Tulku Tsultrim Zangpo
Tulku Tsultrim Zangpo (Tib. ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་བཟང་པོ་, Wyl. tshul khrims bzang po) aka Tulku Tsullo (སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཚུལ་ལོ, Wyl. sprul sku tshul lo) (1884-c.1957[1]) — one of the greatest Tibetan scholars of recent times, was an important student of Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa, as well as the author of his secret biography and a lineage-holder of his terma teachings. He was also a student of the Third Dodrupchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima and of Amye Khenpo Damchö Özer of Dodrupchen Monastery. Khenpo Damchö said of him on one occasion, “I am just a dog, but I have a lion for a student.” Although it was notoriously difficult to meet Dodrup Jikmé Tenpé Nyima in his later years, Tsullo was able to do so because of his work as a scribe. He copied many texts for Dodrupchen Rinpoche’s personal library and used the work as an opportunity to get access to Rinpoche and to receive clarifications.
Tsultrim Zangpo’s father was Gönpo Wangyal and his mother was Shyiwam Tso, daughter of Khordong Terchen Nüden Dorje. His main residence was at Shukjung Monastery in the Do Valley, which is located about 15 to 20 miles from Dodrupchen Monastery and which belongs to the Northern Treasures tradition. He also spent time at Khordong Monastery, which was under the care of his younger brother, Gyurme Dorje.
Those who saw him say that he looked statuesque, seated in meditation posture, hardly ever moving, and with an impressive white beard.
He was the root teacher of Khordong Tertrul Chime Rigdzin, popularly known as C.R. Lama (1922-2002), as well as Orgyen Tendzin (Tulku Gyenlo) and Zhichen Öntrul, who passed away recently in Tibet.
He had two main reincarnations, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche of Nango Gonpa Trango and Tulku Lungtok.
Writings
Tsultrim Zangpo was a monk who upheld the Vinaya, as well as an accomplished tantric adept, and among his writings is a two-volume commentary on Ngari Panchen’s Ascertainment of the Three Types of Vows (སྡོམ་གསུམ་རྣམ་ངེས་, sdom gsum rnam nges), as well as several texts on Dzogchen, including an instruction manual (ཁྲིད་ཡིག་, khrid yig) for the Gongpa Zangthal, which has been translated into English by Tulku Thondup, and a commentary on the famous Prayer of Kuntuzangpo. His other writings include a commentary to Padmasambhava’s Garland of Views and many works related to the tantras of the New Translation tradition.
His unpublished commentary on Jikmé Lingpa's Treasury of Precious Qualities, based on teachings by Dodrupchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima, was recently discovered in Tibet.
See also: Collected works of Tulku Tsullo
Notes
- ↑ The birth year of 1884 is given in Tulku Thondup's Masters of Meditation and Miracles. According to the Khordong monastery website he died at the age of seventy-three. We know that he wrote the secret biography of Tertön Sogyal in 1942.
Further Reading
- Dalai Lama, Mind in Comfort and Ease: The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection, Wisdom Publications, 2007
- Kun bZang dGongs Pa Zang Thal- Boundless Vision: A Byangter Manual on Dzogchen Training. An Outline Commentary on the Boundless Vision of Universal Goodness, Edition Khordong.
