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Jomo Menmo was a Nyingma treasure revealer and a consort to Guru Chowang. Little about her is known outside of legend. Her revelations were said to have been rediscovered by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo in the ninetenth century and are included in the Rinchen Terdzod. +
Yonten Gyatso (yon tan rgya mtsho) was born in 1260 in a family that practiced the Nyingma tradition in the Dok (mdog) region of Tsang. He first studied at Dar Monastery (mdar dgon), where he became an expert in Abhidharma and epistemology.
He visited various other places and received teachings from many masters of tantra. At Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon) he became a disciple and the main assistant teacher for the Sakya master Sharpa Jamyang Chenpo Rinchen Gyeltsen (shar pa 'jam dbyangs chen po rin chen rgyal mtshan, d.u.), who served as the Tenth Sakya Tridzin (sa skya khri 'dzin) for eighteen years beginning in 1287. From Jamyang Chenpo he received many teachings such as the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra and the related oral instructions, and the Mahāyāna treatises of the Pramāṇavārttika, Abhisamayālaṃkāra, and Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra.
From Jamyang Chenpo's elder brother, the Kālacakra expert Dukorwa Yeshe Rinchen (dus 'khor ba ye shes rin chen, 1248-1294), Yonten Gyatso received teachings such as the Kālacakra Tantra, the Hevajra Tantra, and the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. He was also required to go as Yeshe Rinchen's attendent to the imperial court of Kubilai Khan in China. +
Lodro Pel was one of Dolpopa’s fourteen major disciples. A Sanskrit scholar, he completed a new translation of the ''Kālacakra Tantra'' and the ''Vimalaprabhā''. Dolpopa personally selected Lodro Pel as his successor and the fifth holder of the monastic seat of Jonang Monastery. Lodro Pel also made important new additions to the art and architecture of the Jonang stupa. +
Tsewang Norbu later received the entire Jonangpa tradition's teachings from Drubchen Kunzang Wangpo (grub chen kun bzang dbang po, seventeenth century), and he is credited with bringing about a renaissance of the teachings, particularly of the Jonang zhentong, or “other emptiness” view (gzhan stong). Tsewang Norbu had first attempted to meet with Kunzang Wangpo in 1726, while en route to Nepal, but was unable to do so. When he returned to Tibet the following year, the two met, and Tsewang Norbu received the extensive transmission at the hermitage Genden Khacho (dga' ldan mkha' chos) in Tsang, which was named Rulak Drepung (ru lag 'bras spung) prior to its forced conversion to Geluk. Tsewang Norbu transmitted the Jonang teachings to many Kagyu and Nyingma lamas, most importantly to the Eighth Tai Situ, Chokyi Gyeltsen (ta'i si tu 08 chos kyi 'byung gnas, c.1699-1774), with whom he spent time at the Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu in 1748. +
The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, was a prominent Karma Kagyu hierarch who also held Nyingma and Chod lineages. He was likely the first man to carry the title of Karmapa, following his identification by Orgyenpa Rinchen Pal as the reincarnation of Karma Pakshi, whom Orgyenpa posthumously identified as the reincarnation of Dusum Khyenpa. He spent much of his life traveling across Tibet and made two visits to the Yuan court in China. +
Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Peljor was one of the most prominent Nyingma lamas of the twentieth century, widely known also in the West. The mind reincarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, his seat was Shechen Monastery, which he reestablished in Boudhanath, Nepal, in 1980. After fleeing the Communist takeover of Tibet, Dilgo Khyentse settled in Bhutan. A prolific author and treasure-revealer, his compositions are collected in twenty-five volumes. Although he received novice vows at age ten, he never fully ordained, living the life of a householder with wife and children. +
Khyungpo Neljor initiated the Shangpa Kagyu tradition. Initially a Bonpo, he converted to Buddhism before going to India to study with mahāsiddhas. He is said to have studied with one hundred and fifty siddhas, chief among them Niguma and Sukhasiddhi. Khyungpo Neljor is said to have founded one hundred monasteries, although the names of only two are known: Zhangzhong Dorjeden in Shang and Chakar in Penyul. He had six main disciples, but he transmitted the complete doctrine he received from Niguma to only one, Mokchokpa. In addition to the Nigu Chodruk, the Six Yogas of Niguma, he also transmitted the Mahāmudrā Gauma. Tradition has it that Khyungpo Naljor lived for one hundred fifty years. +
Kunga Drolchok (kun dga' grol mchog) was born in 1507 in Lo Montang (glo smon thang), the capital of the Mustang (glo) region of present-day Nepal. His main teacher as a youth was his uncle, the Sakya master Drungpa Choje Kunga Chokdrub (drung pa chos rje kun dga' mchog grub, d.u.), who was a disciple of the great Sakya master Dakchen Lodro Gyeltsen (bdag chen blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1444-1495).
Kunga Drolchok received ordination as a novice monk from Drungpa Choje when he was ten years old, and stayed with him constantly for the next four years, receiving many initiations and teachings of the Sakya tradition, including Lamdre three times.
