The Twenty-Third Ganden Tripa, Tseten Gyatso

The Twenty-third Ganden Tripa, Tseten Gyatso (dga' ldan khri pa 23 tshe brtan rgya mtsho) was born at Sangkyil in Tsetang (rtses thang srang dkyil) in 1520, the iron-dragon year of the ninth sexagenary cycle.

At young age Tseten Gyatso became a monk at Tsetang Monastery (rtse thang dgon) and then moved to Kyisho (skyid shod) for studies. His mother left him there with a request to a teacher for serious supervision in his behavior and education; apperently she had a strong conviction in the well-known Tibetan proverb: "If a mother's son well educated, no one is master of the Ganden Golden Throne," (a ma'i bu la yon tan yod na dga' ldan gser khrir bdag po med), meaning that no single family or class has control of the seat, and it is available to any worthy man. It seems that Tseten Gyato's mother encouraged her son to study hard enough to gain the seat.

Tseten Gyatso, in fact studied very hard for the achievement as per the wish of his mother. He learned the common subjects such as grammar, poetry, and composing and so forth, as well as the main subjects of sutra and tantra. Having mastered the Geluk curriculum, he served as the patron-lama (zhal 'dzin), and lobpon of Gyuto College, Shartse College of Ganden Monastic University (dga' ldan shar rtse grwa tshang) Pakmo Chode Rinchenling (phag mo chos sde rin chen gling) and also some other monasteries. His available biography does not mention his studies in the great seats of learning in U-Tsang but from his service as master at the monasteries it can be presumed that he must have done his advanced studies in philosophy in one of the great seats most probably in Ganden and advanced tantra in the Gyuto College.

In 1568, at the age of forty-nine, Tseten Gyatso was enthroned as the Twenty-third Ganden Tripa. He served the post for seven years, from 1586 to 1575, during which he gave many teachings especially on the profound topics from sutra and tantra. He frequently sat in the beginning of the front rows of monks in order to initiate the presence of Ganden Tripas during the annual Lhasa Monlam Chenmo, the Great Prayer Festival (lha sa smon lam chen mo) in Lhasa; it later became a tradition for the current Ganden Tripa to occupy the throne at the festival.

During his tenure Trichen Tseten Gyatso restored and enhanced the murals and traditional decorations of the great assembly hall of Ganden Monastery.

In 1576 Trichen Tseten Gyatso retired from the abbatial chair of Tripa at the age of fifty-six and settled in private in Dokhang (rdo khang) for his personal practices and so forth. However, a year later, in 1576, the year of fire-mouse of the tenth sexagenary cycle, he passed into nirvana at the age of fifty-seven. A victory stupa (rnam rgyal mchod rten) in gold gilt was built in his memory and installed in the Lolangkhang (blos bslangs khang) in Ganden Monastery.

Sources

Grags pa ’byungs gnas and Blo bzang mkhas grub. 1992. Gangs can mkhas sgrub rim byon ming mdzod. Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 1367-1368.

Grong khyer lha sa srid gros lo rgyus rig gnas dpyad yig rgyu cha rtsom ’bri au yon lhan khang. 1964. Dga’ ldan dgon pa dang brag yer pa’i lo rgyus, grong khyer lha sa’i lo rgyus rig gnas deb 02. Bod ljongs shin hwa par ’debs bzo grwa khang, pp. 48, 63.

Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho. 1989 (1698). Dga' ldan chos 'byung baiDU r+ya ser po. Beijing: Krung go bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, p. 84.

Samten Chhosphel
September 2010