ofthe Eight Closest Sons (nye-srcas f Yeshe Tshogyel at Tsandra ) d f the Secret ave 0 h
thabs shog-ser ; an rom £ h h ellow scroll of the cycles of t e
Rincen Trak,. he brought Transmitted Precepts olthe Father
Means for the Attamment 0 alJ. k Sheldrak Odzong, the yellow sgrub-skor), among others; : : n s ; ; :he Attainment of Amitayus and
means for attamment belongmg . r h Mother Consort of the Secret h 7: ittedPreceptsOJ te )
Consort and t. 1 h. b-bka'yum-bka'i sgrub-skor shog-ser ,
Innermost Spzntualuy (gsang-t z? ya 1 reness-ho1ders 1195 and so . f h· t n Immorta awa ,
the longevity pIlls 0 t lr ee h also found an indescribable n Together with each treasure trove e 1 b.
o . . 1 brme sacramenta 0 Jects.
number of exceedmg y su 1 . hl. ch did not come into
t"ll certam treasures w
Moreover, there s 1 . time and circumstance, though they
the master's . by t the venerable Khyentse Rin-
were within hIS dommIOn. ue tOto the treasure guardians, the
poche's proclamation s ommissioned and discovered
C
treasure-finder Lerap Lmgpa was d b the great treasure-finder
Khyentse Wangpo fell ill. That the time to discover the remaining portion was lost appears to have been the fault of the feeble merits of
h t 0 were extracte
some; and ot ers, 0 , h Chogyur Lingpa. These were t en
y . . ded over to the master [Jamgon
the world at large. 1197
During that period, whatever first arose in the venerable Jamgon
Kongtrtil] himself.
On such occasions as these, at t ou
tset in conformity with the ld begin by collaborating
prophetic inventories, two. J way. When the profound
in the performance of vanous tO . .
. h· posseSSIOn, Jamgon
Kongtrtil gave them all to
treasures came mto IS
.
C'
The latter too belore an
d
h
after arrayed many ceremon . . K tru. . l was bringing fort t e
the venerable K
yentse
W ngpo to mspect. a . f'C'.
" . 1 nd mandalas of matena
h h
Kongtriil's mind subsequently developed effortlessly, like the flow of a river. I;>akinls congregated and many other extraordinary omens oc- curred. Once, at dawn, he experienced a clear vision in which there
appeared a perfectly arrayed temple. Inside ofit sat one who, he thought, was Guru Rinpoche in essence, but the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche
in form, and Whose body of light, [the coalescence of] appearance and emptiness, revealed no definite form. Jamgon Kongtriil bowed down in reverence and repeated after Khyentse Rinpoche the refuge, cultiva-
tion of the enlightened attitUde, and sevenfold service according to the
Daily Yoga of the Awareness-holder Crig-'dzin rgyun-gyi rnal-'byor).
Khyentse Rinpoche, having performed the creation of the deity and the invocation of bleSSing, then took up a vase and placed it on the
an
131feast0lenngsa . . h h
' . 1 hnJamgonong
offering. In partlcu ar, w e h . . r the Three Roots Intentwn
. f the Gat enng OJ h
great doctnnal treasure 0 f£ rings of gifts. Previously, w en Khyentse Rinpoche made profuse 0 e
,.
866 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
crown of Jamgon Kongtriil's head. He conferred on him the secret empowerment consisting of the "enlightened mind" [produced] in union with a consort. In the empowerment of discerning pristine cognition,
he entrusted him with awareness in the form of a woman. Then, Khyentse Rinpoche projected forth from his heart a crystal and showed
it to Jamgon Kong
from the depths, like a piece of crystal. Whatever arises is the expression
of luminosity, spontaneously present, just like the luminouS glow of a crystal radiating outwards. " Having conferred introduction on him that way,\198 his body vanished. Then, reappearing in the form of an active
heruka, he instantly summoned the protectors of the transmitted pre-
cepts and treasures, so that it was as if [the place] was seething with on
, Jamgon Kongt "zLo
gnmage, and, in conformit . ru dro Thaye 867
aged [to discover] th ' y WIth them, Chogyur Lin
open their gates H e gUidebooks to these pilgrim gpa was encour-
of the Twenty-ji;e Padrak he discovered and to open the gates to tho : gnmage Places, due to which ham nventory
following the orders th aces of pilgrimage, and so fort: able to d,tIOns of the lac e venerable Khyentse Rin . oreover, of pilgrimage :rP es of pIlgrimage at Aliii Peldeu all the con- bythesupremeJewar. 'whIchISanadjunctofTsand t egreatplace
Th amgon Kongtriil.
