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Synopsis Of The Life Of The First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Compiled specially for the web (2000)
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, 3, 4 Birth And Parents Born in the year of Tiger, 1110 AD, at Treshoe in Dokham region of East Tibet; to the family of
Dorje Gonpo, father, and Lhathok Zagangcham, mother. He was named Gephel. Study, Practice, And Teachers He studied with his father at young age and then at the age of nineteen, he went to central Tibet and studied many years, mastering different subjects, such as: 1) Treatises of
Maitreya, Logic, and Madhyamaka from Geshe Gyamarwa, Chapa Choekyi Senge, and Majawa Changchub Tsondru; 2) Kadampa teachings from Geshe Sharawa and Sherab Dorje. He also studied: 3) Kadampa tradition from Geshe Tarawa,
4) Vinaya literature from Abbot Mal Duldzin; and 5) Kalachakra, Six Applications, and Other Vajrayana trainings in Two Stages from Pal Galo and Khampa Ahseng.At age thirty, he went to Dhaklha Gampo, the seat of lord
Gampopa, and met Gampopa and Gomtsul. Dusum Khyenpa received from Gampopa general Kadampa teachings and then special Vajrayana and Mahamudra lineage empowerments and instructions. Ordination(s) Received At age twelve, he was ordained as novice monk by master Chak Senge Drak and given
the name, Choekyi Drakpa. Other sources say that he was ordained as a novice at the age of sixteen by Trewo Chokgi Lama.(Karma Gyaltsen, p.27), or that he received the novice vow from Katrakpa (Lhorong Choejung
, by Tsewang Gyal, written around 1446.) Later, he was ordained as full monk, or bikshu, by the Abbot Mal Duldzin. Then he practiced under Gampopa's instructions for many years and achieved supreme
realizations. Major Activities At the age of fifty five, Dusum Khyenpa
established his first seat, Kampo Gangra or Kampo Neynang Monastery, in 1164 CE. The term Kamtsang Kagyu comes from this name, "Kampo." At the age of sixty, he established the Pangphuk
Monastery in Lithang, in east Tibet. He spent around twenty years in these regions. In 1184, when he was 74, he established his second seat, Karma Gon Monastery in Kham. In 1189, at the age of 80, he established
his third seat, Tsurphu Monastery in Toelung Valley in Central Tibet, which became the main seat for all the successive line of incarnations known as the Karmapas. Compositions [to come]
Parinirvana At the age of 84, he passed into parinirvana. 4 of 4 |
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