Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné, courtesy of Tsadra / Rinchen Terdzö

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné (Tib. རྗེ་དྲུང་ཕྲིན་ལས་བྱམས་པ་འབྱུང་གནས་, Wyl. rje drung phrin las byams pa 'byung gnas), Precious Lord of Compassionate Enlightened Activity’, aka Dudjom Namkhai Dorje (བདུད་འཇོམས་ནམ་མཁའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་, bdud 'joms nam mkha'i rdo rue (1856-1922) was a Taklung Kagyü and Nyingma lama and tertön from Kham, Tibet. A Rimé master, he was a direct student of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé and such the Fifteenth Karmapa Khakhyap Dorje. In Kham, he became the root master of Kangyur Rinpoche and later, in Pemakö, of Dudjom Rinpoche.

Birth, Family and Recognition

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was born in 1856 in the Shyol Danak (Wyl. zhol zla nag) family of Riwoche Monastery, in Kham. This family was a member of the Gar Tatsang clan (Wyl. mgar ra tsang) which claimed descent from the seventh-century Gar Songtsen (Wyl. mgar srong rtsan), a minister of King Songtsen Gampo. His father was Tsering Namgyal, his mother Jodhazha Tashi Dolkar.

When young, he was recognised as the 7th Jedrung Rinpoche, one of the two main incarnation lines of Riwoche Monastery Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was enthroned as the 20th golden-throne holder of Riwoche Monastery (Riwoche Taklung Marthang Monastery). The administration of the country received Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné with great fanfare and offered him the title of Ho Thok Thu. From the senior master Phurchok Rinpoche, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné received ordination. Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was later considered a reincarnation of Langdro Könchok Jungné), one of the Twenty-five disciples of Guru Rinpoche. Gara Lama Sonam Rapten (Wyl. mgar ra bla ma bsod nams rab brtan), the younger brother of Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné, born in 1865, was later involved in the politic environment of the then falling Chinese Empire and the Kham region.

Training

Receiving the complete Taklung Kagyü teachings from Ma Rinpoche, Thegchok Jigmed Pawo

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné first received the complete teaching of the Taklung Kagyu lineage from Ma Rinpoche, Thegchok Jigmed Pawo (from the Taklung Yarthang Monastery, in Central Tibet).

Studying with Jo Rigdzin

According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche , Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné 'relied on a truly and amazing mahasiddha, Jo Rigdzin, who was accomplished in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen approaches and had attained the level known as “beyond meditation”, the primordial empire of dharmakaya. Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné received the ‘oral transmissions for the extensive, intermediate and concise versions of the sutra “The Perfection of Sublime Knowledge”, Prajnaparamita, during a vision that lasted for just a single meditation session.” Jo Rigdzin became his root master. After remaining in a strict meditation retreat for three years, according to the prophecy of Guru Padmasambhava, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné invited two consorts into his life.

Stuyding with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgong Kongtrul

Later, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné went to the region of Derge, and received teachings from Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and from Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé. According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, “Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné received from the extraordinary lord Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo the great transmission of the Nyingtik teachings of Dzogchen, as well as tantras, sadhanas, empowerments, oral transmissions, pith instructions, and advice from the Nyingma and Sarma schools. The minds and intent of master and student merged inspeparably, and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo entrusted Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné with his teachings, so that the latter became his inner heart son.”

Studying with Khakhyap Dorje, the 14th Karmapa

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné also studied with the Fifteeenth Karmapa, Khakhyap Dorje (1870/1871-1921/1922).

Studying with Khenchen Lhagyal and many other masters

As he studied with Khenchen Lhagyal (Wyl. mkhan chen lha rgyal), a direct student of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and many other learned and accomplished masters, “his tendencies from former lifetimes awakened, and he himself reached a consummate level of erudition”.

Activity

When he was made abbot of Riwoche, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné assigned his younger brother, Gara Lama Sonam Rapten, to take charge of secular affairs for the lands controlled by the monastery.

Teaching throughout the Kham region

During the earlier part of his life, Jampa Jungné turned the wheel of the dharma for countless people at his own monastery of Kham Riwoché, as well as at centers in the regions of Nangchen and Chamdo. Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné also maintained the terma tradition of Pema Lingpa.

Becoming the root master of Kangyur Rinpoche

In Riwoche, one of the main students of Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was Kangyur Rinpoche (1897-1975). Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné gave him the complete transmission of all the tantras, explanatory commentaries, and pith instructions of the Dzogchen lineage. Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné gave Kangyur Rinpoche advice and made prophecies, saying, “Stay at the Vajrakilaya retreat center and recite the mantra three hundred million times. Then go to Paro Taktsang in Bhutan: an opportunity for spiritual attainment awaits you there.”

