During Dorje Shugden's previous life as Panchen Sonam Dragpa, he had the 2nd Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso as his Guru. Then later, when the Dalai Lama passed away and was discovered, he became the Guru to the 3rd Dalai Lama and changed his incarnation name from Gendun to Gyatso. He was criticised by some scholars to this day but the name bore remarkable premonition of the Dalai Lama's great work that was about to swell into a great 'ocean' within that very lifetime. The 3rd Dalai Lama matured and eventually converted Mongolia, which had far reaching impact on world history because it stopped the Mongolian horde to continue in its war-mongering ways. All Dalai Lamas henceforth is given this name.
PANCHEN SONAM DRAGPA
The Master of Sutra and Tantra, glorious Panchen Sonam Dragpa, chief of discerning wisdom (1478?1555), was born in Tsetang as the son of Nangwar Lampa, in the earth dog year of the eighth sixty?year cycle. He took ordination with his older brother from Tsetang, Sonam Tashi, who gave him the name, Sonam Dragpa. From the Guru from O Ne, Sangye Zangpo, he received novice vows, and from Choje Rinchen Chozang, a direct disciple of the Bodhisattva Demo Tangpa, he received full ordination vows. Receiving each of these in succession he guarded himself from committing even the slightest transgression of the bounds of what is to be proscribed, accomplished, or permitted.
He studied at Sangpu, Nyimatang, and particularly at the great Mahayana University of Sera, where he studied for twelve years with Yongzin Donyo Palden, minutely examining many of the great scriptures of India and Tibet with logic and reasoning. He had many other qualified spiritual guides such as Sera Je Nyalton Paljor Lhundrub, bringing his training in all of the scriptural tradition of Sutra and Tantra to a culmination whereby he became a great leading scholar. In the great Dharma courtyard of glorious Tsetang he received his title of Rabjampa, Master, and was showered with flowers of praise by an ocean?like multitude of learned beings and the fame of his mastery spread everywhere.
He went to Drepung, studying with Tonpa Ketsun Yonten Gyatso for five years, receiving the empowerments and profound commentaries for many of the mandalas of the four classes of Tantra such as Guyasamaja, Heruka, and Vajra Bhairava, Kalachakra, Kunrig, and so forth, and the subsequent authorizations, or jenangs, for many assemblies of Deities, receiving infinite Tantric teachings. When he was thirty?one he went to glorious Gyuto Tantric College where he studied with Dorje Chang Choden Lodro, receiving many teachings on scriptures from the father lineage of Protector Nagarjuna such as the initiation and Tantric commentaries for Sri Guyasamaja together with their oral instructions. He received boundless profound Tantric instructions on Vajra Ghandapa Heruka Chakrasamvara, Vajra Bhairava and others from him as well, whereby his realization of the ocean of great secret Tantra became transcendent.
When he was thirty?four, in the year of the iron sheep, he ascended to the throne of Gyuto Tantric College and taught in that capacity for fourteen years. In particular, when he was thirty?six, year of the water bird, he composed a commentary on the generation and completion stages of Guyasamaja and began teaching on the basis of it that same year. He also nurtured and developed the College with such means as instituting a tea service and building a prayer hall.
He received many Teachings from Gyalwa Gedun Gyatso, and at Gedun Gyatso's insistence, when he was forty?seven, in the year of the wood monkey, he entrusted his lineage to Choje Kondarwa and went to teach at Drepung Loseling Monastery. After one year had passed, at the requests of students, masters, and benefactors, he ascended to the throne of Ganden Shartse. Into his fifties, he held both thrones, teaching both there and at Drepung Loseling. When he was fifty? two, in the year of the female earth bull, he became the throne holder of Ganden Monastery, serving for seven years with excellent virtuous deeds, the fifteenth successor to Lama Tsongkhapa's throne. When he first ascended to the golden throne of Ganden, he recited the verse,
For Dharma King Tsongkhapa's
Totally pure Teachings spread,
May all hindrance be cleared
and Conditions be conducive!
and when he led the prayers at the Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa, he recited the verse,
Through the combined accumulations
Of myself and others in the three times,
May Conqueror Losang Dragpa's Teachings
Continue to flourish for a very long time!
The fact that all those of the Gelugpa lineage are always reciting these two verses, even up to the present day, can be traced to the enlightening activity of this great pandit. When he was fifty?eight, in the year of the wood sheep, he raised the great vajra holder Gyara Chokyong Gyatso to his throne. As for himself, when he was sixty?six, in the year of the water hare, after the omniscient Gendun Gyatso had passed to another pure land, the office responsible for Drepung Monastery and benefactors such as those from the Ne, Dong, and Tse Palaces unanimously requested him to take the throne of Drepung, in addition to being the throne holder of Ganden. At that time, as an undisputed crown jewel of holders of the Gelug lineage, the Sangha community of the great monastic seat of Sera requested him to be their abbot, as well, and he held that throne simultaneously, caring for the great Mahayana University of Sera. Likewise, he accepted requests to take the thrones of Kyormo Lung, Pagmo Chode, Nyiding, Lungsho Ona, Chode Rinchen Ling, and other monasteries, giving whatever teachings were suitable at each of them, properly taking care of them, both spiritually and materially, so that the extent of his pure enlightening activities became extremely vast.
