Péma Dégyal
- Monk
- Student
- Teacher
A teenage prodigy, a highly disciplined monk, a devoted practitioner of Tröma Nakmo, and ultimately a fully realized Dzogchen yogin, Péma Dégyal emerged as one of the most remarkable disciples of Düdjom Lingpa. Following the prophetic instructions that he received from his teacher at Dartsang Kalzang, he later journeyed to the western end of the Tibetan Plateau. There, on the slopes of and around Gang Rinpoché (Mount Kailash—Gang Tisé, the sacred axis mundi of the Buddhist world— he dedicated himself to establishing and propagating Düdjom Lingpa’s terma cycles, founding the practice community that would become known as Namkha Khyung Dzong. At the age of sixty, as had been prophesied by his teacher Düdjom Lingpa, Péma Dégyal achieved the rainbow body.
A Prodigy of Horshul Monastery
In 1873, the Female Water Bird Year, the child who would later be known as Péma Déchen Gyalpo—‘Lotus King of Great Bliss’, more commonly called Péma Dégyal––was born amid wondrous signs in the nomadic region of Bachen Dora in the Chung Valley in Serta, Golok. The area borders the sacred mountain range of Ngala Taktsé, where Düdjom Lingpa had revealed influential termas fourteen years earlier. At the time of his birth, a pavilion of rainbow lights appeared above his parents’ tent, suffusing the surrounding landscape with shimmering colors.
His father, Dampa Khedar Gön[1], belonged to the Mukpo Dong clan and was affiliated with Khetar Monastery. His mother was Yoza Dzumri. From an early age, Péma Dégyal displayed unusual spiritual inclinations. As a young child, he spontaneously prayed to buddhas and deities, naturally engaged in acts of kindness toward those around him, and entered prolonged periods of meditation. Sitting with his body steady like a mountain, he would gaze joyfully into the vast and luminous skies above his parents’ tent encampment.
Such early signs were understood as reflecting a continuum of previous lives marked by spiritual accomplishment. In oral lineage accounts, Péma Dégyal was recognized as an emanation of Vajrapani, embodying the enlightened power of all buddhas. He was also regarded as an emanation of Ananda, the cousin and attendant of Buddha Shakyamuni, renowned for his prodigious memory and compassion, and for persuading the Buddha to establish the Bhikshuni Sangha, the community of fully ordained nuns.
Among his other previous incarnations was King Gyalpo Dza of Zahor, regarded as one of the first human recipients of the Mahayoga teachings—focused on the generation stage of tantric visualization—and an important figure in the transmission of Anuyoga, which emphasizes the completion stage and the direct realization of intrinsic awareness. He was also considered an emanation of Shantigarbha, one of the eight vidyadharas of India, who participated in the consecration of Samyé, Tibet’s first monastery, in the eighth century.
In Tibet, his previous lives included Thonmi Sambhota, the minister of religious affairs to the dharma king Songtsen Gampo (c.617–698), who devised the Tibetan script and translated early Buddhist texts; and Vairotsana, the great Tibetan lotsawa who, together with Guru Rinpoché and the Indian master Vimalamitra, was among the principal figures responsible for transmitting the Dzogchen teachings to Tibet. Other incarnations attributed to Péma Dégyal include Tertön Drapa Ngönshé (1012–1090), teacher and later disciple of Machik Labdrön (1055–1153)[2] ; Terdak Lingpa (1646–1714), who worked tirelessly to preserve and propagate the Nyingma teachings; and Tertön Shérab Özer (1518–1584), who revealed the terma cycle Drölthig Gongpa Rangdröl (‘Self-Liberating Essence Drop of Pure Intention’).[3]
In recognition of his extraordinary aptitude, Péma Dégyal was enrolled at Horshul Monastery in 1878, at the age of five. Located in the Ser Chu Valley, Horshul upheld the Nyingma Palyul tradition and served as an important center of study and practice in the region. Under the tutelage of three senior khenpos at the monastery, Péma Dégyal studied Buddhist scriptures and mastered ritual arts including cham dance, torma making, and the creation of sand maṇḍalas.
When Péma Dégyal expressed his wish to deepen his studies, his father initially objected, saying, ‘Since you are my eldest son, you must care for our household and property. Your younger brothers may enter the Dharma, but not you.’ However, when his younger brothers later joined Horshul but failed to apply themselves diligently or take monastic vows, their father reconsidered. Saddened by their lack of commitment, he eventually told Péma Dégyal, ‘If you sincerely practice the Dharma, I release you from responsibility for the family estate. Your brothers can take care of that.’
Freed to pursue religious training fully, Péma Dégyal received numerous empowerments, reading transmissions, and instructions from Horshül lamas such as Shuggang Lama Kunzang and Péma Dütsal from the age of eight. His training was unusually broad, encompassing both Nyingma and Kagyü traditions. From the Kagyü lineage, he received teachings on Mahamudra; the Naro Chödruk (‘Six Dharmas of Naropa’); the Avalokiteshvara fasting practice known as Nyungné, according to the tradition of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (1813–1899); the Ronyom Kordruk (‘Six Cycles of Equal Taste’) of the Drukpa Kagyü lineage; and the ngöndro of the Nyingma Namchö (‘Sky Dharma’) tradition known as ‘Holding the Buddha in the Palm of Your Hand’.
He also received extensive transmissions from other Nyingma terma traditions, including the cycles of Nyang Ral Nyima Özer (1124/1136–1192/1204), Guru Chöwang (1212–1270), Péma Lédreltsal (1248 or 1231/2–c.1307), Karma Lingpa (b. 1326), the Jangter (‘Northern Treasures’) of Rigdzin Gödem (1337–1409), Sangyé Lingpa (1340–1396), Dorjé Lingpa (1346–1405), Ratna Lingpa (1403–1478), Karma Chakmé (1613–1678), and the Namchö cycle of Tertön Mingyur Dorjé (1645–1667), which is especially central to the Palyül tradition.
Between the ages of ten and sixteen, Péma Dégyal undertook systematic study under Khenpo Lama Chödrak. His curriculum included the Vinaya monastic code; Prajnaparamita scriptures such as the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra; Shantidéva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra; and the Domsum Namngé (‘Ascertainment of the Three Vows’) by Ngari Panchen Péma Wangyal (1487–1542). He also studied the Bodhipathapradīpa, Madhyamaka philosophy as expounded by the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150–c. 250 CE); the seven pramana treatises on valid cognition, and Jikmé Lingpa’s Yönten Dzö (‘Treasury of Precious Qualities’), which presents the entire Buddhist path culminating in Dzogchen.
In 1886, at the age of thirteen and in the presence of Shuggang Lama Thekchog Tendzin, Péma Dégyal took novice monastic vows and received the name Tsültrim Lobzang Jangchub Palzangpo. From 1886 to 1890, he devoted himself to intensive practice with extraordinary discipline. His austerities were so rigorous that dark marks appeared beneath his skin, which were eventually cured with herbal elixirs.[4]
By 1890, at the age of seventeen, he was able to remain in meditative absorption for extended periods, sometimes lasting up to a week. During this time, he experienced visions of past masters as well as shingkam––Buddhist pure lands––and maṇḍala palaces of tantric deities. On one occasion, when his root teacher Shuggang Lama Thekchog Tendzin visited him with a group of students, Péma Dégyal offered an account of his meditative realization. Shuggang Lama was deeply impressed and remarked, ‘Although your body is still young, you have undertaken extraordinary hardships. It is a marvel that such superior awareness has now arisen in your mind.’
That same year, Péma Dégyal took full monastic ordination, including vows of celibacy, to further support his practice. Following this, Shuggang Lama bestowed upon him profound Mahamudra instructions, which Péma Dégyal practiced to completion, further deepening the realization that would later define his life as one of Düdjom Lingpa’s foremost disciples.
