Introduction to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo: Difference between revisions

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Though officially recognized and enthroned as the rebirth of Thartse Jampa Namkha Chime,<ref>Thar rtse byams pa nam mkha' 'chi med (1765-1820), the 44th
Though officially recognized and enthroned as the rebirth of Thartse Jampa Namkha Chime,<ref>Thar rtse byams pa nam mkha' 'chi med (1765-1820), the 44th
Ngor mkhan chen.</ref>a prominent Sakya scholar and hierarch, he figures into the Khyentse Lineage as the last of the three tulkus of Jigme Lingpa, a.k.a. Khyentse Özer, among whom Khyentse Wangpo was considered the body-emanation (''sku sprul'').<ref>The others two were Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje as the mind-emanation (''thugs sprul''), and Patrul Rinpoche, Jigme Chökyi Wangpo, as the speech-emanation (''gsung sprul''). It should be noted that apart from the tulku status, Khyentse Wangpo would also become one of the principal disciples, or heart-sons (''thugs sras'') of Jigme Lingpa's disciple Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu, who is credited along with the first Dodrupchen for introducing the ''Longchen Nyingthig'' to eastern Tibet. Khyentse Wangpo is often paired with another of Jigme Lingpa's tulkus, Patrul Rinpoche, as the disciples of Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu that were like the sun and the moon.</ref> However, for Khyentse Wangpo the list of such recognitions does not end with the above two. Kongtrul states that he was  the combined emanation of two of the famed group of eight Indian vidyādharas (''rig 'dzin brgyad''), namely Mañjuśrīmitra and Vimalamitra. Alternatively, Dudjom Rinpoche omits the former and pairs the latter, Vimalamitra, with the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen. Though they both include the Dharma King among Khyentse Wangpo's former lives, as well as the King's subsequent birth as his own grandson Gyalse Lhaje. Moreover, Khyentse Wangpo was considered the thirteenth in the line of successive rebirths of Gyalse Lhaje- a line in which every single member revealed treasure over the course of their lives, beginning from the very first Tibetan tertön, Sangye Lama, up until Khyentse Wangpo. Khyentse Wangpo, himself, writes in the verses of his ''Essentialized Biography''<ref>See [[JKW-KABAB-01-KA-006|'''jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po'i rnam thar snying por dril ba'']], p. 394.</ref> that he only vaguely remembers some of his former lives in India and Tibet. Among these he includes among his Indian lives, the mahāsiddha Vajraghaṇṭa and the paṇḍitas Pratihārānandamati and Vanaratna. In Tibet he mentions the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen and Chokdrup Gyalpo, i.e. Gyalse Lhaje, along with Guru Chökyi Wangchuk, Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal, Thangtong Gyalpo and the great Lhatsun Namkha Jigme. To this list Kongtrul adds the early Kagyu master Rechungpa and the Sakya forefather Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen. Furthermore, Khyentse Wangpo revealed cycles of teachings that he claimed were based on the clear recollections (''rjes dran'') of his former lives as Langdro Könchok Jungne, who is traditionally counted among the twenty-five disciples of Guru Rinpoche, and Chetsun Senge Wangchuk, the circa 11th to 12th century Dzogchen master who figures prominently in the early lineage of the ''Heart of Essence of Vimalamitra'' (''bi ma snying thig'').
Ngor mkhan chen.</ref>a prominent Sakya scholar and hierarch, he figures into the Khyentse Lineage as the last of the three tulkus of Jigme Lingpa, a.k.a. Khyentse Özer, among whom Khyentse Wangpo was considered the body-emanation (''sku sprul'').<ref>The others two were Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje as the mind-emanation (''thugs sprul''), and Patrul Rinpoche, Jigme Chökyi Wangpo, as the speech-emanation (''gsung sprul''). It should be noted that apart from the tulku status, Khyentse Wangpo would also become one of the principal disciples, or heart-sons (''thugs sras'') of Jigme Lingpa's disciple Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu, who is credited along with the first Dodrupchen for introducing the ''Longchen Nyingthig'' to eastern Tibet. Khyentse Wangpo is often paired with another of Jigme Lingpa's tulkus, Patrul Rinpoche, as the disciples of Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu that were like the sun and the moon.</ref> However, for Khyentse Wangpo the list of such recognitions does not end with the above two. Kongtrul states that he was  the combined emanation of two of the preeminent group of eight Indian vidyādharas (''rig 'dzin brgyad''), namely Mañjuśrīmitra and Vimalamitra. Alternatively, Dudjom Rinpoche omits the former and pairs the latter, Vimalamitra, with the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen. Though they both include the Dharma King among Khyentse Wangpo's former lives, as well as the King's subsequent birth as his own grandson Gyalse Lhaje. Moreover, Khyentse Wangpo was considered the thirteenth in the line of successive rebirths of Gyalse Lhaje- a line in which every single member revealed treasure over the course of their lives, beginning from the very first Tibetan tertön, Sangye Lama, up until Khyentse Wangpo. Khyentse Wangpo, himself, writes in the verses of his ''Essentialized Biography''<ref>See [[JKW-KABAB-01-KA-006|'''jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po'i rnam thar snying por dril ba'']], p. 394.</ref> that he only vaguely remembers some of his former lives in India and Tibet. Among these he includes among his Indian lives, the mahāsiddha Vajraghaṇṭa and the paṇḍitas Pratihārānandamati and Vanaratna. In Tibet he mentions the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen and Chokdrup Gyalpo, i.e. Gyalse Lhaje, along with Guru Chökyi Wangchuk, Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal, Thangtong Gyalpo and the great Lhatsun Namkha Jigme. To this list Kongtrul adds the early Kagyu master Rechungpa and the Sakya forefather Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen. Furthermore, Khyentse Wangpo revealed cycles of teachings that he claimed were based on the clear recollections (''rjes dran'') of his former lives as Langdro Könchok Jungne, who is traditionally counted among the twenty-five disciples of Guru Rinpoche, and Chetsun Senge Wangchuk, the circa 11th to 12th century Dzogchen master who figures prominently in the early lineage of the ''Heart of Essence of Vimalamitra'' (''bi ma snying thig'').