He became tutor of the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, who accepted him as his crown ornament. He gave him his name with the title of Glorious Sonam Gyatso, Sun of the Teachings Victorious in All Directions, and when he was seventy?two, in the year of the earth bird, in the month of Sagadawa, acting as abbot, with Sangpu Choje Legpa Dondrub acting as action master, he gave Gyalwang Sonam Gyatso his novice vows. He raised Sonam Gyatso with great care, like nurturing a young sprout that would later become a great medicinal tree, giving him long life initiation of Ushnisha Vijayavi; jenangs of Mahakala, Dharmaraja, Palden Lhamo, and Vaisravana; initiations of Akshobya Guyasamaja and Vajra Bhairava; jenangs of Drub Tab Gyatsovii the Ocean of Sadhanas, Rigje Maviii Vetali, Four?faced and White Mahakalas; transmissions of scriptures such as excerpts from Je Tsongkhapa's collected works, the five volumes of Gyalwa Gedun Gyatso's collected works, the victorious history of the Kadam tradition, the root commentary of the Blue Annalsix, Karma Shatam, the Flower Garland Lineagex, history of the Ganden Tradition, the thirty?four Jataka tales and so forth, as well as scriptural commentaries beginning with transmission and explanation of a commentary to Don Dun Chu, the Seventy Topics that summarize Abhisamayalankara, that he composed himself, called Kelzang Temka, Stairway for the Fortunate. Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso would, himself, show extremely deep reverence whenever he cited the words of his Guru saying, 'As the Lord Of Dharma Sonam Dragpa would say...'.
When Panchen Sonam Dragpa was seventy?four, in the year of the iron boar, he retired to the upper residence at Drepung and enthroned Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso as abbot of Drepung Monastery. When he was seventy?seven, on the morning of the fourteenth day of the eleventh month of the year of the wood tiger, he exhibited the manner of passing away to the Dharma palace of Tushita, remaining in clear light meditation after his breathing had stopped for fifteen days. When his meditation was finished his body had transformed to about a foot in height. After it was cremated there were amazing relics, the heart, tongue, and eyes, even an amazing and magnificent extra heart, eleven?faced Avalokiteswara and relics with mantric syllables naturally formed and embossed in them. A new silver reliquary tomb was created at Drepung to house the heart, tongue, eye and many blessed relics. The extra heart was placed at the heart of a golden statue of the master himself and, along with the Avalokiteswara relic, these two were kept in the prime place of reverence at the upper residence, as is clear in the biographical accounts. Yet when the upper residence was later destroyed and the vestments of the statue torn apart it was no longer there.
Thus, this great master properly devoted himself to training with over twenty Gurus, such as his five root tutors, and gained mastery of the ocean?like scriptural tradition of Sutra and Tantra. Through the power of living an exemplary life in which study, contemplation and meditation were unified, not practiced separate from each other, he reached the pinnacle of scholastic mastery and yogic attainment. He had many visions in dream and actuality, of Deities such as the Venerable Lady Kurukulla, White Tara Wish?Fulfilling Wheel, Protector Amitayus, Avalokiteswara, and the Sixteen Arhats, would receive teachings from them and so forth, through the power of which the eloquence of his teaching, dialectical debate and composed treatises was felt all the way from Ngari in western Tibet through to lower Tibet, China and Mongolia. The evidence is clear that he was in all ways similar to all of those masters in the unbroken line of scholar?yogis who were the holders of the lineage.
The list of his collected works includes Sun of Scripture and Logic Upon the Vinaya, Seasons of Vinaya, an Abhidharma commentary Illumination of Knowledge, Illumination of the Intention Commentary on Aspects and Difficult Points, Lorig Mind and Awareness, Tag Rig Signs and Reasoning, Illumination of the Words and Meaning Root Commentary to Paramita, Meaning of Paramita Lamp Illuminating the Mother, Lamp of Further Illumination of The Decisive Meaning of Paramita, Presentation of the Seventy Topics, An Utpala Flower Garland Examining the Provisional and Definitive Meanings, Dependent Origination, Thought and Form, Twenty Bikshus, Lamp Illuminating the Profound Meaning of Madyamika, Examination of Madyamika Lamp Further Illuminating the Profound, Elimination of Qualms Regarding Difficult Points of Legshe Nyingpo, The Meaning of Uttaratantra, Brief and Extensive Presentation of the Three Vows, A Summary of the Main Path to Enlightenment, Presentation of Tenets, Questions and Answers of Pure Universal Altruism, Rebuttal of Karmapa's Criticism of the Paramita Commentary and Further Ramifications, General Presentation of the Classes of Tantra, Guyasamaja Generation Stage Captivating the Minds of the Learned, Completion Stage Lamp Illuminating the Path of Freedom, Additional Uses For Tantric Action, Mahamudra Explained With Six Ornaments, Six Yogas of Naropa, Three Points of Essence, Instructions on View and the Four Mindfulnesses, Sadhanas of Buddha Amitayus, White Tara, and Vetali, History of the old and new Kadampa lineages Adornment for the Mind, History of Vinaya, a biography of Lord Gedun Gyatso Source of Benefit and Bliss, Magical Key to History, The Clear Lamp Charting the Lifespans of the Holy Masters, Summary of the Kadampa Volume, Distinguishing the Wise and Foolish Eloquence of the Geden A White Lotus Garland, Prayer to the Lineage Gurus of Chod, and Commentary on Chod.
Panchen Sonam Dragpa's wisdom was so encompassing of the Scriptures of Sutra and Tantra, all of the inner and outer fields of knowledge, as well as the stories and biographies of holy beings, that the Lord Omniscient Gedun Gyatso venerated him with praise,
Known (Dragpa) as a river with a bubbling smile flowing with hundreds of Sutras and Tantras,
Over previously gathered merit (Sonam) of gold, and wisdom as vast as the jeweled earth,
Exquisite with foaming waves of poetry and garlands of pearls of stories,
You spread eloquent Teachings, not heard before, that adorn the ears of those of earth.
