J a m g o n K o n g t r u l the Great A Short Biography by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
Translated by Ngödup Burkhar. Densal Vol. 5 No. 4.
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mong the multitude of disciples of Guru Padmasambhava during the time that he visited Tibet, twenty-five were exceptional in that their realization equaled that of Padmasambhava. One of these disciples was the Great Lopön Berotsana, a deeply realized being, a scholar and a translator. When Berotsana passed away, away, he was among the first of the practitioners in Tibet to enter into the rainbow body. This accomplishment is in itself a great mark of realization. Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, Great, also known as Lodro Thaye, was an emanation of Lopön Berotsana. As a matter of fact, his emanations go back in the past as far as Shakyamuni Buddha. But the emanation referred to here was among the first Tibetan incarnations, and because of his vows and practice in Tibet he incarnated there from that time on. All of his incarnations were great scholars and realized beings, always actively involved in important sequences of Dharma teachings in Tibet. The birth of Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche was predicted in the Lankavatara Sutra where the Buddha said: A great being and liberator By the name of Lodrö Thaye,
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Holder of the five fields of knowledge, Will come into existence. He will be a bodhisattva of ineffaceable qualities.
As prophesied by the Buddha, Jamgön Kongtrül the Great was born in Upper Eastern Tibet, to the east of Lhasa, in a place called Kongpo. That is how he got his name: Kong is from Kongpo and trül from tülku, so the Tülku of Kongpo. When Jamgön Kongtrül the Great was born, he manifested many miracles that indicated that he was the reincarnation of an enlightened being. As a young child he proved beyond doubt to be learned and realized. At that time in Kongpo the Bön tradition, an indigenous religion of Tibet, was quite prevalent; in fact the Bön people recognized and upheld him as their supreme spiritual guide. The Bön followers offered him the name of Tenyi Yungdrung Lingpa, which means “second to none,” as Padmasambhava was called. He was as deeply realized as the Buddha; they had not previously experienced one so greatly realized. So in the earlier part of his life he appeared as a Bön teacher, yet inwardly he manifested as a great vajrayana master. He thus imparted the profound vajrayana teachings to the Bön followers in the most skillful ways, and for the first time among the Bön followers a number of practitioners entered the rainbow body. Later on he traveled all over Tibet receiving teachings and transmissions from over one hundred of the most learned and realized masters of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Kagyu, Gelug, Sakya, and Nyingma. He performed all these activities as a simple monk carrying his basic needs on his back and seeking alms whenever food was needed, not revealing himself as a greatly learned and awakened being. Finally, Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche compiled the most important teachings of the Buddha common to all the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. These teachings are called Five Great Treasuries of Jamgön Kongtrül the Great. They include: (1) Rinchen Terzo of 60 volumes (2) Gyachen Kardzo of 5 volumes (3) Ngadzo (4) Dam Ngadzo (5) Sheja Dzo of 3 volumes Each volume has a different number of folios with a minimum of one hundred and an average of 300 to 400 folios.
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In these Five Great Treasuries he provided very clear and complete commentaries. He also went through the painstaking task of making sure that all these teachings maintained an unbroken line of empowerments, instructions, and other forms required in a continuous line of transmission. Because of the great responsibility he assumed toward the preservation and spread of the great teachings, he was recognized by all the schools of Buddhism in Tibet as one of the greatest Rime (non-sectarian) masters. Among all his renowned teachers, his personal root guru was Situ Pema Nyinje Wangpo, the IXth Situpa. Because of this, Jamgön Kongtrül the Great belongs to the golden chain of Kagyu Lineage masters. Not only did he preserve the essence of Buddhadharma through the Five Great Treasuries, but during his lifetime he personally helped to sustain the unbroken lineages by giving empowerments and oral transmissions to numerous practitioners of the Dharma. When the Chinese Communists invaded Tibet in 1959, the existence of Buddhism was essentially destroyed. Yet, mainly due to the work of Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, the unbroken line of Dharma teachings has been preserved. Without him the teachings might have degenerated, even if Communism had not taken over Tibet. In short, the presence and activity of Jamgön Kongtrül the Great was most timely. It was in accordance with the predictions of the Buddha that when there would be a degeneration of the Dharma, a great bodhisattva would uphold it by preserving the teachings in writing and by transmitting the Dharma through an unbroken lineage. Jamgön Kongtrül Lodro Thaye lived well into his eighties, and before passing away he prophesied that he would have five incarnations, those of Body, Speech, Mind, Qualities, and Activities. He also prophesied that his mind incarnation would make his main seat the great retreat caves at Tsen near Palpung, the seat of the Situpas. In accordance with these predictions, the second Jamgön Kongtrül, Khyentse Öser, was born as a prince son of the XV Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje, and established his seat at Tsen. During his lifetime he maintained an immensely important role in the preservation of the Kagyu Lineage and became teacher to His Holiness the XVI Gyalwa Karmapa. Thus again, he belonged to the golden chain of the Kagyu Lineage. At the end of his life, Khyentse Öser alerted his close disciples
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that soon he would be passing away. When his disciples made an earnest request that he live longer, he told them that it was time for him to go but that they should not mourn or worry because his emanation would be born soon. He prophesied that the birth would be in a family related to his mother and in fact, the house where he would be born could be seen from the house of his present mother. When his disciples requested more information, he convinced them that there was no need, as the all-knowing wisdom mind of the Karmapa would see whatever other information was necessary. He also said that the third Jamgön Kongtrül would, in fact, play a more important and expansive role in the spread and preservation of the Buddhadharma. So in 1954, precisely in accordance with the predictions of the second Jamgön Kongtrül, the third Jamgön Kongtrül was born into a noble family from a dakini mother with noble qualities. From the time he was a little child, he was brought up under the special care of His Holiness the XVI Gyalwa Karmapa. He received full transmission and education from both His Holiness and other eminent masters of the Kagyu Lineage. Presently, in this year of 1984, His Eminence Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche is one of the four regents of His Holiness Karmapa. He is fully matured and manifests the wisdom, compassion and presence of the Kongtrül Lineage as well as that of His Holiness Karmapa. He pays close attention to the many important wishes of his Holiness the XVI Karmapa and diligently fulfills them with tremendous confidence and enthusiasm. For those who had the good fortune to experience his presence and teachings during his short visit to the United States this year, it was abundantly clear that His Eminence is an awakened heartfelt son of His Holiness Karmapa and that he is completely trustworthy. y His Eminence live long in our midst and continue to guide and inspire us so that we may effect wholesome changes in the world.