Kong
(lam-z
triil
ab
recitational transmission,
When Jamgo
triil
, saying, "All things are primordially pure, clear
Kongtriil was entrusted with their transmitted precepts. Then, after Khyentse Rin- poche had granted permissory initiation and the entrustment of his
instructions, Jamg
prophetic inventories, at the end of which he was roused from this spiritual experience. During the song of indestructible reality at [a
subsequent] feast offering blissful heat forcefully arose within him and he grew exhilarated. Other signs marking the great descent of blessing
also emerged,
The yellow scroll of the Father Consort and Mother Consort, [Trans-
mitted Precepts] of the Secret Innermost Spirituality (gsang-thig yab-yum)
was also established with the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche. Jamgon
himself established the Seven Chapters on the Profound Path /e'u-bdun-ma) and had a pure vision of one Pema Rikdzin, in the guise of Guru Padmasambhava, who thrice conferred on him its
Kongtriil reported to the venerable guru [Khyentse Rinpoche] that he had reason to discover, at Dagam Wangpuk, the Doctrinal Cycle of the Means for the Attainment of the Seven Lines (tshig-
bdun sgrub-thabs-kyi chos-skor) in the form of a pure vision and aural lineage, he was offered representative symbols of the five wheels of inexhaustible ornament, as well as writing materials, and was encour-
aged to establish it. Accordingly, when he had mostly completed its establishment the twO masters together performed the feast offering of the emanational body, Saroruhavajra, and the venerable Khyentse Rin-
poche experienced extraordinary visions,
When he established the Means for the Attainment of TroW Cgro-lod
sgrub-thabs) at the "tiger den" of Rongme Karmo, the tWO masters performed feast offerings together, at which time the venerable Khyentse Rinpoche had a vision of tWO huge scorpions, white and
black. He said that it was a portent of great severity1199
Clear visions arose in which the "palaces" of both Tsandra Rincen Trak and Dzongsho Deshek Diipa appeared to be great places of pil-
Katok, Pelyiil, Z::ce: individuals Un schools Dyapa, Gelukpa, Drigungpa Taklu cen, a ong with adherents
. . Irectly and indir I . ' ngpa and Karma Ka kmdness and by ect y, h,S service to livin b ' mtsang
tured], expanded sacramental by tf:hat WIdeth d Ionssothathis rh anuac-
their presence. At Khyentse Rinpoche's order Jamg
on
. e oor for all connections with h' en Ig tened activity opened urIng hIS empowerments' 1m to be meaningful
n
Kongtriil heard many verses, which seemed like
D
and so forth, there were of great attainment, feast s
e empowerments d ' , established b J " a n transmISSIOns worthy dis 'YI amgon Kongtrtil spread far
. CIPes,whowereh d d
ra,. were mdicated d '
clodmbmon: nectar boiled; °flmens which all could
u esensed ,ver owed;thef ' clouds sh at a great dIstance' there ragrance of elIxir
, owersoffl ,w ere canop' f ' ;:;ithrough the he
h
'ld ppearances as truly e '
,m stone, Because he dI'd eII d
ImpreSSIOns of his hand d notgraspa san
ve as a destroyer of b
bheen clearly stated in the In particular, t at h,S hfe would b IC mventory ofhis r £ a tructible reality and by means h. e hprolonged the dura'tIon of his rf,IS energy channeIs and currents eIg ty-seventh year his complexion 1 e,. so that when he reached grew clear again. In the less became youthful and
lOner greatness, were the SIgns of his accomplish-
IS manner Jamgon K " Y proven,
sonal d d ' ongtrul compl t d tor he
1899 (t:eenSt' hhIS eighty-seventh year T'h td while, his per-
y-Slxt da I , u r s ay 28 D
panied by m y, e eventh month earth . ecember
into the ex any wonderful miracles he withd Pflg yea,r),1201 accom- . panse ofthe mind of h '. . rew rom h,S bodil ar
III the western Citadel of _ t e spIrItual warrior ThopeI' T antapurI,1202
The number of di '
great mas ,sclples who issued from h
Yb ray urn utsel
fearless rr::;t:ra mconceivable, but amon; :nd mind of this
guru and di . Khyentse Wangpo S· ehoremost was the J
SCIP e to one another, the h' mce, t ey both were as armOlllOUS reputation of
of
the
d collections
an WIde among II h'
L' ages ofthe Treasures 868 History: Close me
" ,,1203 has been as well
"1
ho were both Jamgons 1 d the wind, to everyone from, earne
"Khyentse and Kongtru w
known up to, the present day the districts of Tlbet and
scholars to slmple cowherds,
, h' to others who Kham. d his entlre teac lngs .