Hearing about Düdjom Lingpa
In 1895, when Péma Dégyal was twenty-two, his teacher Shuggang Lama Thegchok Tendzin revealed that his root guru from previous lifetimes was none other than Düdjom Lingpa, and said,
‘Tertön Düdjom Lingpa of the Chakung clan is presently residing in Serta, at Dartsang Kalzang. He is a living emanation of Dorjé Drolö [a wrathful, tiger-riding form of Guru Rinpoche] and a mahasiddha who possesses knowledge of both past and future. I am certain that he has been your teacher for many lifetimes. You must therefore go to him. In his presence, any remaining doubts will dissolve spontaneously, and you will become an unrivaled practitioner in the three realms!’
The moment Péma Dégyal heard Düdjom Lingpa’s name, his ordinary thoughts subsided, and boundless devotion arose spontaneously within him.
Yet his deep bond with Shuggang Lama made departure difficult. One day, he implored his teacher: ‘It is very hard for me to leave you. I feel I have no need for any other teacher. Please allow me to remain here at your side.’
Shuggang Lama replied firmly: ‘I have told you repeatedly that through the force of your past aspirations and present practice, you now have the karma to meet Düdjom Lingpa. You must go without delay.’
Obeying his teacher’s command, Péma Dégyal left Horshül Monastery and returned briefly to his family home. When he arrived, his maternal uncle asked about the purpose of his visit. Péma Dégyal replied, ‘A great mahasiddha and tertön named Düdjom Lingpa now resides in Serta. According to my teacher’s prophecy, I must go to Dartsang Kalzang to request his teachings.’
His uncle responded immediately, ‘If he is such a great teacher, I too will accompany you, make offerings, and receive his blessings.’
They set out together, undertaking the three-day journey across grasslands punctuated by rocky ravines to reach the upper reaches of the Do Chu Valley, where the dharma encampment of Dartsang Kalzang spread out amidst yak pastures, prayer flags, and meandering streams.[5]
Düdjom Lingpa’s Prophetic Vision
Around this same time, in 1895, Düdjom Lingpa experienced a prophetic dream. The principal protector deity of Dudjom Lingpa's terma tradition, Nöjin Shenpa Marnak (‘Dark-Red Yakṣa Benefactor’), appeared within the domain of a rival mountain deity, Ngala Taktsé––the very region from which Péma Dégyal hailed. In the dream, the two mountain deities engaged in combat, and Nöjin Shenpa Marnak emerged victorious in a seeming sign of Péma Dégyal’s eventual conversion of his homeland to a realm protected by Düdjom Lingpa’s guardian deity Nöjin Shenpa Marnak .
The following day, Düdjom Lingpa told his students that he would enter retreat, and that a young monk would soon arrive. ‘When this young monk comes, take good care of him. I will remain in meditation for seven days.’
Düdjom Lingpa then entered profound samadhi. For seven days he neither spoke nor ate, remaining motionless like a stone. He then extended the retreat to forty-nine days. As time passed, some began to wonder whether he had departed for Guru Rinpoché’s copper-hued pure land, Zangdol Palri.
It was during this period that Péma Dégyal and his uncle arrived at Dartsang Kalzang. Learning that Düdjom Lingpa was in retreat, Péma Dégyal felt momentarily disheartened, thinking, ‘I must have accumulated negative karma not to meet him immediately.’
Resolving to increase his merit, he began continuously circumambulating Düdjom Lingpa’s retreat tent while performing full-body prostrations. He reflected, ‘I will follow the example of the ‘ever-weeping’ bodhisattva Sadaprarudita, who accumulated merit in this way for seven years to meet his teacher Buddha Dharmodgata!’[6]
Although Düdjom Lingpa’s students, consorts, and family members offered him nutritious food and Sichuan brick tea churned with rock salt, milk, and butter, Péma Dégyal declined, devoting himself entirely to prostrations and circumambulation.
Eight Years at Dartsang Kalzang
After fifteen days, Düdjom Lingpa emerged from retreat. His consort Kéza Sangyé Tso (c.1848-1906) informed him of the young monk and his uncle who had arrived two weeks earlier seeking an audience. Düdjom Lingpa agreed to meet them at sunrise the following morning.
When Péma Dégyal entered the retreat tent, he was served dri-butter tea by one of Düdjom Lingpa’s attendants. As steam rose from the cup, he witnessed a remarkable vision: the five deities of the Tröma Nakmo maṇḍala appeared in radiant rainbow light—Tröma Nakmo herself; Ḍakini Yéshé Tsogyal in the form of Tröma Nakmo; the male consort Trowo Tsochok Khagying; Ekadzati, guardian of secret teachings; and Sengdongma (Skt. Siṃhamukhā), the lion-headed wrathful ḍākinī associated with subjugating obstacles and negative forces. They appeared inseparably from his own innate, non-dual awareness.
Péma Dégyal thought, ‘Until now, I harbored uncertainties regarding my meditative experiences. But now, like a snake shedding its skin, all lingering questions have vanished from my mind.’ He rested for some time in spacious, concept-free awareness.
Then, though they had never met before, Düdjom Lingpa addressed him directly: ‘Noble monk, you have completed many retreats before coming here, and you have undergone great austerities.’
Düdjom Lingpa then uttered a fierce and powerful ‘Ah!’, amplifying the fundamental realization of the nature of mind that Péma Dégyal had just experienced. In that instant, Péma Dégyal’s ordinary awareness dissolved into a state beyond words and concepts, and his wisdom realization merged inseparably with that of Düdjom Lingpa.
Düdjom Lingpa then said, ‘You have now encountered the original Samantabhadra [the Primordial Buddha, representing the Dharmakaya, the truth body of enlightenment].’
He thus bestowed ngo trepa—direct introduction to the self-transcendent nature of consciousness. Realization and liberation arose simultaneously, and Péma Dégyal experienced his awareness as inseparable from the wisdom mind of Düdjom Lingpa.
Following this transformative meeting, Péma Dégyal remained at Dartsang Kalzang for eight years, from 1895 until Düdjom Lingpa’s passing in 1903. During this time, he received the full range of Düdjom Lingpa’s empowerments, transmissions, and pith instructions, and practiced them to completion.
In particular, he received Düdjom Lingpa’s four principal terma cycles: the Daknang Yéshé Drawa, the Zabchö Gongpa Longdrol, the Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik, and the Chönyi Namkha Long Dzö. He also received the complete Dzogchen instructions concerning Kadak Trekchö [severing conceptuality] and Lhundrup Tögal [luminous presence].
Through intensive practice, Péma Dégyal attained extraordinary states of bliss, clarity, and non-conceptual awareness. His body became light and subtle, and his mind coextensive with the self-disclosing, ever-manifesting expanse of reality.
One day, disciples asked Düdjom Lingpa, ‘Great tertön, who among your students is your best disciple?’
Düdjom Lingpa replied, ‘It’s Péma Dégyal, the noble monk sitting over there at the back. But in truth, there is no single best disciple. Twelve times a hundred thousand of my disciples will lead beings to supreme enlightenment!’[7]
Shortly before Düdjom Lingpa’s passing in December 1903, Pema Dégyal dreamed of an immaculate crystal stupa. Inside the stupa was a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by many wild animals—birds large and small, and deer and other animals, their fur and feathers in all the colors of a rainbow. The ground was covered with all sorts of flowers, with expanses of grass, open plains, and flowing rivers.
Pema Dégyal asked his teacher what the dream might mean. With a commanding voice, Düdjom Lingpa replied,
‘The meaning of your dream is thus: The crystal stupa is Mount Kailash. The Buddha inside it is you. The small and large birds, the deer and other animals, are signs that you will gather many students. The grass valleys filled with flowers are your patrons and your realm of spiritual influence. Now you must go to Mount Kailash, for the benefit of beings!’
Düdjom Lingpa further clarified that, after reaching Mount Kailash, Pema Dégyal should undertake a three-year retreat in Langchen Puk (‘Elephant Cave’), in view of the mountain’s western face. ‘Great benefit will arise from this’, Düdjom Lingpa assured him. ‘And I foresee that you will ultimately achieve the rainbow body!’
This prophecy would later shape the ensuing phase of Péma Dégyal’s remarkable life.
