The Path of Compassion: A Biography of Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche — Part Two: Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche — Chapter Six: Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche's Successive Reincarnations and Emanations

Thus have I heard: the Khenpo was a renowned great being emanated through the play of wisdom by Avalokiteśvara, the compassionate embodiment of all the buddhas; he knew all that can be known and seen and possessed compassion without reference.

Even bodhisattvas on the tenth bhūmi find the emanations and sphere of activity of a great bodhisattva difficult to conceive. As the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says:

Having attained the ocean of awakening, to mature the ocean of beings,

they give rise well to the ocean of bodhicitta and display unobstructed conduct everywhere;

the emanations of the tathāgatas are likewise.

Since beginningless time, he had already directly awakened and attained buddhahood within the source of all phenomena, the dharmadhātu, never wavering from the ultimate wisdom of the dharmakāya that is free from every elaboration. Yet he directly saw boundless beings trapped in confusion within the three realms, their minds driven by appearances, undergoing endless suffering. Through the power of nonreferential compassion, he therefore displayed oceans of the adornments of perfectly endowed saṃbhogakāya forms and pure lands. These emanations that tame beings follow no fixed pattern. Like the immeasurable dance of magical displays that turns constantly throughout the three times and beyond time, they appear in different forms according to the capacities of those to be guided, thereby guiding the beings who can be guided through each form. Even if benefiting no more than a single being required him to remain in saṃsāra for kalpas, he would not feel so much as a mote of aversion.

The ways in which he benefited beings were as inconceivable as those described in the Golden Light Sūtra:

To guide poets, he appears as a king of poets; as a dancer, drummer, strongman, or musician;

in extraordinary costumes, beautiful ornaments, jeweled garlands, dramatic dances, and as an illusionist, he displays every form.

To guide villagers, he appears as village head or official; as leader, merchant chief, or head of a household;

as king, minister, envoy, person of aspiration, physician, scholar, or worldly administrator.

He appears as the trees of their monasteries, as medicine, jewels, and inexhaustible treasures;

as wish-fulfilling jewels, wish-granting cows, wish-fulfilling trees, and as a guide for those who have lost their way.

The Khenpo was an exceptional emanation who simultaneously displayed the twelve great deeds throughout the vast worlds of the ten directions. He appeared as birth emanations—bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, paṇḍitas, realized masters, virtuous practitioners, universal monarchs, lesser kings, ministers, brahmins, heads of households, birds, animals, and others; as activity emanations who accomplished beings' welfare through the eighteen arts and other skills; and, to give beings temporary or lasting benefit and happiness, as material forms such as wish-fulfilling jewels, medicine, food, clothing, mountain peaks, trees, boats, and bridges.

As the Extensive Magical Display says:

Through the blessing of great compassion, within every mote of the worlds of the ten directions,

the activities of the buddhas are inconceivable: enlightened body, speech, mind, and all their qualities.

Together with their spontaneously accomplished activities, they guide beings without exhaustion;

purifying the lower realms into awakened pure lands, they display everywhere the completion of the accumulations of wisdom and compassion.

Many of the Khenpo's own displays of emanation were plainly recorded in history. In the sacred land of India and the snowy land of Tibet, for example, he spread Buddhism and embraced, guided, and established incalculable beings without refuge in liberation and the fruition of great awakening. These accounts were trustworthy and unerring.

One of the Khenpo's emanations in a past life was Dharma King Trisong Detsen. His three other principal emanations were:

emanation of enlightened body—Nyen Nyima Özer, the universal lord of all revealers of profound treasures;

emanation of enlightened speech—Guru Chökyi Wangchuk, an authentic Avalokiteśvara and master who tamed beings;

emanation of enlightened mind—the Ari Mahāpaṇḍita, most honored among all scholars and realized masters.

Below are several recently published treasure prophecies concerning the immensely kind teacher. Because most are verse in their original form and contain many veiled expressions, they are relatively difficult to understand.