In 1519, when Kunga Drolchok was thirteen years old, he traveled with his elder brother to U and Tsang for further studies. They first went to the great monastery of Sakya and the nearby retreat center of Khau Drakdzong (kha'u brag rdzong), where they received teachings from the master Kunpang Doringpa (kun spangs rdo ring pa, d.u.).
Then they proceeded to the Sakya monastery of Serdokchen (gser mdog can), the monastic seat of Paṇchen Śākya Chokden (paN chen shAkya mchog ldan, 1428-1507), where they began the serious study of epistemology and other scholastic subjects under the guidance of Shākya Chokden's disciple and successor, Donyo Drubpa, known by the Sanskrit version of his name, Amoghasiddhi (a mo g+ha sidd+hi, don yod grub pa, d.u.). But tragedy soon stuck. A smallpox epidemic claimed the lives of nineteen of the twenty-two students, including Kunga Drolchok's elder brother. +
Kunpang Tukje Tsondru (kun spangs thugs rje brtson 'grus) as he was later known, was born in 1243 in the Dok (mdog) region of Tsang. He studied in many of the monasteries of U and Tsang, such as Sakya (sa skya dgon).
When he was staying at the master Jamyang Sarma's ('jam dbyangs gsar ma) monastery of Kyangdur (rkyang 'dur), Kunpang received the transmission of all the treatises and oral instructions possessed by the great Choku Ozer (chos sku 'od zer). In particular, although he had previously studied the Ra (rwa) tradition of Kālacakra, he now received from Choku Ozer the Kālacakra initiation, the explanation of the Kālacakra Tantra, the great Vimalaprabhā commentary, and an experiential transmission of the Kālacakra completion-stage practices of the six-branch yoga in the Dro ('bro) tradition. This caused exceptional experience and realization to burst forth. He also studied with Yeshe Rinchen (ye shes rin chen).
In total, Kunpang received and practiced about seventeen different traditions of the six-branch yoga. When he was meditating on stopping vitality (srog rtsol), which is the third of the six branches, it is said that the vital winds of the five elements became extremely forceful and he gained amazing paranormal abilities. He also had visions of countless deities, such as the eleven-faced form of Avalokiteśvara. +
Layakpa Jangchub Ngodrub (la yag pa byang chub dngos grub) was born in Layak, in Lhokha. He is sometimes called Layak Jose (la yag jo sras) or Layakpa Bawachan (la yag pa lba ba can). This last name signifies that, in addition to hailing from Layak, that he had a goiter (''lba ba''), a rather common medical condition in Tibet in those times.
Layakpa's childhood name was Chokyi Ngodrub (chos kyi dngos grub). His father, Tarka Pelkyi (star ka dpal skyid), was a learned man versed in Abhidharma as well as the tantras, both old and new. His grandfather Tarka Bodhirāja (star ka bo dhi rA dza) developed siddhis through his practice of the old tantras and lived to be one hundred and twelve years old. His mother, Taklo Dadron (stag lo zla sgron), was said to be a manifestation of a wisdom ḍākinī.
According to his hagiography, as a baby when there was no one to look after him, Chokyi Ngodrub was cared for by a mysterious white hand wearing ornaments. One day when he was three and his father started teaching him the alphabet, he protested saying, “Father, I know it, too!” A sensitive child who couldn't bear the thought of anyone suffering, he once fainted when a playmate burned a flea.
Chokyi Ngodrub's earlier studies focused on Prajñāpāramitā Sutras and the Chod practices, along with the treatises by Maitreya. He went at age seventeen for a brief stay in Tsang province, and when he returned two well-known disciples of the Kadampa philosopher Chapa Chokyi Sengge (phya pa chos kyi seng ge, d.u.) were there for the funeral of their teacher. He took this opportunity to further his understanding of the Prajñāpāramitā. People were very impressed by his performance in philosophical debates, and Chapa's student promised him he could be made into a master of Prajñāpāramitā in just one year of tutoring. +
Konchok Jungne (dkon mchog 'byung gnas) was born in Yaru Chang Tanak (g.yas ru byang rta nag) in Tsang and became an influential minister at the court of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde'u btsan), under the name Langdro (lang gro). Later on he became a monk and translator, taking the name Konchok Jungne, and received the Nyingtik teachings from Padmasambhava. +
Lerab Lingpa, also commonly known as Terchen Sogyal, was a prominent Nyingma treasure revealer based in Kham. A teacher to many of the twentieth century's major figures, including the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, his treasures are collected in over twenty-volumes. +
The Third Changkya, Rolpai Dorje (lcang skya 03 rol pa'i rdo rje) was born in 1717 in the Drakkar territory of Nub Padmo De Monastery (nub padmo'i sde dgon) outside Liangzhou (lang gru), modern-day Wuwei. Nub Padmo De was one of four monasteries that Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyeltsen (sa skya paN+Di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan, 1182-1251) and Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen ('phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280) established in the region in the thirteenth century. His father was Tsangpa Guru Tenzin (tshangs pa gu ru bstan 'dzin, d.u.) and his mother was called Bukyi (bu skyid). His family was of Monguor descent.