Jamgon Kongtriil also entruste h h Iders ofthe Kagytipa teaChlng, became his true regents, namely, to t e °Drukpa Drigungpa, and Tak- including [the masters of) the being ;he fourteenth and fifd
lungpa subsects, ,among the Karmapa, and the tenth
th successive lllcarnatlons of a a and Ngorpa teachlllg,
teen h T-a'i Situ' to the holders of the SakYWp 0 1204 and Dzongsar elevent ' J g Loter angp . f including Thartse Ponlop reat holders of the teachlllg 0
. Cho}'e Ktinga Jamyang, to g M' ham Jamyang Namgyel, Ngan . nSh 1suchas lp . d
the Ancient Translatlo c, 0 0 , and the lords of my own the treasure-finder Lerap Llllgpa'1 _ the venerable Gyurme Ngedon family [i. e. my own root, gurus i un ne; and also to many
Wangpo and Jedrung rGelukpa school), reme individuals among the lWO "me and Trayap Dongtrtil Khec? Yeshe Kongpel, the preceptor ofhGYu all the innumerable major
Ngawang Tamco Gyamtso. In s and experienced masters, and and minor learned rea the region from Central
'rl'tual benefactors dunng that era,
Spl h er lower an T 'bet and Tsang to t e u p p , h
1 no one w 0 it appears that there was
disciple.
26 Mipham Jamyang Namgyel Gyamtso
d ml'ddle districts of Dokam,
d'd not become hlS persona
1
,1
[693. 6-713. 5] Mipham Jamyang Namgyel Gyamtso,1205 the great prom- ulgator of the teaching of the Ancient Translation School was born in 1846 (fire horse year, fourteenth cycle) at a place well known as Yacu Tingcung, on the banks of the slow-flowing [Yalung] River in Dokam. His father was Gonpo Targye of the Lha clan of Ju, and his mother was Mukpodongza Singcungma. His paternal uncle, On Lama Perna Targye, conferred the name Mipham Gyamtso as a crown upon him.
From his childhood he naturally possessed all the powers of the enlightened family of the greater vehicle, such as faith, renunciation, discriminative awareness, and compassion. From his sixth or seventh year he memorised the Ascertainment of the Three Vows and studied the preliminaries of astrology and divination. From about his tenth year on, he had an unobstructed command of reading and writing, and so he began to make all kinds of oral compositions. From the beginning of his twelfth year, he lived as an ordinary student and monk at Mehor Sa-nga Choling in Ju, which was a branch monastery of Zecen [Zhecen] Tenyi Targye Ling, in the doctrinal lineage of Orgyen Mindroling. At that time he was praised by all as a learned young monk.