More than a thousand years ago, Guru Padmasambhava prophesied the vast activities of Khenpo Rinpoche. For example, wherever the wind passes the maṇi stones carved at Hor shul, his birthplace, beings receive blessing. All this accords with the prophecy in The Gathering of the Precious Jewels of Noble Life in Jambudvīpa, from Guru Rinpoche's Treasure Prophecy Concerning the Teachings in General: “Maṇi stones will tower on sacred Mount Ala; beings throughout the world will benefit; the secret Dharma will flourish in the world.” Avalokiteśvara personally said, “There is no difference in merit between respectfully making offerings and creating an image of me and carving stones with Avalokiteśvara's heart mantra with a pure and reverent mind.” Because excellent interdependent conditions had ripened, and following the prophecy of the treasure revealer Changchub Langba—“When the Ala maṇi-stone wall is completed, the teachings and beings will benefit”—Khenpo Rinpoche began carving one hundred million maṇi stones on sacred Mount Ala. This prophecy had been made more than a thousand years earlier. At Yeshe Tsogyal's repeated request, Guru Padmasambhava composed it specifically for the Dokham region and concealed it immediately after completing it. About three hundred years ago, the first treasure revealer of Venerable Xigong Mazhi retrieved it, and it was thereafter preserved at Xigong Monastery. In 2006, a khenpo of Xigong Monastery heard of Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche's activities. Seeing that this tantra bore the standard marks of ḍākinī script and believing it contained an important prophecy about the Khenpo, he personally delivered this precious prophecy of Guru Rinpoche to the Khenpo at Hor shul Monastery.

I. The treasure text of Guru Rinpoche, The Self-Arisen Clear Tantra, revealed by the treasure master Xiangrong Jiangzu: “At the border village by the plain of Hor, the one whose name signifies virtue will possess it; an emanation of Thangtong will restore the vital points of the land. At that time, the northern rope of electricity will fly...”

Translator's notes:
　　 (1) The plain of Hor is the flatland of Hor shul. The “border village” is a village at its edge, where the teacher was born.
　　 Guru Rinpoche's text precisely prophesies the Khenpo's birthplace, near Five-Colored Lake at the boundary of Hor shul and Zamtang.
　　 (2) The Chinese source glosses the second character of its shortened Chinese form of the name as “virtue”; the established Tibetan form used here is Gelek Palsang (dge legs dpal bzang).
　　 (3) The “northern electric rope” refers to Hor shul Hydroelectric Station.
　　 (4) The “emanation of Thangtong” refers to a reincarnation of Thangtong Gyalpo.

(5) “Restore the vital points of the land” has many implicit meanings. It refers to building the maṇi-stone wall on sacred Mount Ala to restore the feng-shui of the damaged earth, founding the Buddhist academy, and the vast activities centered on teaching the Dharma and benefiting beings.

This was a treasure text personally spoken in prophecy by Guru Rinpoche, recorded and concealed by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, one of Guru Rinpoche's twenty-five principal disciples. It contains prophecies concerning many masters, including these relating to the teacher. More than a thousand years ago, when even the word “electricity” had never been heard, Guru Rinpoche gave this concise and comprehensive treasure prophecy.

I. The Original Primordially Pure Dharmatā Magical Script

“In the past, Ānanda attended the Buddha closely. Later, in the lotus fortress of the Luorong forest, there was the renowned accomplished vidyādhara Shavaripa. After that, in the Vajra Fortress of the Cool Land, wisdom and accomplishment were complete in one named Guru Chöwang. Those to be guided opened like lotuses throughout India and Tibet. After two reincarnations from that time, in the Luorong region he was called by a vajra name. Once his enlightened activity had spread radiantly throughout the three realms, three further reincarnations followed. On the bindu seat of the southern high building, the siddha was known by the name Virtuous Dharma (1). Later, when the white four-footed one (2) appears, if the Vajra Youth and Vajravārāhī retreats are practiced diligently, together with a million recitations of the Vajra Seven-Line Prayer, the rising sun of activity will surely fill the earth.” Thus the appearance dissolved into the sphere of E vaṃ (3). Ha ha!

At the request of the exceptional great tulku Tenpi Gyaltsen, Tulku Chöyang, who bears the name Khyenju, wrote this for Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the past master Guru Chöwang. Virtue! May everything be auspicious!

