Sumpa Lotsawa Darma Yonten

Sumpa Lotsawa Darma Yonten (sum pa lo tsA ba dhar ma yon tan) was from Rong, on the south bank of the Yarlung river near Tsetang. He traveled to Nepel where he worked with Jayasena, a pandita who later taught with him in Tibet. With Jayasena he translated the Dakarnava tantra, one of the main "explanatory" tantras of the Chakrasamvara. They also completed a translation of Saroruha's commentary, and various related liturgical texts composed by Jayasena. Dharma Yonten later revised the translation under the sponsorship of his uncle, Pelchok Depai Dorje (dpal mchog dad pa'i rdo rje).

Darma Yonten was a teacher to Sakya Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen (sa skya rje btsun grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147-1216). According to the Gyude Kuntu (rgyud sde kun bdus) he passed on the Dakarnava transmission to (rje btsun grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147-1216).

Sources

Davidson, Ronald. 2005. Tibetan Renaissance. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 345.

'Jam dbyangs blo gter dbang po. 1971. Rgyud sde kun btus. Delhi: N. Lungtok & N. Gyaltsan, vol. 30, pp. 166-168

Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams. 1975 (1629). Sa skya'i gdung rabs ngo mtshar bang mdzod. Delhi: Tashi Dorji.

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 388-389.

Alexander Gardner
April 2010