Journey to Béyül Pemakö
In 1903, guided by prophecies and visionary indications accumulated over many years, Düdjom Lingpa again instructed his family members and close disciples to undertake the arduous journey from Dartsang Kalzang to Béyül Pémakö, Guru Rinpoché’s hidden sanctuary in the Indo-Tibetan borderlands. He told them cryptically, ‘Depart before me. In fact, I will already be there when you arrive.’
This enigmatic statement reflected his foreknowledge of his impending death and rebirth. Düdjom Lingpa understood that he would soon pass away and be reborn in Pémakö before his disciples could complete the long and dangerous journey.
Following his instructions, groups of disciples began leaving Serta and Golok in the early summer of 1903. Two principal groups formed for the journey. Péma Dégyal traveled with the second group, led by Méwa Künkhé, who was widely regarded as an emanation of Düdjom Lingpa’s intimate guardian deity, Nöjin Shenpa Marnak.
In 1904, while they were still traveling westward through Kham, news reached them that Düdjom Lingpa had passed away at the end of December, the previous year. The announcement deepened their determination to reach the hidden land as swiftly as possible despite the turmoil that was erupting throughout eastern Tibet as the Qing military commander, Zhao Erfeng (1845–1911) engaged in a campaign of terror to strengthen imperial control over Kham, reduce the power of the Tibetan Buddhist establishment, and integrate the region into the Chinese administrative system, activities that included execution of monks and local leaders and burning Buddhist monasteries to the ground.
The journey of Düdjom Lingpa’s students proved long and hazardous as they eluded Qing regiments, crossed swollen rivers on woven yak-hide cables, and confronted harsh winter weather, roving bands of Khampa brigands, and untethered Tibetan mastiffs. They slept with their boots laced under sheepskin blankets with their rifles, broadswords, and malas close at hand.
It was not until early 1907 that the group led by Méwa Künkhé reached the kingdom of Powo, the gateway to Béyül Pémakö that lies due north of the world’s deepest gorge at the eastern edge of the Himalayan range. To proceed further, they needed to cross a primitive suspension bridge over the Po Tsangpo Chu––a turbulent river that flows through the main Powo Valley––beyond which three mountain passes lead from Powo into the hidden land. However, the local authorities controlling the bridge demanded an exorbitant toll.
‘For a great bridge crossed by many people, a great fee is required,’ they declared. ‘Otherwise, you may not pass.’
Lacking the demanded sum, Péma Dégyal and his companions remained encamped on the northern bank of the Po Tsangpo amid terraces of buckwheat and barley and roving Assamese macaques. After more than a month of negotiations with local leaders––and interventional prayers to tantric deities––failed to bring about the hoped-for results, the Golok pilgrims resolved to cross the bridge by force, whatever the consequences.
As they advanced, Powo guards and villagers opened fire with single-shot rifles. Düdjom Lingpa’s disciples—monks, nuns, yogis, and yoginis—wore silver and turquoise amulets containing pieces of their teacher’s hair and garments, which he had given to them before their departure. With unwavering faith, they believed the sacred relics would protect them.
Miraculously, the bullets fell short and struck the ground like hailstones. It was held that Düdjom Lingpa’s blessings and the activity of his protector deities formed an adamantine ‘vajra tent’ of protection over the pilgrims. All crossed the bridge unharmed.
After successfully crossing the Po Tsangpo Chu, the group camped in a grassy clearing in a forest of rhododendron, pine, and silver fir. Soon afterward, armed pursuers from Powo appeared amidst the trees and again opened fire.
Inside their yak-hair tent, Péma Dégyal and other Golok lamas began reciting protector invocations. Despite the gunfire, no bullets penetrated the tent—except for one, which struck a monk who had previously broken his samaya, or sacred commitments.
The bullet had lodged in his lower leg and, following Golok custom, someone immediately declared, ‘The poison must be sucked out!’ Péma Dégyal volunteered at once. In Golok culture, a bullet wound is treated like snake venom––both blood and bullet must be extracted to prevent harm. Péma Dégyal drew the lead bullet out with his mouth. Afterward, instead of wiping away the blood, he remained seated in meditative absorption.
Because the blood belonged to someone who had broken his spiritual commitments, the skin of Péma Dégyal’s chin became slightly scarred, though his throat remained unharmed. When the extracted bullet was examined, the lead from which it was made had assumed the form of a self-arisen wisdom deity. Péma Dégyal kept the transfigured bullet as a sacred object of devotion.[8]
The group then continued deeper into Pémakö, following the route taken months earlier by the first group of Düdjom Lingpa’s disciples, led by Ling Lama Orgyen Chökyi Gyalpo (c.1850s–c.1920s). When they reached the Chimdro Valley, they met with the Khampa tertön Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné (1856–1922), who had recently sought refuge there after a failed mission to establish a Buddhist colony in Chulikata Mishmi tribal territory, in lower Pémakö. Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné directed them down the Chimdro Chu to its confluence with the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, which they followed through dense subtropical forests and precipitous ravines to Terkhok Nang––‘Inner Treasure Valley’––a settlement built between two jutting mountain spurs.
There, they encountered Düdjom Lingpa’s reincarnation—Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (1904–1987). The trülku was only three years old. Yet he emerged from his family home to greet the mud-encrusted pilgrims and invite them inside for tea and local fruits.
Péma Dégyal and his companions were astonished that the young child spoke to them in the Golok dialect, which was entirely different from the local speech of Pémakö and Powo. Even more remarkable, the child addressed them individually by name—including Péma Dégyal, who had been among Düdjom Lingpa’s closest disciples.
Although a prior group of Düdjom Lingpa’s disciples had already begun educating the young trülku, Péma Dégyal and his companions assisted where they could. They felt complete certainty that the precocious toddler––who had already been enthroned in the village temple, Zhabma Gonpa––was the rebirth of their teacher. With this meeting, the initial purpose of their long and perilous journey from Golok had been fulfilled.
Departing Pémakö for Kongpo and Mount Kailash
Soon after he arrived in Terko Nang, Péma Dégyal had been asked by local Pémakö residents to assist in educating the young Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé. Remembering, however, Düdjom Lingpa’s explicit instruction that he undertake a three-year retreat at Gang Rinpoché (Mount Kailash), Péma Dégyal devised a diplomatic way to depart without arousing opposition.
Gathering the scriptures and sacred objects that he had carried from Golok, he told the residents of Terkhok Nang, ‘While I undertake a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, please keep these texts and sacred objects for me until I return.’ In this way, he concealed the fact that he had no intention to come back at all.
After leaving Terkhok Nang, he crossed the Yarlung Tsangpo Chu-Brahmaputra on a bamboo cane bridge stretched taut over the gorge and hundreds of feet above the rapids. He then crossed the Doshung La (‘Pass of Sharp Stones’), which led him back down to the Yarlung Tsangpo as it flowed eastward into the world’s deepest gorge to the north of the 7,782-meter-high massif of Namcha Barwa, the eastern terminus of the Himalayan range. He crossed a hanging rope bridge to the Tsangpo’s northern bank and continued through the temperate, pine-forested valleys of Kongpo to Buchu Lhakhang, one of the four border-subduing temples founded by the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo (c.618–650) in the seventh century. Just west of this site, several decades later, in the late 1930s, Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé would establish the retreat community of Lama Ling–-‘Sanctuary for Lamas’––centered around a three-story replica of Zangdok Palri, Guru Rinpoche’s celestial copper-colored paradise.
Péma Dégyal remained in Kongpo for more than a year. Students such as Gönpo Tashi, Kushab Ajam, Tarna Lama, and Trinlé Chöpel were naturally drawn to the accomplished teacher and gathered around him to receive instruction. Yet at a decisive moment, one of the protector deities of Mount Kailash appeared to him in a vision, reminding him of his vow to continue westward to the sacred mountain.
As he had done previously in Pémakö, Péma Dégyal entrusted some of his personal belongings and dharma texts to his Kongpo students before setting out toward Lhasa and, ultimately, Mount Kailash.
