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Teachings

A Brief Account of the Life of the Dharma Lord

Nyäntse Pönlob Dorje Chang

The holy master known as ‘Nyäntse’ was born of Nomadic Golog descent, during the eleventh sixty-year cycle, in the year of the female wood bull (1685). At a young age he went to Lhasa and entered Gaden Shartse Monastery to study the great treatises. Six-Armed Wisdom Mahakala accompanied him like his shadow and always assisted him. When he recited scriptures at night Mahakala would manifest as a frightening black dog to guard and protect him. Everyone saw this.

He studied Sutra and Tantra extensively with the master known as the ‘Renunciate of Amdo’, Trichen Gedün Phüntsog also known as Trichen Gungtangpa. That great master even presented him with a gift of the bone ornaments that he himself had worn.

When the Jungar Mongols made Trichen Rinpoche debate with the most learned masters of the monastic seats, the debate which was conducted in accordance with his instructions was victorious. He was appointed abbot of Gaden Shartse. He did not want to become abbot, however, and ran away from the monastery that night. He traveled to sacred sites such as Mt.Kailash and Tsari.

When he again returned to Gaden, the Jungar Mongols had returned to their homeland but they had left a letter saying that if Nyäntse Pönlob did not become abbot of Gaden, they would no longer have faith and respect for Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings. He therefore agreed to the terms of the letter and ascended to the throne of Gaden Shartse.

He received many initiations and teachings from Dükorwa Yöntän Dhargyä. Going home, he established about thirteen monasteries in the upper and lower parts of Ngawa.

There were many Bönpos in Ngawa at that time and the Buddhists were losing bouts of magical power. Then Nyäntse Pönlob had one of his disciples named Sakya Pagyäl Lama throw a torma projectile. The earth split open and a spring emerged! The next day the main Bönpo master cried in sorrow and died!

Detri Rinpoche Lozang Döndrup came to study with Nyäntse Pönlob. He was so impressed with one of his attendants, Rabtän Gyatso’s, conduct, that he said, ‘It is a bit unseemly that these Geshes have brought such highly learned people with them as their attendant!

Nyäntse Pönlob also told Detri Rinpoche to do something about the fact that there was a medium named Pänshül Tengän who was causing the teachings to decline by giving bikshu ordination with a torma and many other improper things. Detri Rinpoche agreed to his Guru’s instructions, but as he was thinking he should make the Sixty-Torma offering to Dharmaraja Kalarupa, Tengän’s oracular deity entered Tengän and said, ‘There is a Yamantaka yogi who is being harmed! Do a ritual! Detri Rinpoche interpreted this as request from Tengän for help and performed a ritual on his behalf. After that, he forgot about it and let the matter rest for some time.

But later, when Nyäntse Pönlob was leading the great congregation, Tengän had put on monk’s robes in order to collect offerings from the Mongolians. He had already obtained vast wealth of grain, horses, and the like, when he ran into Detri Rinpoche. Detri Rinpoche was once again reminded of what his Guru had instructed and performed the Sixty-Torma offering. Tengän immediately died.

Nyäntse Pönlob gave Trichen Gungtangpa’s tulku, Ngawang Tänpay Gyältsän, novice and full ordinations, and many teachings such as the Heruka and Guyasamaja initiations. He also gave him the bone ornaments that the previous Trichen Rinpoche had given to him.

Nyäntse Pönlob came to have many other learned and accomplished disciples such as Kirti Lozang Tänpay Gyältsän and Wampa Geshe Ngawang Püntsog. When he passed away he left the land filled, not with monks in name only, but with fully ordained bikshus living in pure conduct.

The transmission of reading Bardo Tödröl for the deceased had been interrupted by that time but Nyäntse Pönlob said that he would make recitation of Künrig ritual serve the same purpose. He passed away to the pure lands at the age of seventy-two, without the slightest illness, on the full moon of the third month of the fire rat year (1696).

Nyäntse Pönlob’s next recognized tulku incarnation, Ngawang Tenzin Trinle, was born in the Lamo community of Mongolia in the year of the fire-rat (1756). He took novice ordination with Tsamtsa Geshe Ngawang Sherab and received many teachings and initiations from him. He entered the Dharma courtyard of Lhogön monastery of southern Amdo and distinguished himself in the eyes of the Gurus and Deities. He was especially cared for by the Goddess Shramana who gave him many teachings in dreams and took care of his practice community. He passed away when he was sixty-two during the fourteenth sixty-year cycle in the year of the fire bull (1817).

His third tulku incarnation took birth as Ngawang Lozang Tsultrim Gyatso, the son of Amchog Rako Chöjor. He took ordination from Geshe Jampa and went to Lhasa where he continued to study and teach at Gaden Shartse Monastery.

(The seventh incarnation, Ngawang Tsöndru Gyatso, died in Tibet in a Chinese prison. At present the eighth incarnation is about twenty years old, living at Nyentse Monastery in Tibet, looking after the three or four monasteries that survived the destruction out of the original thirteen monasteries that he founded. He is also the political head of the region.)

