Lotsawa Chokden Lekpai Lodro

Little is known about the life of Lotsawa Chokden Lekpai Lodro (lo tsA ba mchog ldan legs pa'i blo gros) save several mentions of his name in various lineages in the Blue Annals.

According to the Blue Annals, Lotsawa Chokden received the Abhidharmasamuccaya in the tradition of Drangti Darma Nyingpo (brang ti dar ma snying po, 11th c.) from Shong Lotsawa Lodro Tenpa (shong lo tsA ba blo gros brtan pa, 13th c.) and transmitted it to Pang Lotsawa Lodro Tenpa (dpang lo tsA ba blo gros brtan pa, 1276-1342), a master in the Ngok tradition of the Prajnaparamita. He also received the Abhidharmasamuccaya in a separate lineage, stemming from Pakpa Zhonnu Lodro ('phags pa gzhon nu blo gros, ), who studied it in Nepel, from Lochen Sanggye (blo chen sangs rgyas, d.u.). He also taught Bakton Zhonnu Tsultrim, a thirteenth-century Sakya Prajnaparamita master.

The Blue Annals places Lotsawa Choden in a Guhyasamaja lineage that that entered Tibet through Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po, 958-1055), receiving it from Rongpa Chogon (rong pa chos mgon, d.u.), and a lineage of Chakrasamvara, which he received from from Lotsangpa (lho tshang pa, d.u.). Lotsawa Chokden transmitted both of these tantric systems to a disciple named PAlden Sengge (dpal ldan seng ge, d.u.), who passed them on to Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290-1364). Lotsawa Chokden also taught Pelden Sengge Sanskrit grammar, which he had learned from Shong Lotsawa Lodro Tenpa.

Among his other teachers were Lodro Gyeltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280) and Ra Lotsawa Namgyel Dorje (rwa lo tsA ba rnam rgyal rdo rje, 1203-1282).

Sources

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 345, 374, 385, 785, 786, 1046.

Alexander Gardner
April 2010