Before crossing the high plateau of central Tibet, however, he traveled south to the sacred region of Tsari and its holy mountain, Takpa Shelri. Like Mount Kailash, Tsari is regarded as a terrestrial manifestation of the tantric deity Cakrasaṃvara in union with Vajravārāhī, making it one of Tibet’s most revered pilgrimage destinations.
During his stay in Tsari, Péma Dégyal experienced numerous visions. In one such vision, he manifested as Vajravārāhī herself, while assemblies of ḍākinīs danced around him. With a single voice, they sang:
‘Namo Mahaswasti Siddhiye. In the primordial ground of inexpressible clear light, the true nature of reality, dharmatā, arises in perfection. Protector who encompasses all phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—buddhas of past, present, and future—Samantabhadra with consort, think of me!’
When Péma Dégyal recited the mantra Dharmakaya Sambhogakaya Nirmanakaya Guru Siddhi Om Waka Siddhi Ah Tsitta Siddhi Hum Sarwa Siddhi Hri, the entire assembly of ḍakinis dissolved like a rainbow into dharmata, the formless expanse of fundamental reality.
Circling the Sacred Mountain
In accord with the visions that he experienced at Tsari, Péma Dégyal traveled westward through Lhasa, Gyantsé, and Shigatsé––Tibet’s largest towns––following the northern bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo Chu-Brahmaputra across the vast high-altitude plateau leading toward Mount Kailash. He eventually arrived at the sheep-trading settlement of Darchen, situated at the southern foot of the sacred mountain.
Mount Kailash—known in Tibetan as Gang Tisé or Gang Rinpoche, ‘Precious Snow Mountain’—is revered as the terrestrial palace of Cakrasaṃvara and Vajravārāhī in numinous union. In a parallel pairing of consciousness and energy, Hindus regard the mountain as the abode of Shiva and Shakti, in the form of the goddess Parvati. Followers of the Bön tradition identify Kailash as the place where their founding figure, Tenpa Shenrab Miwoché, first appeared on earth, while the Jain tradition similarly venerates the mountain as a site of primordial spiritual awakening associated with their legendary, prehistoric founder, Rishabhanatha. Mount Kailash thus stands as one of the world’s most universally revered sacred mountains.
Following ancient pilgrimage tradition, Péma Dégyal undertook the clockwise circumambulation of the 6,638-meter snow-domed peak while performing full-length prostrations. Lacking hand protection or a leather apron, his arms and legs soon became covered in bleeding wounds, vulnerable to infection. Despite the pain, he continued without hesitation. After several weeks, he completed the circuit and arrived back in Darchen.
Seeing his injuries, the head of Darchen Monastery, Darchenpa Sangyé, immediately offered him a new woolen chuba. Péma Dégyal accepted the gift respectfully but he cut the garment into strips, wrapping only his wounded arms and legs.
‘I am a monk,’ he explained, ‘and I have vowed never to wear the clothing of a lay person. As an external commitment to renunciation, I will continue to wear only monastic robes.’
The Retreat at Langchen Puk (Elephant Cave)
After completing his circumambulation, Péma Dégyal announced to his close students: ‘Now, as Düdjom Lingpa instructed, I will remain in retreat at Langchen Puk (the Elephant Cave), for three years.’
The six-meter-long cave—associated with both Guru Rinpoché and Milarépa—lies on a cliff face below the Drukpa Kagyü monastery Chöku Gonpa, directly facing the glaciated western face of Mount Kailash.
Before entering retreat, Péma Dégyal instructed Gönpo Tashi, Kushab Ajam, and Tarna Lama to return to Kongpo and retrieve the belongings that he had left there. He instructed another disciple, Trinlé Chöpel, to undertake pilgrimage to the sacred sites of Nepal and ‘roam the one hundred and eight fearsome places.’
His students were deeply distressed at the thought of leaving him and pleaded for him to return with them to Kongpo. But Péma Dégyal explained,
‘There are two reasons I must remain here. First, the local deities of Mount Kailash have repeatedly requested that I stay. Second, retreat at Langchen Puk is the explicit command of my teacher, Düdjom Lingpa. Therefore, I cannot leave.’
Recognizing his unshakable resolve, his disciples reluctantly departed. Gönpo Tashi, Kushab Ajam, and Tarna Lama traveled back to Buchu Lhakhang and returned with his belongings, while Trinlé Chöpel completed pilgrimage to the 108 sacred sites of Nepal.
Péma Dégyal remained in strict retreat for three years and forty-five days. When his students later gathered outside the cave, the retreat period had not yet elapsed, and he maintained complete isolation until its completion.
Spreading Düdjom Lingpa’s Teachings at Mount Kailash
After concluding his retreat, Péma Dégyal reunited with his students. At the request of Trinlé Chöpel, he began offering oral and written instructions based on his retreat experiences. Teaching morning and evening in full view of Mount Kailash, these instructions were later compiled into a Dzogchen treatise entitled Richö Senggé Tsal Dzogchenpö Gyü (‘Mountain Dharma: The Lion’s Expressive Power Tantra’)[9] that elucidates the dissolution of dualistic perception into the nature of awareness.
His disciples also requested extensive teachings on the Shérik Dorjé Nönpo Gyü (‘Sharp Vajra of Awareness Tantra’), one of Düdjom Lingpa’s Dzogchen revelations from the Daknang Yéshé Drawa (‘Wisdom Net of Pure Visions’) terma cycle. After Péma Dégyal gave detailed explanations, his students implored him to write them down. Entering a state of meditative absorption and merging his mind with Düdjom Lingpa, Péma Dégyal composed, in only five days, a profound commentary entitled Zungdzin Trülpa Rangdrol (‘Self-Liberation of Illusory Dualistic Perception’).
Although Péma Dégyal remained a celibate monk throughout his life, after completing his retreat he ceased wearing monastic robes and instead wore the white zen of a ngakpa over a traditional woolen chuba. His hair, though never particularly long, was no longer cut. This concealed the ushniṣha-like protuberance at the crown of his head, regarded as a sign of spiritual realization.
Following his retreat at Langchen Puk, Péma Dégyal undertook an additional two-year retreat near the northern shore of Tsochen Mapam Yütso (Lake Manasarovar), the pristine waters of which are believed to purify the karma of many lifetimes.
To encourage the spread of the Düdjom Lingpa’s termas in the Mount Kailash region, Péma Dégyal arranged for the printing of Düdjom Lingpa’s Dzogchen meditation manual Néluk Rangjung (‘Self-Arising Sun of Primordial Wisdom’)––an extract from the Daknang Yeshé Drawa cycle––along with his own commentary on the Shérik Dorjé Nönpo Gyü.
The Néluk Rangjung, widely known in English as Vajra Essence, is the most extensive of Düdjom Lingpa’s five major Dzogchen treatises. Structured as a dialogue between Samantabhadra and a circle of bodhisattvas, the text emphasizes the practice of Tögal, in which the practitioner merges with self-transcendent luminous awareness. In a later edited version, Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé wrote that the Néluk Rangjung ‘is the ambrosial speech of the vast expanse … which, when properly taught, brings enlightenment within reach in a single lifetime.’
After more than five years of continuous retreat in the Mount Kailash region, Péma Dégyal was joined by his close friend and fellow disciple of Düdjom Lingpa, Tsok Khang (c.1870s–c.1930s). The two had left Dartsang Kalzang together in 1903, but Tsok Khang had bypassed Pémakö, instead spending several years near Drikung Thil[10], the principal seat of the Drikung Kagyü tradition in central Tibet.
Tsok Khang remained with Péma Dégyal for one year. During that time, he remarked: ‘Although I am extremely happy to stay here with my vajra brother, the way he upholds his samayas is remarkable. Concerned that I might break any of my own commitments, I feel as though I were living with a tiger!’
