Drubchen Kunga Lodro

Kunga Lodro (kun dga' blo gros) was born, in 1365, into the aristocratic Sharkhapa (shar kha pa) family, whose members ruled a large area of Tsang provice from their fortress at Gyantse (rgyal rtse). When he was four or five years old he had repeated visions of Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292-1361) and received the Kālacakra blessing from him. When he was eight years old he received initial monastic ordination from the Sakya master Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen (bla ma dam pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan, 1312–75) and Nyawon Kunga Pel (nya dbon kun dga' dpal, 1285-1379)

Kunga Lodro studied with many teachers, but especially Nyawon, from whom he learned many topics such epistemology, abhidharma, the monastic code, Mādhyamaka, Lamdre, and the Kālacakra teachings. He also received the great initiation of Kālacakra from Dolpopa's major disciple Chokle Namgyel (phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1306-1386), who twice held the monastic seat of Jonang Monastery. From Gyelwa Josang (rgyal ba jo bzang), who was the eleventh holder of the monastic seat at Jonang, Kunga Lodro later received the great Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakra Tantra with Chokle Namgyel's own annotations to the text.

In 1386, when Kunga Lodro was twenty-two years old, he succeeded his teacher Nyawon on the monastic seat of Tsechen (rtse chen) Monastery. From the previous year, 1385, the rulers of the two branches of the Sharkhapa family had fought each other for twelve years, bringing great troubles to the region. Kunga Lodro brought the warring factions together at Tsechen and was able to stop the conflict for two or three years. When fighting later erupted again, he was deeply saddened and withdrew to isolated hermitages to practice concentrated meditation.

For almost fifty years Kung Lodro focused primarily on meditation retreat, although he did sometimes travel to Sakya, Gyantse, and other places to teach. His biography is full of beautiful poetic teachings and his own statements about experiences in dream yoga, illusory body, and other aspects of advanced meditation practice. He often taught Lamdre, the six-branch yoga of Kālacakra, the Five Stages (rim lnga), the Six Dharmas of Nāropa, Niguma, and Sukhasiddhi, and other transmissions. He emphasized the importance of gaining experience through the actual practice of such special instructions, not simply receiving the transmission. Kunga Lodro's main disciple was Jamyang Konchok Sangpo ('jam dbyangs dkon mchog bzang po), who held the monastic seat of Tsechen, Jonang, and other monasteries.

Sources

Anonymous. 1456. Dpal ldan bla ma’i rnam par thar pa dngos grub kyi rgya mtsho, dbu med ms., 106 fols.

Taranatha. 1983. , Necessary Dpal dus kyi ’khor lo’i chos bskor gyi byung khungs nyer mkho, In The Collected Works of Jo-nang rje-btsun TAranAtha, vol. 2: pp. 1–43. Leh: Smanrtsis Shesrig Dpemdzod, 1983, pp. 39–40.

Cyrus Stearns
August 2008