Jamgon Kongtrul
Encyclopedia
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers (lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

), primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations (tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...

), to date.

The first Jamgon Kongtrul, Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé, was one of the preeminent scholars in 19th century Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. Tibetan Buddhists believe that he had multiple simultaneous emanations; only one of these, Khyentse Özer, was called the second Jamgon Kongtrul. The recognition of the fourth Jamgon Kongtrul is presently in dispute, complicated by the ongoing controversy regarding the recognition of the genuine reincarnation of H.H. the 17th Karmapa.

The Jamgon Kongtruls are honored as lineage-holders of all the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

, although they are primarily identified with the Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...

 lineage. The Jamgon Kongtruls have had a profound influence on many teachers and masters of the different schools.

The First Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899)

The first Jamgon Kongtrul, named Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé was one of the most prominent Buddhist masters in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

 in the 19th century. He is credited as one of the founders of the Rime movement
Rime movement
Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...

 of Tibetan Buddhism and he compiled what is known as the Five Great Treasuries. He achieved great renown as a scholar and writer, and authored more than one hundred volumes of scriptures.

The Second Jamgon Kongtrul (1902-1952)

The 15th Karmapa's biography mentions that he had a vision in which he saw 25 simultaneous emanations of the master Jamgon Kongtrul. Preeminent among these was Karsey Kongtrul (1904–10 May 1952) (Tibetan: ཀར་སྲས་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་ Wylie: kar-sras kong-sprul)), who was said to embody Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye's mind. Karsey Kongtrul was born as the son of the 15th Karmapa. Karsey means "son of the Karmapa"; his formal religious name was as Jamgön Palden Khyentse Özer .

Karsey Kongtrül was identified and enthroned by his father at age twelve in 1902, in Samdrub Choling at the monastery of Dowolung Tsurphu. Karsey Kongtrül resided at Tsadra Rinchen Drak, the seat of his predecessor in eastern Tibet. He received the full education and lineage transmission from the Karmapa. Among his other teachers were Surmang Trungpa Chökyi Nyinche, the 10th Trungpa tulku. He attained realization of the ultimate lineage, was one of the most renowned Mahamudra masters and transmitted the innermost teachings to the sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpa’i Dorje. On many occasions, he gave teachings, empowerments, and reading transmissions from the old and new traditions, such as the Treasury of Precious Termas (Rinchen Terdzö), and he rebuilt the retreat center of Tsandra Rinchen Drak, his residence at Palpung Monastery. Karsey Kongtrül died on 10 May 1952 at the age of 49.

The Third Jamgon Kongtrul (1954-1992)

The third Jamgon Kongtrul, a tulku of Khyentse Özer, was born on the 1st of October, 1954. He fled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1959 in the aftermath of the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion and grew up at Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek , also called the Dharmachakra Centre, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok...

 under the care of the 16th Karmapa. Following the Karmapa's death, the third Jamgon Kongtrul was actively involved in the search for his successor. However, he died in a car accident on April 26, 1992, before the search could be completed.

The Fourth Jamgon Kongtrul (born 1995)

The recognition of the fourth Jamgon Kongtrul is presently in dispute, complicated by the ongoing controversy regarding the recognition of the genuine reincarnation of H.H. the 17th Karmapa. The two proposed candidates are:
  • Lodrö Chökyi Nyima (officially recognized by Ogyen Trinley Dorje and H.H. the Dalai Lama
    Dalai Lama
    The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

    )
  • Migyur Drakpa Sengge (officially recognized by Thaye Dorje
    Thaye Dorje
    Trinley Thaye Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.The Karmapa is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

     and H.H. Penor Rinpoche
    Penor rinpoche
    Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...

    )


The first recognition occurred in August 1996 and was formally installed by Ogyen Trinley Dorje later that year with the name Lodrö Chökyi Nyima. He had been born on November 26, 1995 near Chushur Dzong in Central Tibet. In 1997, he travelled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and has since lived at the monastery established by the previous Jamgon Kongtrul in Lava
Lava (town)
Lava is a small hamlet situated east of the town of Kalimpong via Algarah in Darjeeling district of the state of West Bengal, India. Lava is situated at an altitude of . It is one of the few places in West Bengal to receive snow in winter. It is the entry point to the Neora Valley National Park...

, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. This recognition was confirmed by H.H. the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

, H.H. Sakya Trizin
Sakya Trizin
Sakya Trizin or Sa'gya Gongma Rinboqê is the traditional title of the head of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism.The Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism was founded in 1073, when Khon Konchog Gyalpo , a member of Tibet’s noble Khön family, established a monastery in the region of Sakya, Tibet,...

, the head of the Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...

 sect, and H.H. Mindroling Trichen, the recently deceased head of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...

 tradition. All three performed hair-cutting ceremonies and bestowed names, as is traditional.

The second recognition occurred in December 1996, when Thaye Dorje
Thaye Dorje
Trinley Thaye Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.The Karmapa is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

 gave him the name Karma Migyur Drakpa Sengge Trinley Kunkhyab Palzangpo. The child, often referred to as Jamgon Yangsi, had been born the son of His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche
Beru Khyentse Rinpoche
His Eminence 2nd Beru Khyentse Rinpoche is an important lineageholder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche is a veryprominent contemporary Kalachakra Tantra master...

 on the 17th of December, 1995 in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal on the anniversary of the birth of Tsongkhapa (the 25th of the Tibetan month). When Thaye Dorje first visited Bodhgaya on the 23rd December 1996, Yangsi Rinpoche despite his young age was able to spontaneously pick up some rice and toss it into the air as a mandala offering, signifying the auspicious connection between Karmapa and Jamgon Kongtrul. In 1997, at H.E. Beru Khyentse Rinpoche's request, H.H. Dalai lama performed the hair-cutting ceremony for Jamgon Yangsi in Bodhgaya. In the year 2000, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche
Penor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...

, then head of the Nyingma sect, again reconfirmed Jamgon Yangsi as the genuine reincarnation of the Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye.

Other tulkus of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye

In addition to Karsey Kongtrul Khyentsé Özer (1904–1953) (the principal incarnation), there were four other reincarnations of the first Jamgon Kongtrul: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is the title of a tulku lineage of Tibetan Buddhist lamas. They originate with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, one of the most illustrious lamas of recent history, known for his central role in the rimé or non-sectarian movement in 19th Century Tibet. Jigme Namgyel is the...

, Dzogchen Kongtrul Rinpoche, and Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche. Kalu Rinpoche
Kalu Rinpoche
Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West.-Early life and teachers:...

, also recognized post-facto as the incarnation of Lodrö Thaye's activity, was never enthroned as such.

Works by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye

The main corpus of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye vast scholarly activities (comprising more than ninety volumes of works in all) is known as the Great Treasuries:
  • The Treasury of Encyclopedic Knowledge (shes bya kun la khyab pa'i mdzod), summarizing the entire sutric and tantric paths.
  • The Treasury of Precious Instructions (gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod), a compendium of empowerments and oral instructions of what he formulated as the "Eight Great Chariots" of the instruction lineages in Tibet.
  • The Treasury of Kagyü Mantras (bka' brgyud sngags kyi mdzod), a compendium of rituals, empowerments and oral instructions for the Yangdak, Vajrakilaya and Yamantaka deities of the Nyingma kama tradition, and the tantra cycles from the Sarma
    Sarma
    Sarma may refer to:*Sarma , Brahmin surname in India*Sarma , a dish found primarily in the cuisines of the Middle East and eastern Europe*Sarma , three newest schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

    lineages of Marpa and Ngok.
  • The Treasury of Precious Termas (rin chen gter mdzod), a massive compilation of termas.
  • The Uncommon Treasury (thun mong ma yin pa'i mdzod), which contains Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye's own profound terma revelations.
  • The Treasury of Extensive Teachings (rgya chen bka' mdzod), which includes various related works, such as praises and advice, as well as compositions on medicine, science and so on.

The Treasury of Knowledge

Jamgon Kongtrul's (1813–1899) 'The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge' is constituted by ten books or sections and is itself a commentary on the root verses 'The Encompassment of All Knowledge' which is as well the work of Jamgon Kongtrul. The Encompassment of All Knowledge are the root verses to Kongtrul's autocommentary The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge and these two works together are known as 'The Treasury of Knowledge' .

