Drenpa Namkha

Drenpa Namkha (dran pa nam mkha') was initially a Bon master with the name of Gyerpung Chenpo (gyer spung chen po). He adopted to Buddhism following the legendary debate at Samye between representatives of Chinese and Indian Buddhism. He became a disciple of Padmasambhava, gaining the yogic power of being able to tame wild yak with the wave of his hand. Padmasambhava initiated him into the secret mantra and gave him a red lotus hat, earning him the name Pungbon Gomar (phung bon mgo dmar), the source of his being depicted with a Bonpo hat. He instructed him to practice at Lake Namtso (gnam mtsho). He is said to have expressed his realization with the statement: “There is no use to introduce distinctions into the shining knowledge of the mutual sphere of sentient beings.” He collated many of the Dzogchen Semde (rdzogs chen sems sde) and then disseminated the translations, commentaries, and oral teaching of Padmasambhava.

Drenpa Namkha never abandoned his Bon faith, and in fact is said to have transmitted his Bon lineage to Padmasambhava, who concealed it as Bon treasure.

Among his reincarnations are both Bon and Buddhist treasure revealers, including Bonpo Traksell (bon po brag tshal), Rigdzin Lhundrub (rig 'dzin phrin las lhun grub), Drenpa Zungi Namtrul (dren pa zung gi rnam 'phrul), and Gyermi Nyi-od (gyer mi nyi 'od).

Sources

Gu ru bkra shis. 1990. Gu bkra’i chos ’byung. Beijing: Krung go’i bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, p. 174.

Tarthang Tulku. 1975. Bringing the Teachings Alive. Cazadero, CA: Dharma Publishing, pp. 77-78.

Arthur Mandelbaum
August 2007