Establishing Namkha Khyung Dzong
After completing his two-year retreat near the northern shore of Tsochen Mapam Yütso (Lake Manasarovar), local sadak (‘earth lords’) and female protector deities known as the Twelve Mother-and-Sister Tenmas repeatedly appeared to Péma Dégyal in visionary encounters. They urged him to establish a retreat center in the surrounding region—an undertaking that would eventually give rise to Pal Drakmar Namkha Khyung Dzong (the ‘Sky Garuḍa Fortress of the Glorious Red Rock’).
To fulfill this vision, Péma Dégyal first moved to the southwest of Mount Kailash, to Khandro Sangwé Shelpuk (‘Ḍakinis’ Secret Crystal Cave’). There he performed an extensive gaṇacakra feast offering and then entered meditative seclusion for three years. At the conclusion of his retreat, auspicious signs appeared: wild geese gathered at a nearby lake and a pervasive fragrance of flowers filled the air—traditional indications of spiritual accomplishment.
It was here, near the headwaters of the Maja Kabab (Karnali River)—whose Tibetan name refers to a river issuing from a peacock’s mouth—that Namkha Khyung Dzong gradually emerged as a sacred practice site. The retreat community was founded upon the terma cycles that Düdjom Lingpa had revealed decades earlier in Golok, at the far eastern edges of the Tibetan plateau.
During the three months of summer, disciples from across Tibet and the Himalayan regions gathered to receive teachings. During the three winter months and the three spring months, a total of six months every year, Péma Dégyal stayed in strict solitary retreat without seeing people or traveling anywhere. He had many direct visions of tantric deities and past masters. Most especially, he had visions of Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (1308–1364) and Düdjom Lingpa, whereby his wisdom-realization increased, giving rise to gongter (‘mind treasures’) such as the previously mentioned Zungdzin Trülpa Rangdrol (‘Self-Liberation of Illusory Dualistic Delusion’).
To all his disciples, Péma Dégyal first taught the Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik Ngöndro (The Preliminary Practices of the Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik). Then, year by year, he went on to bestow the root empowerment for Tröma Nakmo, Chötri Gyépa (‘Extensive Severance Instructions’) including Powa (‘transference of consciousness’), and meditation on the phoneme AH, the essence of all mantras and a symbol of primordial awareness. He then bestowed the Dzogchen (‘Great Perfection’) pointing-out instructions, guiding students to direct recognition of the nature of their minds.
For those who had completed the preliminary practices and who had pledged to undertake three-year retreats, he would teach Düdjom Lingpa’s Shérik Dorjé Nönpo (‘The Sharp Vajra of Awareness’), Nangjang (‘Buddhahood Without Meditation: A Visionary Account Known As Refining One’s Perception’), Néluk Rangjung (‘The Self-Arising Natural State’), Jangchup Semtri (‘Instructions on Awakening the Heart’), and one-hundred-day and six-month practices of Tögal, or unimpeded radiance.
Péma Dégyal thus became renowned and revered throughout the surrounding regions of Ladakh, Kunu, Spiti, Humla, Mugum, Karmarong, and Lo Möntang, as well as Central Tibet, Kham, and Amdo. Among those who settled at Namkha Khyung Dzong was Péma Lungtok Gyatso (1891–1964), also known as Golok Serta, who was regarded as an emanation of Yudra Nyingpo—one of Vairotsana’s principal disciples and an important translator of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan in the eighth century. Péma Dégyal himself was also considered an emanation of Vairotsana, and thus teacher and disciple were understood to be reconnecting across lifetimes.
Péma Lungtok Gyatso played an active role in establishing the Tröma Nakmo Chö (‘Severance’) tradition at Namkha Khyung Dzong which was viewed as a tantric approach to actualizing the wisdom state of Prajnaparamita, self-discerning view of emptiness free of the duality of subject and object. Düdjom Lingpa characterized his Chö tradition as ‘an amazing, extraordinary teaching from the short lineage of the great mind terma Chönyi Namkha Longdzö (‘Space Treasury of the Nature of Reality’), an instruction destined for today’s dark times. It is so auspiciously suited, so auspiciously aligned that it will bring countless beings in this degenerate age to ripening and liberation. It is a most profound pith instruction, granted by the lord of siddhas, glorious Saraha himself!’
Under Péma Dégyal’s guidance, Péma Lungtok Gyatso composed a Tröma Nakmo mendrup (medicinal elixir) sadhana that continues to be practiced within the Namkha Khyung Dzong community. As Gyépa Rinpoché (b.1960)—grandson of Péma Lungtok Gyatso––later explained: ‘Just as the essence of Péma Dégyal is Düdjom Lingpa, the essence of Péma Lungtok Gyatso is Péma Dégyal. Like Guru Rinpoché and Yéshé Tsogyal, Guru Rinpoche and Vairotsana, and Guru Rinpoche and his twenty-five disciples, they are all indivisible. And this indivisibility is the essential teaching of the lineage.’
Outwardly, the name Namkha Khyung Dzong refers to Péma Dégyal’s expanding retreat community near the headwaters of the Mapcha Khambab within the greater Kailash maṇḍala. Its inner meaning, however, derives from Dzogchen terminology found in texts such as the Richö Senggé Tsal Dzogchenpö Gyü (‘Mountain Dharma: The Lion’s Expressive Power Tantra’) which explains:
‘In the sky [namkha] that is the true nature of phenomena, free of labels, soars the garuḍa [khyung] of awareness’s self-appearing manifestations, beyond material reference. This uncontrived self-knowing awareness is experienced as innate great bliss.’[11]
In this elucidation, Namkha refers to the empty essence of the ground, primordially pure; Khyung refers to the luminous nature, spontaneously present; and Dzong refers to the unceasing compassion that manifests as self-evident awareness (rang rig). The inseparability of these three aspects constitutes Namkha Khyung Dzong. Longchenpa’s self-commentary on the Chöying Dzö (‘Treasury of Dharmadhatu’) further clarifies Dzong as ‘timeless awareness of the vajra heart essence.’
A Growing Retreat Community
Although Péma Dégyal undertook repeated periods of solitary retreat, Namkha Khyung Dzong continued to grow as a vibrant contemplative community grounded in Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings on Tröma Nakmo (Skt. Krodha Kali). As lineage holder Lama Péma Dorjé (1942–2018) later remarked: ‘In the Namkha Khyung Dzong tradition, the lama practice is Tröma Nakmo, the yidam practice is Tröma Nakmo, and the ḍākinī practice is Tröma Nakmo,’ in reference to the three ‘roots’ of refuge, attainment, and enlightened activity. This development fulfilled Düdjom Lingpa’s earlier prophecy that Péma Dégyal would establish the Tröma Nakmo lineage in the Mount Kailash region, where it would subsequently flourish.
For seventeen years, Péma Dégyal remained in the vicinity of Mount Kailash and Lake Mānasarovar, tirelessly advancing Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings. Although he recognized the importance of establishing Vajrakilaya (‘Magical Adamantine Dagger’) practice to avert obstacles, the rarity of the necessary texts prevented him from instituting a full Vajrakilaya tradition at Namkha Khyung Dzong. According to his visions, without this protective practice, obstacles and disturbances caused by damsi––spirits emanating from practitioners who have broken samaya—would arise there.
Péma Dégyal nonetheless concentrated principally on the lineage of Tröma Nakmo. His disciples copied related scriptures by hand and distributed them widely. He also oversaw the copying and dissemination of Düdjom Lingpa’s Dzogchen termas, including the Neluk Rangjung (‘Self-Arising Natural State’).
Péma Dégyal also instituted the Nyungné fasting practice dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of universal compassion. Beginning in Saga Dawa—the fourth Tibetan month—he instructed participants in the rules of conduct. Each year, more than one thousand monks gathered for the combined fasting and prayer retreat, along with numerous male and female lay practitioners from the surrounding region. Donations covered all expenses.
At the conclusion of the annual Nyungné retreats, Péma Dégyal conducted three-month teaching programs. During these periods, he bestowed the sater ngöndro of the Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik (‘Profound Heart Essence of the Ḍakinis’), Chö and Tröma Nakmo practices, the Nang Jang (‘Buddhahood Without Meditation’), Trekchö and Tögal pith instructions, empowerments, transmissions, and detailed teachings. He taught from a copious tent specially constructed for the gatherings, while disciples filled the surrounding hillsides.
Beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the seventh Tibetan month Péma Dégyal then conducted a great tsok (Ganacakra) offering. Afterward, he met with disciples individually to guide their practice and then began his own annual six-month meditation retreats—from mid-autumn until late spring of the following year.
During his winter retreats, Péma Dégyal’s attendants prepared tea, tsampa, and dried yak cheese daily. But increasingly, his monk attendants found the food untouched at his cave door the following morning, and they became increasingly concerned for his wellbeing.
Eventually, Péma Dégyal explained that he performed feast offerings on the tenth day of each lunar month using only boiled tea leaves. His attendants understood that he had attained a state requiring minimal physical sustenance.
On one winter retreat, Péma Dégyal experienced a visionary dream in which Buddha Shakyamuni appeared before him, while he himself manifested as Ananda, the Buddha’s chief disciple. Just as he was preparing to address the Buddha, he regretfully woke up. Yet the vision remained. For the following seven days, Buddha Shakyamuni remained vividly present, bestowing pith instructions. At the same time, rainbows appeared and fragrant scents filled the valley of Namkha Khyung Dzong—outer signs accompanying his deepening realization.
An Uncompromising Disciplinarian
Péma Dégyal’s annual summer teachings were regularly attended by more than three thousand people. Among them were many lamas, khenpos, geshes, trülkus, monks and nuns, as well as local nomads and lay practitioners, all of whom were naturally drawn to his presence and erudition. After receiving teachings during the summer months, many disciples returned to their tent encampments, home villages, or solitary retreats, while others remained at Namkha Khyung Dzong to undertake individual or communal winter retreats.
Péma Dégyal strictly maintained his outer vows of individual liberation, his inner vows of bodhicitta, and his secret samaya as a tantric practitioner. None of his commitments were ever stained by lapses or breakages. Because of this, the environs of Namkha Khyung Dzong—and any other place Péma Dégyal visited—were said to exude subtle fragrances. The simple touch of his hands upon material objects was believed to imbue them with blessings. Such a sacred atmosphere encouraged his disciples to uphold their vows and spiritual commitments with natural ease. During Péma Dégyal’s lifetime, no actual monastery or temple was built at Namkha Khyung Dzong, and it remained a tented encampment at the headwaters of the Maja Kabab until after Péma Dégyal’s passing when Kushab Ajam[12] and Péma Lungtok Gyatso (aka Golok Serta), together with Lama Lopzang Nyima and others, undertook the construction of a much-needed temple.
During Péma Dégyal’s lifetime, Namkha Khyung Dzong consisted of three principal practice sites located at outer, inner, and secret gateways at the headwaters of the Maja Kabab, one of four great glacial rivers that spring forth from Mount Kailash. White-robed, long-haired yogins resided at the outer gateway. Novice and fully ordained monks resided along with other renunciates at the inner gateway, with ordained nuns inhabiting tents in the neighboring Jomo Lung (‘Valley of the Female Buddhas’). At the secret gateway lies Khandro Sangwé Shelpuk (‘Ḍakinis’ Secret Crystal Cave’), where Péma Dégyal resided for seventeen years. Male and female ngakpas, along with outside visitors, stayed in nearby encampments.
The community was organized around receiving teachings and engaging in retreat practice. Because of the large numbers of practitioners, they generally assembled in smaller groups at various locations, except during the annual Nyungné retreat and Péma Dégyal’s summer teaching cycle.
Those who remained at Namkha Khyung Dzong during the winter retreats, which were based primarily on Düdjom Lingpa’s Tröma Nakmo practices, typically assembled in synchronized groups of four or five. Before dawn, at the blast of a conch shell, they began the short Tröma Nakmo sadhana. After accumulating a designated number of mantra recitations, they progressed to the Trödring, the medium-length Tröma Nakmo sadhana. What might appear to an outsider as a chaotic dissonance of ritual sounds was, for those initiated into the mysteries of Krodhakali, the Wrathful Black Ḍakini, a profound and transfiguring liturgy.
On some occasions, before dawn, the master responsible for practice sessions would recite the Ngakgyé (‘Black Feast’) of Tröma Nakmo, accompanied by the sharp, repetitive sounds of hand bells and double-headed drums. The assembly would then be led in reciting the Kargyé (‘White Feast’), along with associated prayers. When the sun had risen, they performed the Tragyé (‘Multi-Colored Feast’), together with sang [fragrant smoke offerings] and chutor [water torma offerings]. Only afterwards would the assembled practitioners receive food.
Practitioners then had a mid-day rest period. At night, they typically recited the Margyé (‘Red Feast’) of Tröma Nakmo, followed by sur, or burnt offerings, before engaging in formless clear-light meditation. All practices were conducted in accordance with the traditions established by Düdjom Lingpa.
In addition to synchronized group practice, an appointed disciplinarian made regular rounds to ensure that retreat schedules were strictly maintained by those in individual retreat. Retreatants were not permitted to move from one place to another, nor were they allowed to engage in other activities, including writing. If anyone was found in violation, they were required to confess publicly and perform one hundred full-length prostrations before the entire assembly of monks and nuns. They would then be assigned additional duties, such as serving tea to all retreat participants.
Within this highly disciplined environment, it was strictly forbidden to play mahjong, smoke tobacco, drink chang or spirits, cause disturbances or quarrels, sing or dance, or engage in sexual activity. The blessings induced through such restrictions were said to be so strong that thoughts of transgression rarely arose. Those who resided at Namkha Khyung Dzong became known for their innate bodhicitta, their dedication to benefiting others, and their minimal desire for fine food, clothing, or conversation. Many appeared as jadralwa, naturally disengaged from worldly concerns and content to remain in extended retreat.
Practitioners undertaking winter retreat at Namkha Khyung Dzong were not permitted to travel from place to place, whether individually or in groups. Any breach of these regulations was understood to undermine the integrity of the disciplined training environment.
Péma Dégyal repeatedly advised his disciples to practice diligently and avoid distraction. Guru Rinpoché’s mantra was constantly recited and sung to maintain vigilant awareness. Péma Dégyal explained that some practitioners mistakenly believed mantra recitation should cease when answering the call of nature. He insisted, however, that mantra recitation should continue uninterrupted so that appearances are experienced as inseparable from male and female deities, all sounds are heard as the spontaneous resonance of sacred syllables, and all thoughts arise inseparably within dharmata, the unimpeded expanse of reality.
Péma Dégyal extended particular care in welcoming and training female practitioners at Namkha Khyung Dzong. This emphasis was understood as a natural continuation of his former life as Ananda, who, among Buddha Śākyamuni’s disciples, is most closely associated with persuading the Buddha to establish a monastic order for nuns.
Expanding Influence and Influential Disciples
One summer, high-ranking officials from the Dalai Lama’s Potala Palace in Lhasa, together with the head of Rinchen Gang Labrang—one of the four dynastic houses of Sakya Monastery—came to Namkha Khyung Dzong to meet Péma Dégyal. Deeply impressed by his realization and the flourishing retreat community he had established, they returned to Lhasa carrying accounts of his accomplishments. From that time onward, Péma Dégyal’s renown spread widely throughout Tibet.
Thereafter, Thubten Gyatso––the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (1876–1933)––designated Péma Dégyal as one of his longevity-support teachers, although both would ultimately pass away in the same year, 1933. Prior to that time, governmental delegations from Lhasa visited Namkha Khyung Dzong annually to present offerings. During one such visit, Péma Dégyal requested that the Ganden Podrang, the Central Tibetan Government, grant private ownership of the land at Namkha Khyung Dzong to ensure the community’s long-term stability. In response, he received a formal document bearing the seal of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, granting the request along with monastic endowments and three hundred dry measures of government grain.