Of the Five, the Treasury of Knowledge was Jamgon Kongtrul's magnum opus, covering the full spectrum of Buddhist history, philosophy and practice. There is an ongoing effort to translate it into English. It is divided up as follows:
•Book One: Myriad Worlds (Snow Lion, 2003. ISBN 1-55939-188-X)
•Book Two: The Advent of the Buddha (parts 2, 3, and 4 forthcoming)
Part One: The Teacher's Path to Awakening
Part Two: The Buddha's Enlightenment
Part Three: The Buddha's Twelve Deeds
Part Four: Enlightenment's Bodies and Realms
•Book Three: The Buddha's Doctrine—The Sacred Teachings
Part One: What Are the Sacred Teachings?
Part Two: Cycles of Scriptural Transmission
Part Three: Compilations of the Buddha's Word
Part Four: Origins of the Original Translations' Ancient Tradition (Nyingma)
•Book Four: Buddhism's Spread Throughout the World
Part One: Buddhism's Spread in India
Part Two: How Buddhist Monastic Discipline and Philosophy Came to Tibet
Part Three: Tibet's Eight Vehicles of Tantric Meditation Practice
Part Four: The Origins of Buddhist Culture
•Book Five: Buddhist Ethics (Snow Lion, 2003. ISBN 1-55939-191-X)
•Book Six: The Topics for Study
Part One: A Presentation of the Common Fields of Knowledge and Worldly Paths
Part Two: The General Topics of Knowledge in the Hinayana and Mahayana
Part Three: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy (Snow Lion, 2007. ISBN 1-55939-277-0)
Part Four: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (Snow Lion, 2005. ISBN 1-55939-210-X)
•Book Seven: The Training in Higher Wisdom
Part One: Gaining Certainty about the Keys to Understanding
Part Two: Gaining Certainty about the Provisional and Definitive Meanings in the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma, the Two Truths and Dependent Arising
Part Three: Gaining Certainty about the View
Part Four: Gaining Certainty about the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind
•Book Eight: The Training in Higher Meditative Absorption (Samadhi)
Part One, Two: Shamatha and Vipashyana; The Stages of Meditation in the Cause-Based Approaches (forthcoming)
Part Three: The Elements of Tantric Practice (Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1-55939-305-X
Part Four: Esoteric Instructions, A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayana (Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1-55939-284-3)
•Book Nine: An Analysis of the Paths and levels to Be Traversed (forthcoming)
Part One: The Paths and Levels in the Cause-Based Dialectical Approach
Part Two: The Levels and Paths in the Vajrayana
Part Three: The Process of Enlightenment
Part Four: the Levels in the Three Yogas
•Book Ten: An Analysis of the Consummate Fruition State (forthcoming)
Part One: the Fruition in the Dialectical Approach
Part Two: The More Common Attainment in the Vajrayana
Part Three: The Fruition in the Vajrayana
Part Four: The Fruition State in the Nyingma School

Other works published in English translation

The Great Path of Awakening : The Classic Guide to Using the Mahayana Buddhist Slogans to Tame the Mind and Awaken the Heart
translated by Ken McLeod, Shambhala, 2000. ISBN 1-57062-587-5

Buddha Nature, The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary
Arya Maitreya, with commentary by Jamgon Kongrul Lodro Thaye and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Snow Lion, 200. ISBN 1-55939-128-6

Cloudless Sky
commentary by Jamgon Kongrul the Third.
Shambhala, 2001. ISBN 1-57062-604-9

Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual
translated by Ngawang Zangpo. Snow Lion Publications, 1994. ISBN 1-55939-029-8

The Torch of Certainty
Foreword by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2000. ISBN 1-57062-713-4

Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation
translated by Sarah Harding. Wisdom Publications, 2002. ISBN 0-86171-312-5

The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul: A Gem of Many Colors
translated by Richard Barron, Snow Lion Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-55939-184-7

Sacred Ground: Jamgon Kongtrul on Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography
Snow Lion Publications, 2001. ISBN 1-55939-164-2

Enthronement: The Recognition of the Reincarnate Masters of Tibet and the Himalayas
Snow Lion Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-55939-083-2

The Teacher-Student Relationship
Snow Lion Publications, 1999. ISBN 1-55939-096-4

Essence of Benefit and Joy
Siddhi Publications, 2000. ISBN 0-9687689-5-4

Timeless Rapture : Inspired Verse from the Shangpa Masters
Snow Lion, 2003. ISBN 1-55939-204-5

Light of Wisdom, Vol. 1
by Padmasambhava, commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1999. ISBN 962-7341-37-1

Light of Wisdom, Vol. II
by Padmasambhava, commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1999. ISBN 962-7341-33-9

Light of Wisdom, Vol. IV
by Padmasambhava, commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2001. ISBN 962-7341-43-6 (restricted circulation)

External links

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