Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo
Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo dedicated himself unwaveringly to Tröma Nakmo, the ‘Black Wrathful Mother’, and to the Dzogchen practices of Trekchö and Tögal. He thus cut through the dualistic clinging of mind, the root of suffering, and realized his inherent buddha nature. Renowned as one of the many–thirteen, seventeen, twenty-one, or more —disciples of Düdjom Lingpa to attain rainbow body (jalü), his corporeal form dissolved at death into the primordial unity of emptiness and luminosity, signifying his ultimate enlightenment.
A Practitioner from the Chuktsang Tribe at Mardo Tashi Chöling
Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo was born in the 1850s among the semi-nomadic Chuktsang tribe, which dwelled along the banks of the Yagkor Chu–a tributary of the Nyi Chu–ten kilometers west of Düdjom Lingpa’s birthplace in Nubzur, on the banks of the Ser Chu. Despite their geographical proximity, conflicts over land and livestock–often involving thievery and battles–frequently erupted between tribes along the Ser Chu and the Nyi Chu and its tributaries.
Despite Golok’s regional hostilities, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo traveled east to the Mar Chu Valley in 1873, in his late teens or early twenties, to meet Düdjom Lingpa. At that time, Düdjom Lingpa was residing at his increasingly renowned dharma encampment on the Mar Chu called Mardo Tashi Chöling. Düdjom Lingpa had relocated there from a cave hermitage called Dröpuk Khandrö Düling, ‘Radiant Dakinis’ Gathering-hall Cave’, where he had practiced extensively in retreat and transcribed many of his four principal terma cycles together with a dedicated group of students.
Before Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo’s arrival, Düdjom Lingpa was visited by a dakini who presented him with an iron phurba wrapped in black silk, along with a less impressive stone phurba. The dakini indicated that the black silk symbolized the daggers’ origins from a dubious lama but vanished before offering further explanation.
The following morning, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo arrived at Mardo Tashi Chöling accompanied by a companion named Dorjé. It was the auspicious tenth day of the lunar month, and together with Düdjom Lingpa and his assembled students, they performed a ritual feast offering (tsok), inviting buddhas, bodhisattvas, yidams, chökyongs (dharma protectors), and dakas and dakinis to join the gathering.
That night, the same dakini appeared once more to Düdjom Lingpa, revealing that Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo was an emanation of Yéshé Tsogyal–the enlightened consort of Guru Rinpoché as well as Vajravarahi in human form. She emphasized the importance of transmitting to him the innermost essence of his profound terma teachings, warning that any influence from lesser doctrines could compromise his realization.
Düdjom Lingpa asked, ‘If Chuktsang Dorjé’s mind is influenced by corrupt teachings and transmissions, what will become of him?’ The dakini replied that, in such a case, he would resemble a celestial garuda plunging into a poisonous lake—leading a short life with little benefit to others. However, if he heeded Düdjom Lingpa’s advice and remained steadfast, he would establish countless disciples on the path to ultimate freedom. The dakini further prophesied that at the end of his life, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo would attain liberation in a rainbow body of immeasurable light, just as Yeshe Tsogyal had more than a millennium earlier.
The dakini stressed that, to ensure his full realization, he and Dorjé must remain in mountain hermitages and wander between undefined, unfixed abodes—an instruction of utmost importance. Then, without a trace, she vanished.
In accordance with the dakini’s directives, Düdjom Lingpa carefully transmitted to Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo the essence of his teachings, particularly emphasizing the profound practice of Tröma Nakmo, which encompasses the entire Vajrayana path, from Ngöndro to the Dzogchen doctrines of Trekchö and Tögal. Following these instructions faithfully, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo lived as an itinerant yogin, fully devoted to his practice and to the guidance of Düdjom Lingpa.
A Catalyst for Düdjom Lingpa’s Terma Revelations
In 1857, Düdjom Lingpa experienced a profound vision of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, through which he revealed the Daknang Yéshé Drawa, the ‘Wisdom Net of Pure Visions’, one of his four principal terma cycles. Four years later, in 1861, he received another pure vision through which he revealed the Chönyi Namkha Long Dzö, ‘The Vast Space Treasury of the Nature of Reality’, the fourth of his main terma cycles. This cycle encompasses many of the Düdjom Tersar Tröma Nakmo practices.