According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche:

Following [Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné]’s prophecy, Kangyur Rinpoche reached the cave of Paro Taktsang in Bhutan, where the local spirits appeared to him and escorted him inside. There he engaged in the phases of approach and accomplishment for the practice of Vajrakilaya and revealed termas such as The Guru and Vajrakilaya: The Sphere of Enlightened Mind.

Leading 2,000 practitioners to Pemakö, meeting and teaching Dudjom Rinpoche

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Qing general Zhao Erfeng (1845-1911) invaded the eastern part of the Kham region, committed atrocities, and destroyed many monasteries, including Riwoche Monastery. Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was invited to Pemakö by the Powo King Kanam Depa. The two brothers, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné and Gara Lama Sonam Rapten, led a group of refugees who wanted to flee Kham.

In 1903, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné with some 2,000 followers moved to Pemakö, one of the foremost of the hidden-lands sacred to Guru Rinpoche. First, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné settled in Chimdo, a region in Powo on Tibetan side of the Himalaya. Then, he moved to Mipi, on the south side of the mountains, where he built a temple called Karmo Ling (Wyl. dkar mo gling). In Pemakö, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné established a Vinaya Monastery and a Tantric Monastery with complete disciplines and traditional teachings. He also established annual Guru Padmasambhava Day in the month of the Monkey with Lama Dance and sadhana practice.

Meeting and teaching Dudjom Rinpoche in Pemakö

In Pemakö, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné gave Dzogchen teachings to the young Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987). Dudjom Rinpoche became one of his closest disciples.

Returning to Riwoche in 1910 (or 1911 ?)

In Pemakö, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné and his group of Tibetans began to experience difficult relations with the local people, the Lopa (klo pa), and many refugees returned to Kham.

According to Ian Baker:

Many died while crossing high snow-covered passes and many more starved when the valleys near Mipi proved unable to support such large numbers. Many of the new arrivals attempted to return to Tibet but perished on the way. The Tibetan settlers who stayed were increasingly harassed by the Chulikata Mishmis. As quarrels escalated, the tribesmen began burning the Tibetan’s crops and houses, setting traps along jungle paths, and shooting at them with poisoned arrows. The savagery of the natives, coupled with the ceaseless rainfall and blood-sucking flies, causes many of the pilgrims to lose faith that the were on the threshold of an earthly paradise, and in 1909, when Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné retunred to Tibet, the majority of pilgrims returned with him.

When Powo was invaded by the Guomindang in the second decade of the twentieth century, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné returned to Kham to rebuild Riwoche.

Gara Lama Sonam Rapten and Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné returned to Riwoche in 1910 or 1911, right as the dying Qing Empire made one last attempt to conquer Tibet. Zhao Erfeng again marched through Kham, this time on his way to Lhasa, arriving in 1910. When the Qing collapsed in 1911, however, the Chinese were expelled from Tibet and retreating armies passed through Riwoche, adding to a garrison that had been based there for some time. In 1917, when Chinese troops attempted to take control of the Chamdo region, Chinese soldiers threatened to burn the monastery and Gara Lama mediated with the Chinese commander, General Peng Risheng, succeeding in saving the temple (which was promptly sacked by the Tibetan army).

Being instructed to move to Taklung Monastery, in Central Tibet

When the Ganden Podrang government of Tibet took control of Riwoche, both Gara Lama and his elder brother Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné were suspected by the Tibetans of being Chinese agents. Gara Lama was arrested and brought to Lodrak, and Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was taken to Taklung Monastery near Lhasa, where he was allowed to teach but remained under suspicion.

According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, ‘Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné then received a directive from the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso, to move to central Tibet. Accordingly, he established his seat north of Lhasa at Taklung Monastery. There he served as master of the teachings, conferring the sutras and tantras—The Treasury of Spiritual Instructions—, the precious Kangyur, and more—to communities of many hundreds of people in Lhasa and throughout western, central, and eastern Tibet

According to Alexander Gardner, it is more likely the case that Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné was sent to Taklung as a form of house-arrest, having been on the wrong side of the Tibetan-Chinese battle for the Chamdo region in 1917.

At the Taklung Yarthang Monastery, and at the request of Taklung Tsetrul Ngawang Palden, , Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné gave to a huge gathering empowerments and transmissions of the entire Taklung Kagyu lineage teachings as well as Dzogchen teachings from the Nyingma tradition.

Writings & Termas

The collected writings of Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné comprise thirteen volumes of texts, including teachings on Buddhism in general, texts belonging to the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions, and his own termas.

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné is said to have predicted that his brother Gara Lama Sonam Rapten would reveal a terma at a lake in Pome Powo) called Kanam Lhatso (ka gnam lha mtsho), to the southeast of Riwoche, and led a large crowd there. Arriving at the lake, Gara Lama Sonam Rapten is said to have walked into the water, holding a lit butter lamp, until he was completely submerged. When he emerged moments later, the lamp still lit, he carried a small turquoise box. He handed the small box to his elder brother, out of which came a text for the practice of Vajrakilaya and medicinal substances for the treatment of leprosy.