Translator's notes:
　　 (1) The Chinese source connects the first character of its shortened form with “virtuous Dharma”; the Tibetan element dge legs conveys virtue or excellence.
　　 (2) “Four-footed” is an ornate term for sheep and here refers to a sheep year.
　　 (3) E vaṃ consists of two syllables symbolizing bliss and emptiness.
　　 (4) This treasure text principally says that the Khenpo is the reincarnation of a succession extending from Ānanda, attendant to the Buddha, through the vidyādhara Shavaripa, one of the Eight Great vidyādharas, and Guru Chöwang, foremost among the five great treasure kings within Tibet's 108 great treasure revealers.

III. “E vaṃ! (1) In the dharmadhātu, primordially pure and free of direction or domain, the meaning of the undefiled wisdom mind appeared as script. Formerly, in the treasure, pure Adarsha (2), in a monastery resembling Luosangzha, he was named Luozha Mañju Jñāna. Later, at the center of this land's southern gateway, he was widely known as glorious Virūpa. From that time, his reincarnations followed like a rosary and he was also called the honored Jampal Mentza; in the south, the horse-king Xiububa Sen; the honored one who performed great Guru Padmasambhava's activities, universally known as the luminous source of Dharma.”

Note: The section on glorious Virūpa says that the Khenpo was a reincarnation of Virūpa, one of India's eighty great siddhas.

IV. “E vaṃ! The essence of the primordial wisdom of the Great Secret; the glorious seven horses (3) in the sky; Śākyamitra in the sacred land of India; Yönten Chögyal, a yogin in lower Lodrak, Tibet; in the center of Kham in Tibet, the rare Dorje Penga; the accomplished master of revealing treasures, Dorje Ruolang Dewa—your biography is praised. Later, in a fire-bird year, when one born of the celestial iron garuḍa appears, practice Vajrakumāra. With the great avenue of liberation through mudrā and the sword of great bliss, sever confused thoughts without remainder. When the ocean-born goddess waves silk of five colors, practice a longevity retreat of the vajra life-force, the peaceful and wrathful Three Roots and Guru Rinpoche, taking the union of mantra recitation as essential. Make the fivefold primordial wisdom blaze; perform one hundred thousand ḍākinī feast offerings. Having taken these as crucial, accomplish one million Vajra Seven-Line Prayers. The seal of accomplishment will be entrusted. At the time of the fourth and third years of one's life, blissful primordial wisdom will become clear. The pleasant sound of the conch will be heard in the ten directions. One may possess the karmic connection of five times five circles. In the fifth-three iron-dog year, when water emerges from the northern lake, while dwelling in the snow of Yanglé, memories of former lives will return.”

“The pattern of eight-two water points southwestward toward Oḍḍiyāna; awakening is attained in the pure land of the ḍākinīs.” Thus the writing disappeared.

The treasure revealer Ogyen Khenchung Langba copied this from the treasure text. Virtue!

Translator's notes:
　　 (1) E vaṃ consists of two syllables symbolizing bliss and emptiness.
　　 (2) Adarsha is the Sanskrit word for “mirror.”
　　 (3) “Seven horses” refers to the sun.

This treasure master wrote two prophecies for the Khenpo.

The prophecy says that the Khenpo was the reincarnation of Śākyamitra and Penga Rao, two of India's Eight Great vidyādharas.