Translation from Tibetan by David Molk, July 10, 2006

More Teachings

The four signs

1 Mirage (it is like an appearance of water when the light of the sun strikes a desert in the summer)

2 Smoke (Which is like blue puffs of smoke. It is similar to smoke billowing from a chimney in the midst of a mass of smoke.)

3 Fireflies (It is like burning red sparks seen within puffs of smoke from a chimney, or like red sparks on the soot on the bottom of a pan used for parching grain.)

4 Flame of a Butter lamp (It is like the sputtering point of a butter-lamp's flame when it is about to go out.)

The four empties

1 Radiant white appearance (It is call like moonlight dawns) and the empty. The knot at the top of the head is loosened, and, since the white drop obtained from the father, which has the aspect of the syllable hum upside-down, has the nature of water.

2 Radiant red increase (It is called like sunlight) and the

very empty. All the winds in the right and light channels below

the heart have entered the central channel through its lower

opening {at the base of the spine or in the sexual organ} and the

knot of the channel-wheel at the navel gradually loosen. thereby,

the red drop that is obtained from the mother, comes upward,

because it is nature of fire.

3 Radiant black near-attainment (it is call the darkness) and

the great empty.

4 Clear light (it is call the clear light of death) and the all empty.

(2) The Stages of Achieving the Intermediate state

or bardo state

1. The stages of Achieving the Intermediate State

Description of the Intermediate state. The entity of such an

intermediate being has five features.

A). It has all sense faculties. ( it has all five senses)

B). Since it has been born spontaneously (on its own ), all its major

and secondary limbs are simultaneously completed. (the whole

body is completed all at once)

C). Since it has a subtle body (Since it has a body of no substance

it cannot be destroyed even by a diamond.

D). Except for birthplaces. such as the mother's womb, it is not

obstructed even by mountains, fences and so forth.

(Since it has a body of no substance, it cannot be obstructed

by any thing such as mountains, walls, fences and so forth.)

E.) Through the force of karmic powers it can in an instant go

wherever it wants and not even a Buddha can stop it.

(Because of the karma that has already been created, it goes

where it must go and no one and nothing can stop it.)

2. Changing type.

It does not change to another type of migrator [among the six

types of migrators: god, demigod, human, animal, hungry ghost

and hell-being]

(Asanga says that is not certain that, once an intermediate state

of a particular type of being has been achieved, it will necessarily

be born that way, there being reversals into another type of

migration)

3. Synonyms. (different names for bardo)

Vasubandhu's Treasury of Knowledge, notes these other names

for bardo:

A). Mind-Arisen

B). Seeker of Existence

C). Smell-Eater

D). Intermediate State

E). Establishing Existence

4. Length of Life

The longest is seven days, there is no certainty. if within seven

days the causes of birth do not happen, at the end of the seventh

day a small death occurs whereupon an other intermediate state

is achieved.

Asanga says bardo will last no longer than seven weeks and

rebirth will occur within that time

5. Seeing the former body

Asanga says: even when an intermediate being sees its former

body (physical support), due to the force of having cut off any

relationship with that body, it does not think, "that is my body" and

it does not wish to enter its former body.

6. Manner (Mode) of exit from the body after death.

A). One who is to be reborn as a hell-being exits from the anus;

B). As a hungry ghost, exits from the mouth;

C). As an animal, exits from the urinary passage;

D). As a human, exits from the eye;

E). As a god of the desire realm, exits from the navel;

F). If one is to be reborn in the form realm, the exit is from

middle of the brow,

G). If one is to be reborn in the formless realm, it is from the

crown of the head.

7. Perception

Vasubandhu's Treasury of Knowledge, explains that intermediate

beings are seen by others of similar type and by those with a pure

divine eye. intermediate being of higher type perceive lower ones,

but lower ones do not see higher beings.

8. Size

Vasubandhu's Commentary on the ' Treasury of Knowledge'

explains that an intermediate being of a human of this world is the

size of a five-or six year-old child. However, not everyone agrees

with that belief (it is said that such is not one-pointedly certain).

9. Aspect.

Asanga's Actuality of the Levels says that , to an intermediate

being of a bad migration (animal, hungry ghost, or hell-being

there is a black flag, or a very dark night (pervaded by darkness);

to an intermediate being of a happy migration (human, demigod

or god) there appears a(n outstretched) white cloth, or bright,

moonlit night (pervaded by moonlight).

10. Color

The body's color in the intermediate state of a hell-being is
like a log burned by fire;
Of a hungry ghost, like water;
Of a an animal, like smoke;
Of a god of the desire realm or human, like gold;
Of a god of the from realm, like white.

11. Shape

Vasubandhu's ' Treasury of Knowledge'

Says that an intermediate being has the fleshy aspect or physical shape of the "prior state" of that migrator as which it will be reborn.]

There are four states:

Birth state: the first moment of connecting to the new life.
Prior state or live state: existence from the moment after connecting to the new life until the death state.
Death state: existence during the last period of death or at the time of experiencing the clear light of death.
Intermediate state: existence that occurs between the death state and birth state.

Asanga's explanation is that the bardo being has the physical shape of the next life.

12. Mode of movement

Asanga says

that an intermediate being of a god goes upwards;
Of a human goes straight forward;
Of a bad migration goes downwards, head first.

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