Gurawa Tsultrim Dorje

Gurawa Tsultrim Dorje (gu ra ba tshul khrims rdo rje) was born at Seugang Karmo (se'u gangs dkar mo) in 1154, the son of Sumpa Dorje Pel (sum pa rdo rje dpal).

As a young man he took novice ordination and studied the major Kadam texts with Drokhar Tsangton (grog mkhar gtsang ston, d.u.), receiving the name Tsultrim Dorje. He then moved to Tolung Takma (stod lung thag ma) where he took full ordination and studied the texts of monastic discipline with Pelchen Takmawa (dpal chen thag ma ba, d.u.). They say that he was capable of explaining every single word in the voluminous Vinaya texts.

He took over a monastery at Gura (gu ra) in Uto (dbu stod) and served as its abbot. For many years he taught the general assembly of monks in Gura.

At age forty-six he went to Drigung Til ('bri gung mthil) and received all the teachings of Jikten Gonpo Rinchen Pel ('jigs rtan mgon po rin chen dpal, 1143-1217) "like a vessel filled to overflowing." He soon took on some of the responsibilities of abbot, but only at age sixty-four, following the death of his teacher, was he officially appointed to that position. He sat on the chair of the Drigung headquarters for four years. Then he made an offering of the chair to Won Sonam Drakpa (dbon bsod nams grags pa). On that very evening he passed beyond suffering.

Sources

Bstan ’dzin pad+ma’i rgyal mtshan. 1989. ’Bri gung gdan rabs chos kyi byung tshul. Lhasa, pp. 106-8. 

Dung dkar blo bzang ’phrin las. 2002. Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, p. 418.

Grags pa 'byung gnas and Rgyal ba blo bzang mkhas grub. 1992. Gangs can mkhas grub rim byon ming mdzod. Lanzhou: Kan su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 1766-1767.

Grags pa 'byung gnas. 2002. Grags pa 'byung gnas kyi gsung 'bum: gdan sa rin po che'i mkhan chen gu ra ba la bstod pa. Delhi: Drigung Kagyu Publications, pp. 49-52.

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 608-9.

Tshe dbang rgyal. 1994. Lho rong chos ’byung. Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, p. 410. 

Dan Martin
August 2007