Shangton Gyawo Sonam Drakpa

Shangton Gyawo (zhang ston rgya bo) was born in Kyisho (skyi shod) in Central Tibet. His mother was a leper, whose disease is said to have vanished immediately when she became pregnant. The young boy demonstrated his precocious nature at Dratang (gra thang) monastery when he was six years old, and at Riwo Genden (ri bo dga' ldan). Then he traveled to Lhasa and received the vows of a novice monk from the abbot Zhonnu Pel (gzhon nu dpal) in front of the famous image of the Buddha. In Lhasa he studied the monastic code, the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, and epistemology. He also studied the vehicle of the perfections, epistemology, and abhidharma under the master Tashi Sengge (bkra shis seng ge) at the Kagyu monastery of Tsal Gungtang (mtshal gung thang). At fourteen years of age he met the Indian acarya Krsna (a tsa ra nag po) at Chagpori (lcags po ri) in Lhasa and studied subjects such as Sanskrit grammar, poetics, and mirror divination.

After these extensive studies in Central Tibet, Shangton traveled to the Tsang (gtsang) region when he was twenty-two years old. He first received complete ordination at the great monastery of Sakya (sa skya) from the abbot Jigme Drakpa ('jigs med grags pa), and also pursued further studies there in the monastic code, the vehicle of the perfections, epistemology, and abhidharma. Then he went for further scholastic examinations at many different monasteries in Tsang and Central Tibet. During these travels Shangton heard about the special compliments the third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (karma pa rang byung rdo rje), had spoken about the omniscient Dharma lord Dolpopa. When he was finally able to meet Dolpopa, the master was in strict retreat, but Shangton was granted an audience, and when they conversed he began to feel like a tiny bird in the presence of a great garuda.

From when he was thirty-five years old until he was sixty-three, Shangton stayed with Dolpopa, receiving countless initiations and teachings. In particular, he received the great Kalacakra initiation in both the Ra (rwa) and Dro ('bro) traditions; guiding instructions such as the six-branch yoga of Kalacakra, the Six Dharmas of Niguma, and the Six Dharmas of Naropa; and teachings such as the Bodhisattva Trilogy and the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra.

When he was sixty-four years old, Shangton was offered the monastery of Pelteng (dpal steng) by the great abbot Lhawang (mkhan chen lha dbang), and he built a temple there with a life-sized golden image of Dolpopa and other special objects. For the next fifteen years Shangton taught the great Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakra Tantra every year. In his meditation sessions he is said to have beheld infinite buddhas and pure lands. Shangton's passing was accompanied by various wonderful signs, and marvelous relics manifested in his physical remains.

Sources

Gyal ba jo bzang dpal bzang po. 1992. Chos kyi rje kun mkhyen chen po yab sras bco lnga'i rnam thar nye bar bsdus pa ngo mtshar rab gsal. In The 'Dzam-thang Edition of the Collected Works (Gsung-'bum) of Kun-mkhyen Dol-po-pa Shes-rab rgyal-mtshan, Delhi: Shedrup Books, vol. 1: 559–629, pp. 593–97. The same work has also been published in Byang sems rgyal ba ye shes. 2004. Dpal ldan dus kyi 'khor lo jo nang pa'i lugs kyi bla ma brgyud pa'i rnam thar. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004, 143–209.

Ngag dbang blo gros grags pa. 1992. Dpal ldan jo nang pa'i chos 'byung rgyal ba'i chos tshul gsal byed zla ba'i sgron me. Koko Nor: Krung go'i bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1992, p. 34.

Cyrus Stearns
August 2008