The figure of Khyentse Wangpo looms so large in the Tibetan annals of the 19th century that it is, in fact, difficult to imagine what Tibetan Buddhism might look like today without him. In an era that witnessed a remarkable period of renewal and creativity, replete with the emergence of towering figures, Khyentse Wangpo can still be described as incomparable. Under his auspices, Jamgön Kongtrul and Loter Wangpo produced literary collections that virtually ensured the survival of more than a thousand years of Buddhist scriptural output. Yet without the complete transmissions of the works contained within the hundreds of collective volumes of the ''Rinchen Terdzö'', the ''Damngak Dzö'', the ''Kagyu Ngak Dzö'', ''Gyude Kuntu'' and the ''Drupthab Kuntu'', which were painstakingly gathered and embodied by Khyentse Wangpo, those collections might have amounted to little more than dry ink on paper, rather than the life force of a living tradition. Furthermore, his seal of approval brought recognition to figures that would come to shape the tradition we see today. The names Mipham and Chogyur Lingpa might have meant little to us had Khyentse Wangpo not recognized and nurtured their potential early on, thus catapulting them into the spotlight and imbuing their activities with an unassailable authority and stature.
The figure of Khyentse Wangpo looms so large in the Tibetan annals of the 19th century that it is, in fact, difficult to imagine what Tibetan Buddhism might look like today without him. In an era that witnessed a remarkable period of renewal and creativity, replete with the emergence of towering figures, Khyentse Wangpo can still be described as incomparable. Under his auspices, Jamgön Kongtrul and Loter Wangpo produced literary collections that virtually ensured the survival of more than a thousand years of Buddhist scriptural output. Yet without the complete transmissions of the works contained within the hundreds of collective volumes of the ''Rinchen Terdzö'', the ''Damngak Dzö'', the ''Kagyu Ngak Dzö'', ''Gyude Kuntu'' and the ''Drupthab Kuntu'', which were painstakingly gathered and embodied by Khyentse Wangpo, those collections might have amounted to little more than dry ink on paper, rather than the life force of a living tradition. Furthermore, his seal of approval brought recognition to figures that would come to shape the tradition we see today. The names Mipham and Chogyur Lingpa might have meant little to us had Khyentse Wangpo not recognized and nurtured their potential early on, thus catapulting them into the spotlight and imbuing their activities with an unassailable authority and stature.
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Revision as of 10:54, 23 August 2021

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, the famed 19th century Tibetan polymath and mystic, was arguably the most prolific member of the Khyentse Lineage. Not only in terms of his own writings and revelations, which are presented here in collections that amount to forty-seven Tibetan volumes, but also in terms of the influence he exerted on the religious culture of Tibet and the Himalayan region. The endless list of grand achievements he was able to accomplish for the benefit of the Dharma, are even more astonishing in light of the fact that he reportedly spent the better part of the last three decades of his life cloistered away in retreat at his private residence at Dzongsar Monastery in eastern Tibet.