V. “E vaṃ! (1) The expanse of primordial wisdom, primordially pure and free of elaboration; an imperishable record of awareness and emptiness, the record of the ḍākinīs. In the past, Samantabhadra was the dharmakāya of great bliss; the magical display of the expanse was the play of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Its teachers were Zhaba Hadi and the magical play of the three glorious protectors. Chief Trisong Detsen appeared in human form. The protector, a glorious accomplished treasure revealer, was Denma, the lion-warrior of Ling. To rescue beings in the degenerate age, the glorious revealer was an emanation of the secret master; this king of radiant speech was here. The purple mountain of red ruby now manifested Vajra (2), an emanation of the master of treasure-revealing speech, the three celestial protectors in human form. Enlightened body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity were virtuous (3). For the Three Jewels and protectors to bestow blessing, the meaning of the glorious bhikṣu's name was ‘excellent’ (4). A great hero rescuing beings in the degenerate age, he was born in a place radiant with gold (5). Whoever formed a connection would find meaning, virtue, and auspiciousness. Having gathered an ocean of white virtue, in the sound-lord year (6) between the ages of forty and fifty, the mother ḍākinī of the secret, the five-colored bindu-faced Zinazha, an emanation of this red ḍākinī, Mother Tsogyal, would take emanation in an earth-tiger year. There was the karmic connection to open the treasure door; the power of the wishes of one hundred wisdom teachers was virtuous. If one could meet this Dharma lord, the many treasure sites of Dokham would become a path of liberation. From that time, he would live seven times nine years. Afterward, in the glorious mountain realm of Cāmara, he would be reborn in the land of Lotus King among the rākṣasas. In the future time of Śambhala, the lord, Kalki Raudracakrin, would have vajra power and transform the invasion of external enemies into peace.” Thus the expanse and wisdom dissolved into the writing. The emanated great treasure revealer Sangxi Könchok Gyaltsen copied this from the treasure text.

Translator's notes:
　　 (1) E vaṃ consists of two syllables symbolizing bliss and emptiness.
　　 (2) The “vajra” in this line joins “speech” in the preceding line to form the name of a former treasure revealer, “Speech Vajra.” The jia in the preceding line means Jia Monastery, another name for Gongya Monastery in Nangqian.
　　 (3) The Chinese source links “virtuous” with the first element of the teacher’s shortened Chinese name; the Tibetan element dge legs conveys virtue or excellence.
　　 (4) The Chinese source glosses the remaining name elements as “glorious” or “meritorious” and “excellent”; the established Tibetan form is Gelek Palsang (dge legs dpal bzang).
　　 (5) In Tibetan, the se of Sertar means “gold.”
　　 (6) “Sound lord” means nāga king.

This text describes several of the Khenpo's principal reincarnations: Zhaba Hadi, one of India's Eight Great vidyādharas; King Trisong Detsen, a collective emanation of the Three Protectors—Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi; Denma, King Gesar's foremost warrior-general; and, in the future, the twenty-fifth king of Śambhala, who will lead the Kālacakra army to defeat invading outsiders and restore the flourishing of Buddhism.

VI. Prayer to the Successive Incarnations of the Great Treasure Revealer Aga Dorje (Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche) of Gongya Monastery, Nangqian, Yushu, Tibet

“How wondrous! Within primordial wisdom of the dharmadhātu, free of direction and domain, the primordial protector, the glorious sovereign teacher, Mañjuśrīmitra appeared in human form; Palgyi Senge, Gawang Benzatsa, Guru Rinpoche's messenger Gawang Tobatsa; lord among mantra adepts, luminous deities, and those who wield magnetizing activity, known as the great vidyādhara Virūpa; at times revealing treasures and at times spreading old treasures; the exceptional tulku called Gelek Palsang. You are the mystery of enlightened body, speech, and mind of the buddhas of the three times. At your feet, meaningful to those with karmic connections and bringing liberation through seeing, I pray that in this life, future lives, and the intermediate state, your compassion and blessing never leave me! How wondrous! Open the great door of essential activity. Master of treasure-revealing speech, I pray that you remain! Bless me that the net of confusion woven by grasping at self and what belongs to self, grasper and grasped, be destroyed! All that moves or does not move, pure or impure, confined within the mire of the three existences—liberate it into uncontrived Mahāmudrā. The ground and the appearances of the ground are a magical dance of unity; may the light of virtue (2) spread in the ten directions. Grant the auspiciousness of mastery over the twofold benefit! In the space of the teachings and realization of the glorious, excellent sovereign, may the lamp of the sutric and tantric Mahāyāna remain! Bestow the auspiciousness of the Dharma drum resounding through the three realms!”

The timely minor treasure revealer Ogyen Khenchung Dorje wrote this in accordance with his own appearance on the tenth day of the second month of the iron-dragon year in the seventeenth calendrical cycle, at the Trikāya Mahāyāna Institute in the Buddhist city of Larung in lower Amdo. He offered it to Gelek Palsang, the virtuous reincarnation of the treasure revealer Aga Dorje. May it be meaningful! Virtue! May everything be auspicious!

