Shalu Ribug Tulku Losal Tenkyong
zhwa lu ri sbug sprul sku blo gsal bstan skyong (1804-1865?)
He was born in the upper Nyang region of Tsang. His mother died early and he was brought up by a nun who was a student of one of the great masters of this time, Tshechogling Yeshe Gyaltsen. Losal Tenkyong was then eventually recognized as the incarnation of Drubwang Losal Tsengyen (1727-1802). His education was rather eclectic and he studied with the great Gelugpa masters of his day, such as Ngulchu Dharmabhadra (1772-1851) and the masters of his own Zhalu monastery (zhwa lu) as well masters of Ngor and Sakya. He became a noted ritual expert and especially excelled in his practice of the Kalacakra. Several of his works are included in such collections as the "rgyud sde kun btus" and "sgrub thabs kun btus". In his personal practice he also emphasized the Shangpa Kagyu teachings very much. Even though he is not mentioned in any Shangpa lineage supplication, he was of instrumental importance for the survival of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition and even authored some important empowerment and instruction manuals which are still in use today. As the abbot of the famous Kadampa monastery of Zhalu in western Tibet, originally founded by the fourteenth century scholar and historian Buton Rinchen Drub (1290-1364), he eventually managed to achieve the unsealing of the printing blocks of Taranatha's works at Jonang monastery, which contain so many Shangpa materials of crucial importance. He was a close friend and associate of both Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, and passed on a large number of transmissions to them, especially to Jamyang Khyentse, who received the full Shangpa Kagyu transmissions from him.
Source: Losal Tenkyong's autobiography "rang gi rnam thar du byas pa shel dkar me long" [TSD]
Primary Teachers
- Ngulchu Dharmabhadra
- Chöying Dorje
- Pema Düdül Wangchuk