According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche:

In general, the lord Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné had visions of and received guidance from a vast array of gurus and his personal meditation deities. In particular, his visions of Guru Rinpoche awakened his spiritual tendencies from an earlier lifetime as Langdro Könchok Jungné, and he received a personal transmission of profound termas. Many of his termas, such as those with Yeshe Tsogyal as the feminine aspect and the longevity aspect sadhana The Secret Heart Drop of Padma, still exist.

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné revealed many cashes of termas—such as the Guru and Vajrakilaya: The Sphere of Enlightened Mind—along with Kangyur Lama, who had been prophesied by Guru Rinpoche to be the custodian of his teachings. These termas and the thirteen volumes of Jampa Jungné’s collected writings appeared like a great sun, illuminating the teachings of both the Kagyü and Nyingma schools.

Clear Light, a Néyik to Pemakö

In a cave in Kham, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné unearthed a néyig called ‘Clear Light’. The scroll describes a crystal mountain in the heart of Pemakö with multiple valleys spreading out around it “like the leaves of a thousand-petalled lotus. The hidden sanctuary promises refige from famine, disease, wand war and offered caves for “attaining supreme spiritual accomplishments”. Healing springs and medicinal plants assures longevity and miraculous powers. The texts describes a “secret path” through dense forests and enumerates the many dangers such as tigers, leopards, and venomous snakes that seekers would face en route..

Pema Sangtik Sangtik

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné revealed the Pema Sangtik, The Secret Heart Drop of Padma, (Wyl. pad ma gsang thig), which is a Long life practice terma, now included in the Rinchen Terdzö.

The Guru and Vajrakilya: The Sphere of Enlightened Mind

With his disciple Kangyur Rinpoche, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné revealed the terma ‘The Guru and Vajrakilya: The Sphere of Enlightened Mind’.

The Bright Torch Guide to the Secret Land of Pemakö

In 1911-12, during his period of confinement, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné, composed a néyik (guidebook) to Pemakö’s long-sought sanctuary. Written on sixteen sheaves of birch bark, ‘The Bright Torch Guide to the Secret Land of Pemakö’ prophesied some forty years before the event, that in the Dragon Year (1951), foreign armies would invade Tibet and wars, famine, and epidemics would follow. Those who did not leave within five years of the Horse Year (1958) would be “chained by the lassoes of the devils.”.

Students

Among his students are:

• Drubwang Karma Tsundue
• Dudjom Rinpoche
• Gara Lama Sonam Rapten
• Kagyurpa Dakpa Tenzin
• Kangyur Rinpoche
• Lama Tsesam
• Mentsepa Khyenrab Norbu
• Namchak Tulku Sodpa Rabten
• Nyakla Devi Nyima
• Pawo Lama Rabten Gyatso
• Phakchok Ngawang Kunga Namgyal (b.1913), the twenty-first throne-holder of Riwoche Monastery, the 5th Phakchok Rinpoche
• Sangsang Tulku Nedhon Gyatso
• Shabdrung Chokyi Nyima
• Trubwang Tsephel
• Tsetrul Ngawang Palden,
• Yongdzin Dakpa Phuntsok
• The 10th Zurmang Trungpa, Karma Chökyi Nyinché

Final Years

Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné passed away in 1922. After his passing, Karmo Ling, the temple which he had built in Pemakö, was offered to Kunzang Dechen Lingpa before hes escaped to India in 1962.

Reincarnation

After the passing of Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné, two incarnations were recognized: Jedrung Trakpa Gyaltsen, and Jedrung Jampal Lungtok (1925-1990’s). In 1919 [1922], two reincarnation of Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné were discovered. One was discovered in the Riwoche region. Another reincarnation was found in the Tibetan district of Zayul. Both of the young tulkus were installed at Riwoche Monastery. At the age of twenty, the incarnation from Zayul, Jedrung Trakpa Gyaltsen (Peko Jedrung, as he came to be known) married a local woman and settled in Chimdro to head the temple of Tashi Choeling. The other stayed in Riwoche Monastery.

From the 8th Jedrung Rinpoche, the incarnation line is split into two lines:

• The Jedrung Rinpoche identified at Riwoche
• The Peko Jedrung (short for Pemakö Jedrung), from Jedrung Trakpa Gyaltsen who initially settled in Pemakö.

Further Reading

• Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage (Junction City: Padma Publications, 2005), pages 446-447.

Internal Links

• Pemakö
• Néyik
• Taklung Kagyü

External Links

• TBRC profile
• Treasury of Lives
• The lineage of Jedrung Rinpoche