Translator's notes:

(1) Aga Dorje means “Speech Vajra.”

(2) The Tibetan sound for “virtue” is gelek, the teacher's name.

This text is a prayer recounting the successive incarnations of the Khenpo's former life as Aga Dorje, abbot of Gongya Monastery in Nangqian, Qinghai. The principal figures include Mañjuśrīmitra, the second lineage forefather of Dzogchen; the Indian siddha Virūpa; and Palgyi Senge, Guru Rinpoche's heart-disciple in India. His activities in this life could guide beings in India, Tibet, Han Chinese regions, and elsewhere.

VII. Written for Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche

“The nature of the primordially pure and empty dharmakāya; its power manifests, undiminished, as a song of magical display. In the past, a seed of white virtue was taken up nearby. At Dapo and Kongpo, he took successive births. When the protector Wangzha Gyatso spread the Dharma, the glorious mantra adept Pema Dechen spread the secret-mantra Dharma in the Luorong region. In two lives, he followed the path of his forebears; before this, he bore the name of a master of awareness. For a time, in a fortress crouching like a tiger amid the forest, the Great Glorious Vajra Youth and Vajravārāhī remained inseparable, hidden like the heart's essence. Meaningful virtue (1) thundered forth. From the lovely six-footed (2) song of the three times, the blade of the forked tongue (3) crushed through mantra. Diligent in a retreat on Zhamenma (4), the fruits of the twofold benefit will surely bloom.” Thus the manifest aspect dissolved into the dharmadhātu.

Written by Pema Jigme Dorje, the virtuous reincarnation of Katokpa Deshek.

Translator's notes:

(1) The Tibetan sound for “meaningful virtue” is gelek, the teacher's name.

(2) “Six-footed” means a bee, here a metaphor for disciples.

(3) “Forked tongue” means a snake, or speech, or a snake year.

(4) Zhamenma means Siṃhamukhā and other animal-headed deities.

This text was written by Tulku Lhabö, the great treasure revealer now residing in Qinghai, who belongs to the family of the First Dudjom Rinpoche and is a reincarnation of Katok Monastery's founder, Katokpa Dampa Deshek. It says that the Khenpo was a reincarnated secret-mantra practitioner over successive lives.

VIII. “Ha, hey! The lotus garden in a beautiful land is deeply pleasing. A newly arisen udumbara flower clusters like a mass of gold. Cool rays shine vividly, forming a halo; crystalline waves stir one another. The sole friend who causes blessing-lilies to open gathers six-footed bees and insects with its rich fragrance. The one who holds the sunlight of the monastic robe of the three trainings gains the excellent conditions for accomplishing the twofold benefit and fulfilling aspirations. Therefore, praise the one protector, the noble mother, one hundred thousand times; make one hundred thousand mending offerings and prayers to the Three Roots and protectors; recite one hundred thousand Seven-Line Prayers to Guru Rinpoche and one hundred thousand dependent-arising mantras. If you do not carelessly discard this wish-fulfilling jewel, the golden light of inherent virtue will move through the sky.”

Thus was this written for Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche, as it appeared in the mind of the emanated treasure revealer Ogyen Xiri.

This text was written by Lama Exi, the great treasure revealer who alone accurately prophesied the time of Dharma King Jigme Phuntsok's passing. It prophesies that the Khenpo's activities in this life will be boundless and vast.

IX. “Symbol of the unity of expanse and wisdom. A spiritual friend in the past was a magical emanation named Lotus. At that time, sunlight blazed brilliantly. For the sake of bliss, recite one million universal mantras and swiftly perform offerings and prayers to the protectors. The excellent wish-fulfilling crown jewel—the virtue of five hundred is now manifest. As favorable conditions, pray ten thousand times to the nine magnetizing deities and recite the longevity mantra; a thousand prayer flags must be raised to the wind. Those to be guided in the upper north will number nearly a million. Here, because this is stained by conceptual thought, I dare not write it. Yet what later appeared, when written down, was this: at the northern rock of Side, above the playful ocean, is Palgyi Senge's mountain cave. Relying on it will awaken former practice. A precious casket made of five treasures is filled with profound treasures, a Dharma storehouse of profound teachings from which the merit of awareness is born. At first, guide beings well, numerous as grains of sand. Make one hundred thousand Guru Rinpoche feast offerings. Benefit to beings and the teachings will be boundless. At the age of seventy, the rūpakāya will dissolve into the dharmadhātu, like a cloud clearing into its own expanse.” Written by the madman of the degenerate age, Chönyi Dorje (1).