In the 1870s, while residing with Düdjom Lingpa at Mardo Tashi Chöling, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo requested Düdjom Lingpa to reveal a léjang—an activity manual—for the Yéshé Nyima, ‘Sun of Primordial Wisdom’[1], a central practice of Tröma Nakmo which is part of the Daknang Yéshé Drawa terma cycle. While Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo asked for this practice to be revealed, Düdjom Lingpa’s early close disciple, Hor Püntsok Tashi (1835?-1893?), served as the scribe for the cycle’s thirteen meditative practices.
In 1874, Düdjom Lingpa received a transmission from the great Indian mahasiddha Saraha, who bestowed upon him a terma cycle titled Chönyi Namkha’i Longdzö, ‘The Vast Space Treasury of the Nature of Reality’. Among his close students, it was Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo who urged Düdjom Lingpa to write down the Saraha Nyingtik Zabmo—the yogic instructions Düdjom Lingpa received in visions of Saraha and other past masters, which formed part of the larger terma cycle of the Chönyi Namkha’i Longdzö. The colophon of the Saraha Nyingtik Zabmo states:
‘From the expanse of the clear-light space of Dharmakaya, this was revealed from the unchanging vajra crag by the Vidyadhara Dorje Drolö [i.e., Düdjom Lingpa]. At the request of [Chuktsang] Dorjé Zangpo, this welling forth of vast expanse was decoded from the receptacle of awareness. To enable lineage holders to enter the path of liberation, this was transcribed by Rigpa’i Dorje [aka Hor Püntsok Tashi]. May virtue prevail. It is the innermost essence of the secret mantrayana. These pith instructions on severing hope and fear, arising from material attachment, serve as the upadesha for realizing the fundamental nature of reality.’
The strong aspirations and karmic connections between Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo and Düdjom Lingpa facilitated the revelation, decoding, and transcription of the Saraha Nyingtik Zabmo. Lingtrul Péma Lungtok Gyatso (1852/3–1895), a close student of Düdjom Lingpa and a principal editor of his works, later composed a commentary on this essential text. The Saraha Nyingtik is organized into thirteen sections, which include the unified path of Chö and Dzogchen starting from reflections on the preciousness of human life, impermanence and death, the faults of samsara, the effects of positive and negative actions, refuge in the Three Jewels, the cultivation of bodhicitta (universal compassion), merit accumulation through mandala offerings and the seven-branch prayer, trikaya meditation, guru yoga, realizing the mind’s true nature, maintaining realization in fearful environments, and the application of the ‘four feasts’ at specific times of day and night.
Due to his profound connection with Yeshe Tsogyal, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo also inspired Düdjom Lingpa to reveal a powerful Yéshé Tsogyal practice known as Khandro Yéshé Tsogyal Gyi Sangdrub Tukkyi Dra'u.
A Cave-Dwelling Yogi
Neither a tulku, scholar, nor formal teacher, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo remained a humble practitioner throughout his life, continuously relying on the empowerments, transmissions, and pith instructions of the Tröma Nakmo Dzogchen cycle that he received from Düdjom Lingpa. Though he stayed close to Düdjom Lingpa during the decade—1871-1880—that Düdjom Lingpa taught at Mardo Tashi Chöling, he predominantly practiced in caves or at remote charnel grounds, seeking realization through solitary meditation and the invocation of Tröma Nakmo with his double-sided drum, human thighbone trumpet, and bell. He would leave his retreats only to request clarifications from Düdjom Lingpa regarding his meditative experiences, and then immediately vanish again into solitude.
In 1880, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo accompanied Düdjom Lingpa to Lama Rung in the Ser Chu Valley. Throughout this period, he continued to meet with Düdjom Lingpa intermittently while primarily remaining in retreat. It is also likely that he gained a following among his Chuktsang tribesmen in the nearby Yagkor Chu Valley during this time.