In his fifteenth year Mipham studied for some days an ancient text of the Svarodaya and he learned it completely after praying to MafijusrI. He propitiated MafijusrI in the form of V§dlsirpha for eighteen months at the hermitage of Junyung and, by performing the pill rites (ril-bu'i las-sbyor),1206 he obtained extraordinary signs [of accomplishment]. From then on he did not fail to master whatever texts he chanced to examine, including those concerning siitras, mantras, and sciences. Therefore, he said that he did not have to study anything apart from simple exegetical transmissions. 1207
When he was in his seventeenth year disturbances in Nyarong caused all the nomadic herdsmen to migrate to Golok, and the venerable Mipham went there, toO. 1208 From about this time he became known for his great skill in arithmetic (sa_ris). 1209
870 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures 1 G _ . accom anied his maternal unc e yur
. ' toCentra 1e zang on a pllgnmage
From Peltrtil Orgyen Jikme Choki Wangpo, Mipham received the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction -to the Conduct of a Bodhisattva (Ch. 9) in five days, whereupon he totally mastered the words and meaning of the text in its entirety. Later, he also composed the Commentary on the Discriminative Awareness Chapter (sher-tfk), and so forth. 1211
In particular, practising the three means to delight the guru, he at- tended on the lotus feet of Perna Osel Do-nga Lingpa, or Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, who was the lord of his enlightened family [i. e. his root guru] owing to connections established through the deeds 'of his former lives. This master regarded Mipham as his unique inner spiritual son; so, having first given him the permissory initiation of White Maii-
jusrf according to the System of kfati, he opened for him the gateways of the doctrine. From that time onwards, as if filling a pot to the brim, Khyentse Rinpoche bestowed on Mipham many approaches to the ordinary and special textual traditions, the especially sublime texts of the sutras and of the mantras which had come down through his close lineages, and all the maturation, liberation, supporting transmis- sions, esoteric instructions, practical techniques, and guidance which lays bare the teaching, for all transmitted precepts, treasures, and pure visions belonging to the most secret vehicle of indestructible reality.
Moreover, at one time or another, he received the ordinary sciences from Jamgon Lodro Thaye, including the Grammar of Candragomin and the methods for refining mercury, as well as such special maturing empowerments and liberating instructions as those of Maiijusrf) Lord of Life) Iron-like and Iron-evil ('jam-dpal tshe-bdag lcags-'dra lcags- sdig). 1212 From many spiritual benefactors, including Padmavajra, the preceptor of Dzokcen Monastery, he received limitless cycles ofteaching concerning the sutras, mantras, and sciences. He did not just receive these teachings and leave it at that, but he truly cultivated them experi- entially. Primarily because Mipham had trained himself well during innumerable lives and so possessed the cultivated potential of the posit- ive enlightened family, and secondly, since [that potential] had been totally aroused by the guru's compassion and power to transfer the blessing of his intention, Mipham thoroughly mastered all the profound and vast topics of the Sugata's scriptures, by means of the four modes of genuine individual awareness, and without contradicting the four kinds of reliance. Thus, he mastered the vision of naturally present pristine cognition, which is extensive as the sky, and liberated the eight great treasures of brilliance.
From the spiritual benefactor Ju-on Jikme Dorje, Mipham received the transmission of the root text of the Verse Summation ofthe Transcend- ental Perfection ofDiscriminative Awareness, and immediately afterwards he discoursed upon it for one month. Then, when he studied the
In his eighteenth year Mlpham 1 T'b Pt during which he attended a
. ' monastlc college at a . Lh d k while on a side-tnp dunng w lC
. G nden Monastery
h' h
when he went to Kharcu ill ? l , e places in the south, ordinary
he travelled to many of the :1 appeared arose as the union
appearances were transforme an lW s he experienced the warmth of . . ess For severa day . f h 1 le
ofbhssandemptln. . d b theblesslng0 t at oca .
bliss He maintained that thlS seeme t. o. e ' n which a volume entitled . hh hadapureVislon1 .
On the road nort ell-Seeing Svarodaya dbyangs- the Crystal Mtrror of. the Great A e into his hands. How thlS took place
'char chen-mo shel-g)i2 me-long) cam k
is clearly stated at the end of that wor . "
'-
\. . . -
hTh for about one mont. en,
. . . ' fWh'teMan)uSn
according to the System of Matt signs of accomplishment
Lapkyapgon Wangcen Gyerap se during both the conferral
which are described in that text Yaro e 'of the subsequent "bean- d the penormanc M' h 's
of the empowermen;. an ) 1210 In this way the lotus of lP am sprout rites" 1 las-sbyor .
