Gangkar Rinpoche, 9th
ཀརྨ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་སེངྒེ་
Gangkar Rinpoche, 9th (1892 - 1957)
Gangkar Rinpoche, 9th (1892 - 1957)
The Ninth Gangkar Lama, Karma Shedrub Chokyi Sengge (gangs dkar bla ma 09 karma bshad sgrub chos kyi seng ge) was born in a place called Sade (sa sde) in Minyak (mi nyag). His father was named Draknak Trinle (brag nag 'phrin las) and his mother was named Draknak Drolma (brag nag sgrol ma).
When he was three years old, the Fifteenth Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje (karma pa 15 mkha' khyab rdo rje, 1870-1921) sent a letter from Lhasa recognizing him as the reincarnation of the Eighth Gangkar Lama, Karma Tsering Wangpo (gangs dkar bla ma 08 karma tshe ring dbang po, d.u.). At that time, Khamsum Drakgon Monastery, the seat of the lineage, was not able to accommodate him as it only had a poorly built prayer hall and a deity shrine, so he was placed in a temple near the monastery.
After the recognition procedures, a monk named Lama Norbu (bla ma nor bu), an expert in monastic rituals, was appointed as his private tutor to teach him how to read at the age of five.
During his childhood, he listened to tales told by the elders in the village where the temple was situated, including those drawn from the lives of the saints such as Tangtong Gyelpo (thang stong rgyal po, 1361-1485). He developed a keen interest in Kagyu masters and requested to study in one of the major monasteries of the tradition. His tutor Lama Norbu also told the leaders of the monastery that the young lama had learned all the things he had to teach.
In 1910 he was sent to Pelpung (dpal spungs) Monastery where his previous incarnation had also studied. There he met with the Eleventh Situ, Pema Wangchok Gyelpo (si tu pad ma dbang mchog rgyal po, 1886-1952), and other leaders of the monastery. He received novice monastic vows from a lama named Dechen Ngedon Tendzin Rabgye (bde chen nges don bstan 'dzin rab rgyas) and studied the Vinaya texts under a lama named Tsewang Peljor (tshe dbang dpal 'byor). He continued his education with Khenpo Zhenga, Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa (mkhan po gzhan dga gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba, 1871-1927), who was then at Pelpung establishing the monastic college.
At the age of twenty-one he was fully ordained by Dechen Ngedon Tendzin Rabgye. He continued to study Buddhist topics, as well as medicine, poetry, and grammar.
He then traveled to U-Tsang to continue his training at Tsurpu (mtshur phu) Monastery. There he received tantric transmissions and teachings from the Fifteenth Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje.
After returning to Pelpung Monastery, he received teachings and transmissions from teachers there, such as Situ Pema Wangchok Gyelpo. For several years he served as summer retreat master at Pelpung. At the request of Pema Wangchuk Gyelpo and Khenpo Zhenga he wrote the Exposition of the Special Praise to the Buddha (khyad par 'phags bstod kyi 'grel pa) and the Answers of the Scholars' Necklace (dris lan mkhas pa'i mgul rgyan) among others works. These do not appear to be extant, although printing blocks for the first work are said to have been carved.
In 1922, at the age of thirty, he returned to Khamsum Drakgon. He expanded the existing monasteries and established new institutions. In 1925 he was invited to Minyak Riku (mi nyag ri khud) Monastery where he started a school and taught modern Tibetan studies for three years. Later, in 1940, he started a school in Khamsum Drakgon Monastery also for modern Tibetan studies. His students included men from various ethnic backgrounds.
In 1930 he was invited to attend the enthronement ceremony of the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rikpai Dorje (karma pa 16 rang byung rig pa'i rdo rje, 1921-1981) and be his private tutor. He taught the Karmapa for about a year. Although he was asked to stay and continue to teach, he insisted that he was more needed in Minyak than in U-Tsang. He also brought many monks studying in U-Tsang back to Minyak with him. In Minyak he worked as a teacher, astrologer, and a traditional physician.
He traveled to China twice before the Communists took over. He first traveled in China from 1936 until 1939 and then again from 1945 until 1949. He gave many teachings in various places including Chengdu, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Beijing. In 1953 he was asked to teach at the Central Nationalities University (中央民族大学) in Beijing and he taught there for three years while also editing official documents translated into Tibetan. He passed away in 1957.
| Main Wylie Name | karma bshad sgrub chos kyi seng+ge | ཀརྨ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་སེངྒེ | ||||||||
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| BDRC | https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P1445 |
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| Treasury of Lives | https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Karma-Shedrub-Chokyi-Sengge/2730 |
| Himalayan Art Resources |