Rolpai Dorje was recognized as a reincarnation of the Second Changkya, Ngawang Lobzang Choden (lcang skya 02 ngag dbang blo bzang chos ldan, 1642-1714) in 1720 and brought to his monastic seat, Gonlung Jampa Ling (dgon lung byams pa gling), one of the four most important Geluk monasteries in Amdo.
He was taken to the Qing imperial court in 1724, after his home monastery was destroyed by Qing troops in response to the rebellion led by Lobzang Danjin (blo bzang dan jin, d.u.). Rolpai Dorje was later identified as an incarnation of the great Sakya scholar and statesman, Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen ('phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280) as well. +
Chokgyur Lingpa was one of the most prolific treasure revealers of the nineteenth century. Based in Kham, he was a close collaborator with Jamgon Kongtrul and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, with whom he revealed treasure and opened sacred sites. Among his best-known revelations are the Barche Kunsel, the Zabpa Kor Dun, and the Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo, for which Jamgon Kongtrul wrote a famous commentary. Chokgyur Lingpa also revealed an enumeration of great sites in Khams that had a significant impact on the sacred geography of the region. He established two monastic centers, Tsike and Netan, seats of the Tsike and Neten lines of his reincarnation. +
Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, considered the mind incarnation of Jigme Lingpa, was a prominent holder of the Longchen Nyingtik. He was a disciple of the First Dodrubchen. Among his students were Dza Patrul and the Second Dodrubchen. +
Kunzang Sonam of Minyak studied widely, especially in the Geluk tradition, before becoming one of the principal disciples of Patrul Rinpoche and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. After his studies, he returned to his homeland of Minyak, where he spent time in isolated hermitages. He was renowned for his ethical conduct and his mastery of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'', a text on which he wrote three major commentaries, including his monumental, 460-folio magnum opus, ''Excellent Vase''. His writings also include a guide to Ngulchu Tokme Zangpo’s ''Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva'', commentaries on two sūtras, and, it is claimed, several texts published in the name of his own student, Loter Wangpo. +
Ju Mipam Gyamtso was a prolific author who brought formal philosophical study, including debate, to the Nyingma tradition. Based in Kham during a period of great inter-sectarian exchange, he trained with the Kagyu lama Jamgön Kongtrul and the Sakya lama Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, among others, even as he preserved a strong Nyingma identity. Among his most celebrated works are the ''Beacon of Certainty'' and a commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. In addition to his considerable literary output he spent decades of his life in retreat. +
Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang (mkhas grub rje dge legs dpal bzang) was born in Tsang in 1385. His father, Gunga Tashi Pelzang (kun dga' bkra shis dpal bzang, d.u.), was a member of the Se clan, said to have originated in Khotan, and his mother was Budren Gyelmo (bu 'dren rgyal mo, d.u.).
His name Gelek Pelzang was given to him as a child when he took novice ordination at the age of seven from Khenchen Sengge Gyeltsen (mkhen chen seng ge rgyal mtshan, d.u.). From the age of sixteen he studied at the Sakya monastery of Ngamring Chode (ngam ring chos sde), training with Bodong Paṇchen Jikdrel Chokle Namgyel (bo dong paN chen 'jigs bral phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1376-1451), the founder of the Bodong tradition, who taught him logic and philosophy.
When Gelek Pelzang was twenty-one he studied with Rendawa Zhonnu Lodro (red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros, 1349-1412), with whom he took full ordination. He studied Darmakīrt's Pramāṇavārttika, Abhidharma, and the Five Books of Maitreya, Nāgārjuna's works on Madhyamaka, and the Vinaya.
At the age of twenty-three, in 1407, he went to U to meet with Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357-1419) at Sera Choding (se ra chos sdings – not to be confused with the famous Sera Monastery). Khedrub Je received instructions on both sutra and tantra from Tsongkhapa, and soon became one of his most devoted disciples, receiving teachings alongside Tsongkhapa's other disciples such as Gyeltsabje Darma Rinchen (rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen, 1364-1432) and Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen ('dul 'dzin grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1374-1434). +
Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wanggyel was a major Nyingma lama of the early sixteenth century. Born in present day Mustang, Nepal, he traveled widely around Tibet promoting the Jangter tradition with his brother, Lekden Dorje. He is remembered to have strictly observed his monastic vows and was the author of many texts, including Ascertaining the Three Vows, which lays out the Buddhist path according to the Nyingma tradition. +
Tsonawa Sherab Zangpo was an important early Tibetan Vinaya scholar as well as a lineage holder of the Lamrim tradition. Two of his Vinaya texts are considered the most complete and lucid works on the Vinaya written in Tibet and are still studied in all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the first incarnation in the line of Mon Tsona Tulkus. +