Péma Dégyal’s myriad activities for the benefit of both teachings and beings unfolded spontaneously and without effort. He installed the complete Kangyur—the collected teachings of the Buddha—and the Tengyur—the Indian commentarial corpus—in the main temple at Namkha Khyung Dzong. He also restored a dilapidated Tuṣita temple that had fallen into ruin and oversaw the construction of four circumambulation paths around the retreat complex.
When members of the emerging monastic college gathered at Namkha Khyung Dzong, Péma Dégyal personally sponsored their provisions, drawing upon accumulated offerings. During one early summer Nyungné retreat, his attendant Gönpo Norjug, who was responsible for distributing butter offerings, approached him and said, ‘The offering butter has all been used up. Where can I find more?’ Péma Dégyal replied immediately, ‘Just look beneath the leather trunk.’ Gönpo Norjug, puzzled, initially found nothing. But when he returned, he discovered a cache of dri (wild female yak) butter, said to have been offered by local protector deities. Thereafter, as much butter as required was available.
The power of Péma Dégyal’s realization transformed the minds of entire assemblies of disciples, in whom devotion and reverence arose spontaneously. Without sectarian distinction, he welcomed students from all five traditions—Nyingma, Kagyü, Sakya, Géluk, and Bön—from throughout Tibet, Ladakh, and Nepal.
In addition to his most eminent successor––Péma Lungtok Gyatso––Péma Dégyal’s other principal disciples became known as the ‘Four Dorjés’: Gen Rigsang Dorjé (1902–1984), Khyungpo Jikmé Namkhai Dorjé (1897–1955), Lama Tekchok Dorjé (1876–1961), and Ladakh Namkha Dorjé.
His many other disciples included the Seventh Chöjé Rinpoché, who completed six years of retreat under his guidance; Gélong Drimé Özer of Kham; Gétsé Togden; Golok Serta; Khusho Ajam, also known as Gyaltsab; Kusho Chimé Purang; Kusho Chöden; Gonpo Tashi; Lama Chimé; Péma Gépel of Nagchu; Rolpai Dorjé of Nangchen; Tarna Lama; Thinley Chöpel; Tokden Paksam Gyatso, also known as Ngagi Wangpo, the Eighth Drukpa Yongdzin; and Yéshé Palden of Khunu.
Many of Péma Dégyal’s students were nuns who attained high levels of realization, reflecting the inclusive and transformative power of his guidance. Prominent figures among his female disciples included Ani Tsöndru, Ani Tsezang, Ani Lhamo, Ani Paktsok, Ani Chödrön, Ani Jangchup Chödrön, Ani Pema Kadak, Ani Pema Chötso, Ani Pema Chödzom, Ani Gezang, Ani Kadak, Ani Yudrön, Ani Kadak Zangmo, Ani Ngangmo, Ani Sherap Drölkar, Ani Tradak, and many others.
As Gyepa Rinpoche later observed, ‘There has in fact not been one single person who met Péma Dégyal who did not remain in thukdam [meditative absorption] at the time of their passing.’ Whether taken literally or as an expression of the profound spiritual impact he had on those around him, this testimony points to the remarkable depth of Péma Dégyal’s compassionate influence in establishing a community marked by devotion, discipline, and profound meditative accomplishment.
A Legacy of Texts
At the request of his many disciples, Péma Dégyal composed a substantial body of writings, including numerous instructions and prayers, all imbued with the view of Dzogchen. His collected works, comprising three volumes, were published in 1985 in Delhi by Tsokhang Choktrul Tsewang Dorjé, a son of Péma Lungtok Gyatso (Golok Serta). Each volume contains numerous individual texts, including devotional prayers, sadhana practices, instruction manuals, and Dzogchen commentaries. Many of these works reflect the specific needs of practitioners in the Mount Kailash region, far removed from the principal centers where Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings originated and thrived. The centerpiece of his writings is the previously mentioned Dzogchen treatise Zungdzin Trulpa Rangdröl (‘Self-Liberation of Illusory Dualistic Perception’).
At a later period of his life, Péma Dégyal composed the following prayer to the rainbow body—the fruition of Dzogchen practice, in which, at the time of death, the physical body diminishes and dissolves into a spectrum of multi-colored light as awareness merges with the dharmakāya, the dimension of ultimate reality,
‘Emaho! In the primordially pure dimension of natural manifestation, the radiance of nonconceptual awareness expresses itself as [entoptic] vajra chains. Bodies and luminous circles appear in the indivisibility of primordial space and wisdom. I pray to the exalted teacher of the ultimate meaning. In the heart of the domes of light and rainbow rays, grant your blessings so that I attain completion of the four visions of the secret path of Tögal in this present life, and that I may thus be released in primordial space as the Dharmakaya rainbow body.’
Leaving his Body as a Source of Healing and Miracles
In 1933, Péma Dégyal began to suffer increasingly from severe rheumatoid arthritis. Calling his personal attendant, he gathered his disciples, who immediately beseeched him to remain firmly in his body and live long. In response, they conducted long-life ceremonies to strengthen his life force. Péma Dégyal also requested that they perform Nyungné retreats and recite Guru Rinpoché’s heart mantra, along with the Mani Dondrub—an accumulation of one hundred million recitations of Avalokiteśvara’s six-syllable mantra.
For a time, Péma Dégyal’s health improved. But he soon remarked, ‘As I am now of little help to sentient beings, there is no reason for me to remain alive.’ He then requested that the twelve-page Mönlam Chöku Ringsel (‘Relics of Dharmakaya’) aspiration prayer, be recited on his behalf and asked that the window of his cave be opened. Three white flowers then miraculously appeared before him, and his wisdom mind dissolved peacefully into dharmata, the luminous expanse of primordial reality. At that moment, the sky filled with iridescent lights and rainbow clouds of various forms appeared above his cave.
For three days afterward, Péma Dégyal’s body remained in the post-mortem meditative state of thukdam. On the fourth day, his head turned slightly, and white and red bodhicitta substances emerged from his nostrils and the crown of his head, indicating that his meditative absorption after death had been completed.
At that time, the sky over Namkha Khyung Dzong and the surrounding hills was pervaded by rainbow clouds, and many large and small thiglé—circles of rainbow light—appeared directly above Péma Dégyal’s cave. While practicing before his kudung, his sacred remains, Péma Dégyal’s devoted students spontaneously realized the essence of all the teachings he had bestowed upon them, and their minds were suffused with self-transcendent devotion.
Shortly before his passing, Péma Dégyal composed the following prayer invoking the rainbow body, the fruition of the Dzogchen path to which he had devoted his life,
‘Emaho! In the primordially pure reality of natural manifestation, the radiance of nonconceptual awareness expresses itself as vajra chains. Bodies and luminous circles appear in the indivisibility of space and primordial wisdom. I pray to the exalted teacher of the ultimate meaning. In the heart of space and the gathering of domes of light and rainbow rays, grant your blessings for me to complete the four visions of the secret path of Tögal in this present life, so that I may be released in primordial space as the Dharmakāya rainbow body.’
Lama Péma Dorjé (1942–2018) and Lama Dawa Chödak (1951–2017), sons of Lama Kadak Rigdzin Dorjé (1920s–1970s), later shared the following account:
‘Before his passing, Péma Dégyal told his disciples that he intended to leave his body, as this would ward off pestilence. Having foreseen that future disturbances would bring illness to the region, he left instructions for preserving his kudung. His embalmed body was enshrined in a reliquary stupa at Namkha Khyung Dzong. Soon afterward, smallpox broke out in the region. Many people in the Mount Kailash area became sick and died, except those living at Namkha Khyung Dzong and its surroundings. The entire community was spared. At the same time, Péma Dégyal’s disciples noticed that the kudung itself became covered in pustules as it absorbed and subverted the pestilence.’
Pema Dégyal’s reliquary stupa was constructed of white and red sandalwood––procured by Péma Lungtok Gyatso from Kathmandu––and planks of agar wood from Mugum, to the east of Nepal’s Humla region. The stupa’s outer layer was made of silver, inlaid with turquoise, coral, and dzi stones. Inside the stupa, Péma Lungtok Gyatso offered three thousand coins of Nepalese silver, and many pieces of turquoise, coral, and other precious jewels.