Revenge of the Chuktsang Tribe
In 1885, less than five years after Düdjom Lingpa and Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo had relocated to the Ser Chu Valley, Düdjom Lingpa encountered a significant conflict with the Chuktsang tribe when he attempted to establish a dharma encampment at Takgi Drangru within Chuktsang territory. According to oral history, on the full moon of the first summer month, over a hundred Chuktsang warriors arrived at Düdjom Lingpa’s camp and fired their rifles directly at his yak-hair tent. Remarkably, out of twenty bullets that struck the tent, not a single one penetrated its surface. Each bullet allegedly slid to the ground ineffectively, while inside the tent, Düdjom Lingpa fiercely repeated a spell and struck the container of his terma texts against the earth, in an act of wrathful sorcery. Realizing they would be unable to plunder Düdjom Lingpa’s encampment, the warriors retreated.
From that day, the would-be bandits were plagued by a series of ominous signs. One influential leader died less than a month later, and many of the others perished before the year’s end. In light of these obstacles and threats faced in Chuktsang territory, Düdjom Lingpa and his disciples withdrew to Lama Rung in the Ser Chu Valley.
The Chuktsang tribe, suffering great loss from Düdjom Lingpa’s fierce display of wrath, was filled with a desire for revenge. During that same year, from late autumn to mid-winter, while Düdjom Lingpa was engaged in meditative retreat at Lama Rung, he was targeted by the Chuktsang protector deity, Lhalungkar.
Lhalungkar dispatched twelve horsemen—whether human or non-human remains ambiguous—to Düdjom Lingpa’s retreat tent, howling war cries of ‘Kyi! Ha!’. At the same time, Nöjin Shenpa Marnak—one of Düdjom Lingpa’s principal protectors—appeared in his characteristic red attire, galloping on a horse. Slashing with his sword, Nöjin Shenpa Marnak is said to have slain five of the attacking horsemen, while the remaining seven fled back to their homeland—'like mice chased by a hawk’.
A Final Pilgrimage
Toward the end of his life in the 1890s, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo undertook a pilgrimage from Golok’s Ser Chu region to Lhasa, fulfilling a long-cherished wish to visit the revered Jowo Rinpoché. Housed in the Jokhang temple, this sacred image depicts Sakyamuni Buddha as a sixteen-year-old youth. Legend says that, guided by the god Indra, Vishvakarman crafted this image of Buddha Sakyamuni while he was still alive. To this day, the Jowo Rinpoche is venerated as the most sacred image in Tibet.
The journey from Golok to Lhasa was arduous and took several months. When he finally arrived in the city, it was late at night. Without hesitation, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo made his way directly to the Jokhang temple. Although the temple was closed, he approached the still-present custodians, pleading urgently: ‘Please, let me in. I want to see the Jowo Rinpoche now!
The custodians replied, ‘No, the temple is closed. Please come back tomorrow.’
But he persisted, earnest in his devotion: ‘Please. I’ve traveled a great distance from Serta in Golok. I am alone. Just allow me to stay inside tonight, to pray before the Jowo. I promise I won’t bother anyone. I only wish to spend the night in prayer.’
Moved by his unwavering commitment, dedication to the Dharma, and above all, his profound devotion to the Jowo Rinpoche, the custodians finally relented. They permitted him to enter the temple, instructing him to do his prayers quietly, meditate, and remain inside until they returned in the morning. They locked the door from the outside and left him there.
When they returned at dawn, Chuktsang Dorjé Zangpo’s body was gone. Instead, only his Golok sheep-skin overcoat, his hair, and his nails remained—a testament to the fact that his physical form had dissolved into light. In front of the Jowo Rinpoche, he had attained the rainbow body, with all particles of his corporeal existence completely absorbed into the primordial union of emptiness and luminosity.
Once again, a direct disciple of Düdjom Lingpa—the extraordinary tertön from the remote region of Golok—had demonstrated the ultimate sign of spiritual realization. This event, taking place in the heart of Lhasa, the seat of the Ganden Podrang, brought new reverence and recognition of the Düdjom Tersar lineage throughout Central Tibet.
References
- ↑ The Yéshé Nyima is one sādhanā, among others, which is part of the larger Daknang Yéshé Drawa terma cycle, which includes many other practices and instructional texts.
Since the early 8th century, Tibetans and Himalayan people have treasured "Namtars" as written or spoken narratives that demonstrate the realization of the Buddhist path by exceptional practitioners. These namtars, or spiritual biographies, serve as inspirational guides on the path to enlightenment.
Today, Namtars Foundation aims to record, preserve, and freely offer the world a written and electronic treasury of the oral wisdom of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism.