Though officially recognized and enthroned as the rebirth of Thartse Jampa Namkha Chime,[1]a prominent Sakya scholar and hierarch, he figures into the Khyentse Lineage as the last of the three tulkus of Jigme Lingpa, a.k.a. Khyentse Özer, among whom Khyentse Wangpo was considered the body-emanation (sku sprul).[2] However, for Khyentse Wangpo the list of such recognitions does not end with the above two. Kongtrul states that he was the combined emanation of two of the preeminent group of eight Indian vidyādharas (rig 'dzin brgyad), namely Mañjuśrīmitra and Vimalamitra. Alternatively, Dudjom Rinpoche omits the former and pairs the latter, Vimalamitra, with the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen. Though they both include the Dharma King among Khyentse Wangpo's former lives, as well as the King's subsequent birth as his own grandson Gyalse Lhaje. Moreover, Khyentse Wangpo was considered the thirteenth in the line of successive rebirths of Gyalse Lhaje- a line in which every single member revealed treasure over the course of their lives, beginning from the very first Tibetan tertön, Sangye Lama, up until Khyentse Wangpo. Khyentse Wangpo, himself, writes in the verses of his Essentialized Biography[3] that he only vaguely remembers some of his former lives in India and Tibet. Among these he includes among his Indian lives, the mahāsiddha Vajraghaṇṭa and the paṇḍitas Pratihārānandamati and Vanaratna. In Tibet he mentions the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen and Chokdrup Gyalpo, i.e. Gyalse Lhaje, along with Guru Chökyi Wangchuk, Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal, Thangtong Gyalpo and the great Lhatsun Namkha Jigme. To this list Kongtrul adds the early Kagyu master Rechungpa and the Sakya forefather Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen. Furthermore, Khyentse Wangpo revealed cycles of teachings that he claimed were based on the clear recollections (rjes dran) of his former lives as Langdro Könchok Jungne, who is traditionally counted among the twenty-five disciples of Guru Rinpoche, and Chetsun Senge Wangchuk, the circa 11th to 12th century Dzogchen master who figures prominently in the early lineage of the Heart of Essence of Vimalamitra (bi ma snying thig).

The figure of Khyentse Wangpo looms so large in the Tibetan annals of the 19th century that it is, in fact, difficult to imagine what Tibetan Buddhism might look like today without him. In an era that witnessed a remarkable period of renewal and creativity, replete with the emergence of towering figures, Khyentse Wangpo can still be described as incomparable. Under his auspices, Jamgön Kongtrul and Loter Wangpo produced literary collections that virtually ensured the survival of more than a thousand years of Buddhist scriptural output. Yet without the complete transmissions of the works contained within the hundreds of collective volumes of the Rinchen Terdzö, the Damngak Dzö, the Kagyu Ngak Dzö, Gyude Kuntu and the Drupthab Kuntu, which were painstakingly gathered and embodied by Khyentse Wangpo, those collections might have amounted to little more than dry ink on paper, rather than the life force of a living tradition. Furthermore, his seal of approval brought recognition to figures that would come to shape the tradition we see today. The names Mipham and Chogyur Lingpa might have meant little to us had Khyentse Wangpo not recognized and nurtured their potential early on, thus catapulting them into the spotlight and imbuing their activities with an unassailable authority and stature.

  1. Thar rtse byams pa nam mkha' 'chi med (1765-1820), the 44th Ngor mkhan chen.
  2. The others two were Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje as the mind-emanation (thugs sprul), and Patrul Rinpoche, Jigme Chökyi Wangpo, as the speech-emanation (gsung sprul). It should be noted that apart from the tulku status, Khyentse Wangpo would also become one of the principal disciples, or heart-sons (thugs sras) of Jigme Lingpa's disciple Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu, who is credited along with the first Dodrupchen for introducing the Longchen Nyingthig to eastern Tibet. Khyentse Wangpo is often paired with another of Jigme Lingpa's tulkus, Patrul Rinpoche, as the disciples of Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu that were like the sun and the moon.
  3. See 'jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po'i rnam thar snying por dril ba, p. 394.