In 1959, when Chinese Communist forces reached western Tibet, the residents of Namkha Khyung Dzong were compelled to relocate to Nepal and India. They took Péma Dégyal’s kudung with them. Péma Thubtop—a large and physically strong disciple of Péma Lungtok Gyatso carried the reliquary stupa containing Péma Dégyal’s sacred remains on his shoulders throughout the journey across the Himalayas, ensuring its preservation.
At the Indian border, officials initially refused to allow Péma Thubtop to bring the ‘corpse’ across, explaining that their policy permitted only living refugees, not dead bodies. Péma Thubtop earnestly explained that this was not a corpse, but a sacred, miraculous manifestation and a source of protection. The officials nevertheless refused, and the refugees remained stranded at the border for over a month. Eventually, a doctor was summoned to examine the kudung. He drew blood from the body, examined it under a microscope, and declared that it exhibited signs of life. The sacred remains of Péma Dégyal were thus permitted to cross the border and were eventually transported to a Tibetan settlement in Sendeu, in the Indian state of Orissa, where they continue to reside.
Later, when attempts were made to embalm the kudung, it emerged that a steward in Tibet had dyed Péma Dégyal’s uncut hair black. The substance proved adhesive and unstable, causing the hair either to stick to the head or to separate, depending on temperature, while also staining the body. In India, attendants periodically removed the dye, after which the kudung would again remain stable for some time.
When an epidemic later broke out in Orissa, the kudung again displayed pustules and wounds, just as it had in Tibet. The eyes of the kudung also became very red during such times. It became common for Tibetan refugees in Orissa to visit the shrine and drink water from offering bowls placed before the kudung, believing it could cure illnesses such as flu or colds.
Since the 1960s, Péma Dégyal’s kudung has continued to display signs of illnesses.
Reincarnation
In 1939, Péma Jikmé Chöying Rangdrol (1937–1985), the eldest son of Péma Lungtok Gyatso (Golok Serta), was recognized at the age of two as Péma Dégyal’s reincarnation after effortlessly identifying his predecessor’s possessions and ritual objects. From childhood, the trülku’s realization manifested as natural siddhis such as leaving deep finger marks in rocks as if they were soft clay.
The Second Péma Dégyal became a cherished heart son of Düdjom Jikral Yeshé Dorjé and attained direct visions of Dorjé Drolö and Tröma Nakmo. He was also known for his clairvoyance which led to him famously weeping for the 1959 events in Lhasa at the very moment they were occurring, despite being hundreds of miles away. His yogic powers manifested on one occasion as commanding an attendant to carry glowing, red hot embers in a cotton shirt that remained completely unburnt. He was also known for galloping his horse at seemingly supernatural speeds across treacherous footbridges and along precarious mountain trails. In distinction from his predecessor, the Second Péma Dégyal manifested his enlightened activity as a ngakpa and fathered six sons, who continue the lineage to this day. In the 1970s, he designated Namkha Khyung Dzong’s new base in Yolwang Purbachen in Humla, on the border of Nepal and Purang in Tibet.[13]
At the time of his death, at the age of forty-nine, he dissolved his wisdom mind into the Dharmadhātu as the sky filled with rainbow clouds, and he remained in the meditative state of Tukdam for three days. Upon cremation, multicolored relics were found, and the sacred syllable AH appeared vividly on his skull.
Across time, bodies, and modes of practice
Across time, bodies, and modes of practice, Péma Dégyal was a key figure in establishing the Namkha Khyung Dzong tradition of Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings in far western Tibet and Nepal, where the tradition thrives to this day and guides innumerable beings to spiritual enlightenment.
Notes
- ↑ According to some sources, his father’s name was Sonam Gyal Lam.
- ↑ Drapa Ngönshe (1012-1090) was first the teacher for Prajnaparamita of Machig Labdrön, but later in his life became her student and received the Chö teachings from her disciple Kor Nirupa.
- ↑ Commenting on Péma Dégyal’s numerous previous lives, Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (1904–1987) later remarked ‘there are various seemingly contradictory opinions, but since the emanations of sublime beings are beyond the imagination of ordinary persons, perhaps they are all correct.’
- ↑ According to Péma Rigtsal Rinpoche (b.1964)––Péma Déchen Gyalpo’s son––Péma Dégyal stayed for nine years at Riprup mountain retreat where he immersed himself in the Nyungné fasting practice of Avalokiteshvara, the Great Compassionate One. Whatever food he received in the form of alms from his family and local people, he habitually gave away to wild animals. At one point, his body reputedly grew so emaciated that the glow of the sun would shine straight through the palms of his hands. For the entire nine years, he sustained himself solely on boiled inner tree bark. He had extraordinary meditative experiences, direct visions of many wisdom deities, and countless other visions and spiritual experiences.
- ↑ In Péma Rigtsal Rinpoche’s version of this story, when Pema Dégyal’s maternal uncle’s wife died, his uncle determined to visit Düdjom Lingpa to request prayers on her behalf. The moment Pema Déchen Gyalpo heard of his uncle’s plans and heard Düdjom Lingpa’s name, his hair stood up on end, tears filled his eyes, and indescribable experience and realization blazed forth within him. He was thus compelled to join his uncle and accompany him to the encampment of Düdjom Lingpa at Dartsang Kalzang.
- ↑ Arya Sadaprarudita, lit. Ever-weeping, a great Bodhisattva from the time of Buddha Dharmodgata whom he met in Ghandhavati. There is a sutra called ‘The Questions of Sadaprarudita’.
- ↑ In another version of this story, recorded in Pema Déchen Gyalpo’s biography, as written by Tsewang Rinpoché, Düdjom Lingpa further stated: ‘In the future, Pema Déchen Gyalpo’s will be sitting up here at the head, presiding over us all—I swear on the twelve volumes of Prajnaparamita!’
- ↑ Later on, in Namkha Kyung Dzong and in India, Tsokhang Choktrul Tsewang Dorje (?), a son of Golok Serta (1891–1964), saw this flattened bullet which has the shape of a self-arisen deity and said that his older brother, Pema Jigme Chöying Rangdrol (1937–1985), who was recognized as an incarnation of Pema Dégyal, had similar physical marks on his chin.
- ↑ See Mountain Dharma (Ri Chö): The Lion's Expressive Power in the single volume of collected works of Dégyal Rinpoche, pp. 361-383, written at the behest of Thrinle Chöpel at the Elephant Cave hermitage at Mount Kailash.
- ↑ Drikung Thil Ogmin Jangchubling was established in 1179 by Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon (1143–1217), the founder of the Drikung Kagyu tradition.
- ↑ Jewel Treasure of the Dharmadhātu Chöying Rinpoche’i Dzöd: Root Verses & Commentary. Translated by Lama Chönam and Sangye Khandro. Light of Berotsana Translation Group.
- ↑ Kushab Ajam––also known as Karma Dongag––was a Khampa from Dergé and one of Péma Dégyal’s principal students. After Péma Dégyal’s death in 1934, Kushab Ajam also became known as Lama Gyaltsab, indicating his role as Péma Dégyal’s vajra regent (gyaltsab). Kushab Ajam was also assigned the role of nominating Péma Dégyal’s reincarnation.
- ↑ Construction of the monastery began in 1985, following the death of the Second Pema Dégyal. There are currently 600 monks registered at the monastery, with 313 in residence. From the age of 9 to 18, the monks attend the monastery’s own modern school, where they learn English, Nepalese, Math, Sciences, and Tibetan up to Grade Eight. They particularly learn the extensive, middling, and concise versions of Tröma practice according to the Upper Valley ritual tradition (Töluk), with its unique melodies and chants, as taught by Düdjom Lingpa’s son Trülku Drimé Özer. A nunnery, with 113 residents, is situated at Gar Bokto in Yangkar valley, three kilometers from the mother monastery, and is named Namkhyung Pema Ösel Chöling.
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.
