Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361) was one of the great luminaries of 14th century Tibet. Born in the present-day Dolpo region of Nepal, Sherab Gyaltsen was raised within the Nyingma tradition. When he was 17 years old, he fled to Mustang in search of his teacher Kyiton Jamyang Dragpa Gyaltsen, who was to be be one of Dolpopa's main teachers. At the age of 20, he went to the great monastic establishment of Sakya in Central Tibet where he studied intensively for many years. Among other teachings he received there, mostly from Kyiton Jamyang, the Kalachakra-tantra, the Bodhisattva Trilogy (sems 'grel skor gsum), the Sutras on Buddha-nature (snying po'i mdo), the Sutras of Definitive Meaning (nges don mdo) and the Five treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga). Until the age of 29, Dolpopa had already studied under more than 30 teachers, and had become an eminent teacher in his own right, having earned the honorary title "Kunkhyen" (Omniscient One).
After travelling throughout Central Tibet on a tour of the most prestigious centers of learning, where he received instructions and transmissions from some of the most influential spiritual masters of the time, Dolpopa arrived at Jomonang for the first time. It was the year 1321. He later often said about this significant occasion: "No matter how many scholars would assemble, I had never been humbled and my confidence grew ever greater. However, when I went to Jonang and saw that every man and woman there, who were practicing seriously, had achieved a realisation of the nature of reality through meditation, I felt extremely humbled indeed. An uncontrollable faith and pure vision towards them was born in me!"
A year later, in 1322, Dolpopa returned to the Ritro Chenmo at Jomonang to request the full empowerment of the Dro lineage of the Kalachakra Tantra from Yontan Gyatso, the throne-holder at Jonang who was to become his second main teacher. He then entered into a solitary retreat on the 6-fold vajrayoga ("six yogas," sbyor drug) of the Kalachakra in the Khacho Dedan cave.
In 1326, Yontan Gyatso appointed Dolpopa as the 4th heir to the throne at Jomonang. Then from 1330-1333, inspired by having seen Thropu Lotsawa's great stupa, Dolpopa constructed the Great Stupa of Jonang. He then began to formulate his understandings derived from his meditation experiences. Beginning in 1334, Dolpopa oversaw a new translation of the Kalachakra Tantra and its main commentary, the Vimalaprabha, from Sanskrit into Tibetan by his disciples Lotsawa Lodro Pal and Sabzang Mati Panchen. Synthesizing the 3rd turning sutra discourses of the Buddha with the tantras, Dolpopa's teachings later were referred to as "zhentong," a term that he used to describe the ultimate nature of reality.
Following this, he spent several years in retreat before going on a teaching tour of the areas of Central Tibet. He drew crowds of tens of thousands of people, so large that often "interpreters" stationed among the crowds had to be employed, because people were so numerous that they couldn't get close enough to hear Dolpopa himself. Even though his teachings were highly controversial, it seems that there was hardly any eminent master of his time that had not come to study under Dolpopa. His disciples numbered in the thousands and he would instruct anyone who came to request instructions, be they high notables or beggars off the streets.
In the last days of the Tibetan Iron-Ox year (1361) Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen passed away. His cremation was performed on the evening of the sixth day of the first month of the Tiger year (1362), among many wondrous signs. Huge offerings were performed and the ceremonies were attended by more than a hundred eminent masters from all traditions, and thousands of students. The many retreatants in the valley lit an ocean of butterlamps on the roofs of their meditation huts, illuminating the entire area of the Jonang valley. When his funeral stupa was later opened, a great many relics were found among the ashes. A large part of these were enshrined in the famous stupa at Jomonang, the rest was distributed among Dolpopa's numerous disciples.
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen certainly was one of the greatest saints to ever grace the snowland of Tibet, whose sole aim in live was to revive and spread the definitive meaning of the Buddha's teachings. He did so with great patience, love and compassion, free of any sectarian bias.
Literary Works[edit]
Primary Teachers[edit]
Kyiton Jamyang Dragpa Gyaltsen
Yontan Gyatso
Primary Students[edit]
as listed in the "History of the Jonang School" (jo nang chos 'byung bzla ba'i sgron me) by Ngawang Lodro Drakpa:
- Changsem Chodrag Pal
- Lotsawa Lodro Pal
- Sabzang Mati Panchen
- Manika Shri
- Shangtonpa Sonam Drag
- Thangchen Kunga Bum
- Menchu Lodro
- Choje Rintshulwa
- Lharung Lha'i Gyaltsen
- Choje Phuntshog Pal
- Thangchung Lodro Pal
- Jonang Chogle Namgyal
- Nyawon Kunga Pal
- Tshalmin Sonam Sangpo
References[edit]
- The Buddha from Dolpo, by Cyrus Stearns. ISBN 0-7914-4191-1