MiphamJamyangNamgyelGyamtso
.
On his return he received the
inltlatlOn 0 • '. I -dkar-gyi rjes-gnang) from
discernment blossomed.
MiphamJamyang Namgyel Gyamtso 871
872 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Introduction to the Madhyamaka under Ngawang lungne, the spiritual benefactor of Bumsar, he requested only the exegetical transmission, so as not to trouble that master. On the very day the master completed the exegetical transmission, he ordered Mipham to sit for an examina- tion. Starting from the very beginning, Mipham explained the Introduc- tion to the Madhyamaka with the result that the spiritual benefactor praised him in the midst of the assembly, saying, "Though I have obtained the title 'spiritual benefactor', I do not even possess a fraction of his intellect! "
In the presence of Ponlop Loter Wangpo he studied the Treasury of Logical Reason (tshad-ma rigs-gter); and from Solpon Perna he received the exegetical transmissions of varied texts, including the Doctrines of Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Level, through their continuous lineages alone. Immediately afterwards, Mipham gave extensive discourses upon them. Illustrated in this way, all the meanings of the siitras, tantras, and the commentaries on their intention poured forth spontaneously from his mind. He roamed freely, like a fearless lion, in the midst of the multitudes who propounded myriad textual traditions. That he was unimpeded in teaching, discourse, composition of textual comment- aries, and so forth, was demonstrably visible to all. No one at all could deny it.
The master himself said:
During my childhood there were many excellent spiritual benefactors of the ancient and new traditions alive, so it was like an era in which the wheel of the doctrine was turned. None the less, I did not study much apart from, in Peltriil Rinpoche's presence, the discriminative awareness chapter of the Introduction to the Conduct ofa Bodhisattva. Later, by the kindness of my guru and that of my favoured deity, the hard points of texts would become unravelled without great difficulty when I merely read over them. Moreover, during the beginning of my studies I found it easier to learn the works of the new schools and the texts of the ancient schools seemed hard to understand. Still, this being solely due to my own lack of understanding, I thought that these profound texts of the lineage of awareness-holders certainly harboured great essential points of true understanding. Apart from that, I did not experience the arising of doubts even for a moment. In consequence, my own discriminative awareness came to be fully mature. Later, when I looked at them, I saw that all the profound essential points were only to be found in the doctrinal traditions which had been transmitted through the precious lineages of the Ancient Translation School; so especially great certainty was born within me.
MiPhamJamyan N,
During that same p . d g amgyel Gyamtso 873
of indestructible realiteyno , the lord of refuges and hold m ' Khyentse R' h er . e to compose some textbooks ac e, commanded
tlOn. . ToComplywiththe ur'cormgtoOUrowntradi- own mtellect, holding onlY:h u s and to enrich my
querors in my heart I e precIOUS teaching of the co S-t ' composed n- u ra cycles and so forth Wh'l I some textbOoks on the
thetent f . 1ewassodoi I
e s 0 OUr own traditi ng, emphasised
some extent. But [the adh on, and expounded them to systems took them to be of] the other philosophical and so forth arriVed from and later many critical a been motivated to . . a quarters. Yet in fact I
co wnte m orde fi
and with the ho e r to. u fil my guru's
I? unng the present day the there bemg some benefit. tlOn School has almost b of the Ancient Transla- no light], a painted butter lamp
and . 1? qUlre as to just what are few W? O even consider tradItIOn's philosophical the essentIal points of Our other traditions. Apart rather, most simply imitate
such motivations as I never felt, even in
nons, or self-congratulatory 1It? towards other tradi- Pn
those Who possess the eye of . e. [m my own] - if even me, I have nothing of wh' h pnstme cognition gaze upon
As for What I h . IC to be ashamed! tI ave wntten in
so orth: Since I have not ob . response to my critics and Who are sublime how c 1 tamed the attributes of those fundities of d I ever understand all the pro-
be proven, or less, if I state what may precepts of the lure ymg upon the immaculate theIr mtention, which are the the commentaries on
promulgators of India and T'b amp-lIke Words of the great selftoo h .
