Jamyang Gonpo

Jamyang Gonpo ('jam dbyangs mgon po)was born in 1208, and although we know he lived well beyond the age of forty-three, we do not know the date of his death. It may be that he died during his visit to Wutai Shan, the holy mountain in China presided over by the Bodhisattva Manjushri. He was born in the borderlands between Upper and Lower Nyang (myang) Valleys. His father was Khyungpo Sonam Pel (khyung po bsod nams dpal), while his mother went by the name of Dremo Khyidren Pel ('bre mo khyi 'dren dpal). As a child, he was known by the name Sonam Gonpo (bsod nams mgon po). His mother died when he was in his fourteenth year, and he very soon entered Serding Monastery (gser sding dgon), taking ordination together with the name Sherab Jungne (shes rab 'byung gnas).

His name Jamyang Gonpo was received rather late in life. It is explained in the following way. He once supervised a ritual performance intended to avert an attack by the Mongol army, and afterward people said that he was so wise that he must be none other than the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri himself (the Jamyang element in his name actually translates Manjughosha, yet another name of Manjushri, while Gonpo means ‘lord,' or, in Sanskrit, natha). In colophons to his works his name is often given in a Sanskritic form (many+dzu gho sha na tha).

Apart from his impressive studies of the Indian literature (in Tibetan translation), Jamyang Gonpo received a large variety of the most esoteric Vajrayana transmissions that were available in Tibet in his day. His main teacher was Lorepa Wangchuk Tsondru (lo ras dbang phyug brtson 'grus), and his other teachers included the great Sakya leader Pakpa ('phags pa) and the scholastic philosopher Uyugpa ('u yug pa). Most significantly for posterity, he was the carrier of a special transmission called the Tub Nga, “Five Capabilities” (thub pa lnga). This esoteric teaching was the main one that set the Lower Drukpa lineage apart from others. Lorepa (lo ras pa) expanded somewhat on the words of his teacher Tsangpa Gyarepa (gtsang pa rgya ras pa) to create the root text of this teaching. These Five Capabilities are:

1.Being capable of facing death: Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po 'chi thub).
2.Being capable of the cotton cloth: psychic heat (gtum mo ras thub).
3.Being capable of the tantric activities done in seclusion (gsang spyod kyi ri thub)
4.Being capable of facing the disturbances by Don spirits: sickness (nad 'don gyi 'khrug thub).
5.Being capable of facing circumstances: counter measures or antidotes (gnyen po rkyen thub pa).

All these secret teachings are Completion Stage (rdzogs rim) practices. They are secret in the sense that they are not intended for study by anyone not directly involved in their practice. Generally speaking, Completion Stage practices require first completing the Generation Stage (bskyed rim) and its very complex and demanding meditations utilizing mantra repetitions and visualizations.

Today Jamyang Gonpo ought to be remembered not only as the main bearer of the Lower Drukpa lineage, but also as a figure in a number of Cho (gcod) lineages that came down from the famous Machig Labdron (ma gcig lab sgron). In fact, all his known surviving works belong to the Cho lineage and not to the Lower Drukpa — With the exception of the Five Capabilities, that is, since he evidently had a hand in its composition. Although certainly a monk, a scholar and a contemplative who spent many years of his life in seclusion, he had a rather unusual interest in secular subjects, as may be known from the titles of works of his that unfortunately may not have survived. In addition to works corresponding to the typical Indic genres — on judging humans and horses, on medicinal and astro-sciences — he is said to have written something about making Chinese stoves (rgya thab).

Sources

Padma dkar po. 1992. Chos 'byung bstan pa'i padma rgyas pa'i nyin byed. Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, pp. 587-588.

Unknown author. 'Jam dbyangs mgon po'i rnam thar yon tan drug ldan. Unpublished manuscript, Drepung Monastery, Lhasa.

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 676-680.

Dan Martin
August 2008