(1) Translator's note: The author was the late Larung siddha Lama Jiaqu, a disciple of Lama Yike, who had been authorized to speak of clairvoyant knowledge.

This text was written by Lama Jiaqu, a great yogin of the Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Institute who has passed away and whom Dharma King Jigme Phuntsok personally authorized to speak of clairvoyant knowledge. There is an episode associated with it. After this treasure prophecy broke off, the ḍākinī script of the Khenpo's prophecy appeared continually in the lama's mind for three days. The text chiefly addresses his activities in this life: if auspicious interdependence is not disrupted, he will guide beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges to the Blissful Pure Land, and his lifespan will be seventy years.

X. Written for Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche

The self-power of primordially pure awareness; its undiminished power, elaborately patterned by conception;

within the two-winged mountain to the upper north, the wondrous banner of past karmic connections is stirred by the wind;

for a time, like an underground stūpa, the essential nectar of the Buddhadharma drips;

the appearances in others' minds are all mastered; when these conditions meet, there is the essence of the Buddhadharma;

the banner of the monastic robe is held aloft; may the auspiciousness of perfect manifestation arrive!

The Fourth Dodrupchen, Tenpi Nyima, wrote this as it appeared in his mind. Whether it is true or false will become clear in the end.

This text was written by the Fourth Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Dharma lord of the Heart-Essence school of the Nyingmapa. When the Khenpo was young, the prophecy arose in the Rinpoche's mind treasure and he wrote it down. It says that at the time, the Khenpo's virtues were unseen by others, like an underground stūpa. His future activities would be extremely vast; he would be a precious banner of Buddhism, and people would later see whether this was true. The implicit meaning of the text is very profound because of the karmic connections between Dodrupchen Rinpoche and the Khenpo over successive lives.

XI. “The result of examination is this: he was born from the north, an emanation of the northern Vajra Ratna; on the southwestern shore of the lotus lake, an emanation of the protector Padma Ratna. The blue Vajra heart mantra now appears and is worn like a celestial red-yellow crown on the head. He comes to the feast of Dharma without satiation. Until the realms of beings are empty, his activities will be vast. For a long time he will enjoy the auspicious, immutable lotus garden of the innermost heart essence of the Great Secret.” Translator's note: the original does not identify the author or provide other details. The author was the treasure revealer Tashi Phuntsok of Golok. This text was written by Lama Zhapeng, a great treasure revealer now living in Golok, Qinghai. It says that the Khenpo was a reincarnation of Ratna Lingpa, a great treasure revealer and forefather of the Palyul school of the Nyingmapa, and that in this life he would principally spread the profound secret Dharma of the Heart Essence of Dzogchen.

XII. “This is a reincarnation of Nubchen Sangye Yeshe and the same emanation as Xigong Mazhi Rinpoche.” The prolific modern treasure revealer Dewei Dorje Rinpoche of Golok, Qinghai, wrote this from ḍākinī script: “Heya”—the mark of ḍākinī script—“it also contains Wrathful Mañjuśrī.”

The general meaning is that Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche's activities in this life will be vast: he will spread the Nyingmapa teachings extensively and restore the various activities of Buddhism, such as repairing vital defects in the land's geomancy, training monastics to inherit the Buddhist lineages, and once again spreading the teachings of the Vajrayāna. He innately possesses the luminous Dzogchen and remains continually in meditation; like the expressive power of awareness, all qualities are spontaneously present. His activities will shake the three realms like Wrathful Mañjuśrī, Yamāntaka. It is guaranteed absolutely and without qualification that he will bring beings immense benefit.