Kumaradza

Rigdzin Kumaraja (rig 'dzin ku mA ra rA dza) was born in the market town of Barsar Dzinkha ('bar gsar rdzing kha), in the Yoru region, south of Lhasa. His father was Jose Sonampel (jo sras bsod nams dpal) and his mother was Khyaza Bumme (khya bza' 'bum me). His childhood name was Tarpagyan (thar pa rgyan).

At the age of seven the boy, Tarpagyan, received empowerments from a lama Gyador (bla ma dgyes rdor) from Osho Toteng (o shod mtho steng) in Kongpo (kong po) in Hevajra and Cakrasamvara. At nine received lay vows and the Korwa Dongdruk ('khor ba dong sprugs), a Dzogchen Avalokiteshvara practice, from a lama named Tsang (gtsang). Then, at age twelve he ordained, taking vows from the Pakmodrupa lamas Yerpawa (yer pa wa) and Ngaripa (mnga' ris pa), receiving the name Zhonnu Gyelpo (gzhon nu rgyal po), or, in Sanskrit, Kumaraja. With them he trained in Vinaya, and began a five year study of the Six Doctrines of Naropa (na ro chos drug) as well as the Hevajra Tantra and other teachings with Dragsewa (grags se ba). He also trained in Hevajra tantra with Lama Tsar Tsegpa ('tshar stengs pa) and art with On Sangshe (dbon sang she), and additional tantric lineages from the old and new translation from Khyung Nagshadar (khyung nag shag dar).

At Ngarpuk in Drak (sgrags ngar phug) he met Melong Dorje, who gave him the transmission of Mahamudra and introduced him to the nature of mind. He then served as Melong Dorje's attendant in Bhutan, when his master went to teach there. While at Khandroling (mkha' 'dro gling), in Bhutan, he received further teachings and had a vision of Padmasambhava, who said to him: “O son of the enlightened family! Always practice the teachings!” and gave him Nyingtik teachings.

Kumaraja spent several years at Tsurpu (mtshur phu) where he trained with the Karma Kagyu lamas Nyanras (gnyan ras) and Darma Gonpo (dar ma mgon po). He also studied with Orgyenpa (o rgyan pa) in and met the newly enthroned Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (kar ma pa 03 rang byung rdo rje) in Dingri (ding ri). From Nyanras and Orgyenpa he received numerous Dzogchen Nyingtik teachings, and additional Dzogchen instruction from Gyamenpa Namkha Dorje (rgya sman pa nam mkha' rdo rje) and Kalden Chokyi Sengge (skal ldan chos skyi seng ge).

Kumaraja then returned to Melong Dorje, in Kharchu (mkhar chu), and served him for eight consecutive years. Melong Dorje gave him to complete transmission of the Nyingtik over a series of several years. In return, Kumaraja worked as an artist and painted murals in the Bumchung ('bum chung) temple there, which had been built by a lama named Dowo Repa (mdo bo ras pa). He used half his meager allowances of four measures of barley on paper and oil for lamps so he could copy texts, and so grew terribly thin, but at the same time progressing in his progress considerably, seeing the deities Mahakala and Ekajati during initiations, and spending winters in remote caves, such as Nyugtsal (smyug tshal), a Padmasambhava site. He also built a hermitage in Yarlung called Tsading (tsha sding), where he practiced until learning that Melong Dorje had passed away.

Following his master's death, Kumaraja traveled to Karchu to meet with Melong Dorje's sons, returning to Yarlung to perform funerary rites, and then proceeding to Tsari on pilgrimage. From there he returned to Tsurpu to teach the Dzogchen to the young Karmapa, and to Shang (shangs) where he received teachings on the Samten Migdron (bsam gtan mig sgron) in the Chegom Nagpo (lce sgom nag po) lineage from Chegompa (lce sgom pa) himself. He also took teachings from Onpo Jangdrubpa (dbon po byang grub pa), Lama Tralungpa (bla ma bkras lung pa) and Yeshe Gonpo (ye shes mgon po), receiving from them the Yangon Richo (yang dgon ris chos), the Shinje Dranak (gshin rje dgra nag) and the Aro Drimoche (a ro khrid mo che), respectively.

Of Kumaraja's compositions, one that is still extant is the Concise Essential Pith Instructions for the Creation Stage Practice of the Eight Pronouncements (bka' brgyad kyi bskyed rim gyi man ngag gnad bsdus).

Kumaraja met his most famous disciple, Longchen Rabjam (klong chen rab 'byam) in about 1136, while he was giving teachings in Yarto gyam (yar stod skyam), north of Samye (bsam yas). Longchenpa was then destitute, unable to make an offering to the master in order to join the audience for the teachings, but Kumaraja invited him personally, seeing in him his heir. That year and the following, at Shampo Gangra (sham po gangs ra), Kumaraja  bestowed on Longchenpa his entire corpus of Nyingtik teachings.

Kumaraja passed away in his seventy-eight year, leaving numerous relics in his cremated remains, including a complete five-buddha mandala in his skull.

Sources

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 197 ff.

Dudjom Rinpoche. 2002. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom.

Bradburn, Leslie, ed. 1995. Masters of the Nyingma Lineage. Cazadero: Dharma Publications, 1995.

Karma mi 'gyur dbang rgyal. 1978. Gter bton brgya rtsa'i mtshan sdom gsol 'debs chos rgyal bkra shis stobs rgyal gyi mdzad pa'i 'grel pa lo rgyus gter bton chos 'byung. Darjeeling: Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche Pema Wangyal, Orgyan Kunsang Chokhor Ling, p. 227.4. ff.

Ron Garry
August 2007