Pema Trinle

Rigdzin Pema Trinle (rigs 'dzin padma 'phrin las) was born into the noble Chanak (bya nag) family at the private palace of Mongar Namseling (mon mkhar rnam sras gling) on the south bank of the Tsangpo opposite Samye (bsam yas), which is still standing. His father was Karma Puntsok Wangpo (karma phun tshogs dbang po).

At the age of six the boy was recognized by Zurchen Choying Rangdrol (zur chen chos dbyings rang grol) as the reincarnation of Ngagi Wangpo (ngag gi dbang po) and was enthroned on the seat of Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag). Because of the Fifth Dalai Lama's patronage of the Changter tradition and Dorje Drak (over Nyingma lineages and institutions that had close ties to the defeated Tsang King), the Great Fifth took a strong interest in the young Dorje Drak incarnation, giving him refuge vows and later giving him his ordination as well, bestowing on him the name Kunzang Pema Trinle (kun bzang padma 'phrin las). Pema Trinle studied with the Dalai Lama's own Nyingma teachers, including Zurchen, Menlungpa Lochok Dorje (sman lung pa blo mchog rdo rje), and Kangyurwa Gonpo Sonam Chogden (bka' 'gyur ba mgon po bsod nams mchog ldan).

The breadth of Pema Trinle's learning in both sutra and tantra was legendary. He practiced many teachings from the Sakya tradition, as well as his Nyingma heritage, but he was known principally as a matchless master of the formidable Changter (byang gter) rituals. In this capacity he served for decades as the chief ritual officiator of the new Tibetan state, presiding over elaborate ceremonies such as the final consecration of the Potala Palace and longevity rites for the young sixth Dalai Lama.

Unlike most of his predecessors, Pema Trinle was a prolific and accomplished author, whose writings on a variety of subjects, chiefly the Nyingma Tantras, filled some thirteen volumes. Among his more important works was one on the empowerment of the main Anuyoga tantra, the Gongpa Dupai Do (dgongs pa 'dus pa'i mdo), which became a central text in the tantra's transmission. (The work is titled 'dus pa mdo'i dbang chog dkyil l'khor rgya mtsho'i 'jug ngogs.) The composition was specifically commissioned by the Fifth Dalai Lama, and reflects the exclusion of Nyingma lineages out of favor with the Great Fifth. He was also a treasure revealer, and his disciples included many of the eminent religious figures of the early eighteenth century.

Through the 1660s and 1670s Pema Trinle greatly expanded Dorje Drak Monastery. It became a showpiece of aesthetic excellence and a center of the monastic arts, setting a precedent for its more ambitious twin, Mindroling.

In 1717, when he was seventy-seven, Pema Trinle was murdered by Dzungar invaders during their anti-Nyingma and anti-Bon rampage, and Dorje Drak was burned to the ground.

Sources

Bkra shis thobs rgyal. 1990. Bstan pa'i snying po gsang chen snga 'gyur nges don zab mo'i chos kyi yung ba gsal bar byed pa'i legs bshad mkhas pa dga' byed ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho. Delhi: Tibetan Cultural Printing Press.

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

Dalton, Jacob. 2002. The Uses of the Dgongs pa 'dus pa'i mdo in the Development of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, pp. 161-203.

Alexander Gardner
December 2009