The Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen
The Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen. Click on image to enlarge. Image credit: himalayanart.org
པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༤ བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
b.1570 – d.1662
Incarnations: Panchen Lama པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ།
Tradition: Geluk དགེ་ལུགས།
Geography: Ngari མངའ་རིས།
Historical Period: 16th Century ༡༦ དུས་རབས།; 17th Century ༡༧ དུས་རབས།
Institution: Ganden དགའ་ལྡན།; Sera Monastery སེ་ར།; Drepung Monastery འབྲས་སྤུངས།; Tashilhunpo བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ།; Wensa Monastery དབེན་ས་དགོན།; Chakpori ལྕགས་པོ་རི།
Offices Held: Abbot of Gangchen Chopel; Abbot of Tashilhunpo; Abbot of Riwo Gepel; Abbot of Ganden Jangtse College; Fourteenth Throne Holder of Drepung Monastery; Twenty-first Khenchen of Zhalu; Eighteenth Throne Holder of Sera Monastery
Name Variants: Lobzang Chokyi Drakpa བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ།; Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།; Nangwa Taye Panchen Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་པཎ་ཆེན་བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan) was born in a village called Drukgya (brug brgya) in the Lhan valley, in Tsang, in either 1567 or 1570. His father, Kunga Ozer (kun dga’ ‘od zer), was a nephew of Wensa Sanggye Yeshe (dben sa sangs rgyas ye shes, 1525-1590/1591), and a member of the illustrious Ba (sba) clan. His mother’s name was Tsogyel (mtsho rgyal). They gave him the name Chogyel Pelden Zangpo (chos rgyal dpal ldan bzang po). The boy was recognized by Langmika Chokyi Gyeltsen (glang mig pa chos kyi rgyal mtshan) as the reincarnation of Wensapa Lobzang Dondrub (dben sa pa blo bzang don sgrub, 1505-1566) and given the name Chokyi Gyeltsen.
As a youth Chokyi Gyeltsen studied with Sanggye Yeshe, then the abbot of Tashilhunpo (bkra shis lhun po) and Wensapa monasteries (dben sa pa). For the first years of his life he was tutored in the autumn by Sanggye Yeshe in Drukgya, receiving from him many blessings and empowerments. There he also received teachings and initiations from his brother and grandfather. At the age of thirteen Chokyi Gyeltsen left Drukgya for Wensa monastery, to further his instruction with Sanggye Yeshe. He took novice vows with his master, and received the name Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen, and began instruction in Lamrim (lam rim). Chokyi Gyeltsen remained at Wensa for the next five years.
In his eighteenth year Chokyi Gyeltsen went to Tashilhunpo where he entered the Tosam Ling college (thos bsam gling grwa tshang), studying with Peljor Gyatso (dpal ‘byor rgya mtsho, d.u.). He spent the next three summers at Wensa, however, receiving further teachings and transmissions from Sanggye Yeshe, including the Ganden Mahamudra of Tsongkhapa. In 1591 he received the news that Sanggye Yeshe was ill with smallpox, and he quickly returned to visit with him one last time, shortly before Sanggye Yeshe passed away. Following a successful examination in Pramanavarttika at Tashilhunpo, Chokyi Gyeltsen returned to Wensa to oversee the funeral.
The Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen. Click on image to enlarge. Image credit: himalayanart.org
Chokyi Gyeltsen ordained that same year, 1591, with Panchen Damcho Yarwel (pan chen dam chos yar ‘phel, d.u.), Peljor Gyatso, and Panchen Lhawang Lodro (paN chen lha dbang blo gros, d.u.) officiating. He then traveled to Lhasa, making offerings at the Jokhang and proceeded to Ganden, where he continued his education with Namkai Tsenchen (nam mkha’i mtshan can, d.u.), with whom he studied Kalachakra, and Gendun Gyeltsen (dge’ ‘dun rgyal mtshan, 1532-1605/1607), the Twenty-eighth throne holder of Ganden, who taught him the collected works of the Second Dalai Lama. Chokyi Gyeltsen in turn taught Gendun Gyeltsen the Ganden Mahamudra, making him his successor in the oral lineage of that tradition. Damcho Pelbar (dam chos dpal ‘bar, 1523/1546-1599), the Twenty-sixth throne holder of Ganden, also taught him Cho.
Having returned to Wensa, which he enlarged with new temples and statues, Chokyi Gyeltsen gave public teachings on Lamrim and other topics, but soon felt the urge to enter retreat. He closed himself off from the public for six or seven months, reading scripture between sessions of meditation. It was during this short retreat that he had a vision of Tsongkhapa, and in his sleep received a number of important transmissions from him. He shifted his retreat to his home village, living for a time like a “cotton-clad one” (ras pa) in the tradition of the Kagyu ascetics, before returning to Wensa.
In 1601, his fame now widespread, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen was asked to assume the abbacy of Tashilhunpo. The thirty-one year old was already abbot of Wensa and, beginning in 1598, abbot of Gangchen Chopel (gangs can chos ‘phel), having been requested to assume that post by Lhuntse Depa (lhun rtse sde pa, d.u.). That same year he initiated a Great Prayer Festival, or Monlam Chenmo (smon lam chen mo) at Tashilhunpo, installing a number of new statues in the temples. Eight years later, in 1609, he established a tantric college at the monastery, the Tashilhunpo Gyupa Dratsang (bkra shis lhun po rgyud pa grwa tshang)
Soon after taking the abbacy of Tashilhunpo, Yonten Gyatso (yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589-1616), the Fourth Dalai Lama, visited there, arriving in Tibet from Mongolia for the first time. It would seem that Chokyi Gyeltsen played a role in the Tibetan acceptance of the Mongolian boy as the legitimate incarnation of Sonam Gyatso (bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588). The Fourth Dalai Lama requested Chokyi Gyeltsen accompanied him to Drepung, where he taught for some time, and then as he traveled to various Kadampa and Gelukpa monasteries in the region, including Reting (rwa sgreng) and various sites connected to Tsongkhapa’s activities in Lhoka.
In 1612 Chokyi Gyeltsen visited Bhutan on invitation from the Lhapa hierarchs of Nyo (gnyos). This clan, Drukpa Kagyu followers who were strong in both Tsang and Bhutan, were rivals to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (zhabs drung ngag dbang rnam rgyal, 1594-1651). Their loss of influence in Bhutan, and the close relations with Chokyi Gyeltsen, led to the Lhapa conversion to the Geluk tradition late in the century. They were one clan-based religious tradition that Chokyi Gyeltsen brought under the Geluk tradition. Chokyi Gyaltsen was again involved in Bhutanese-Tibetan affairs, negotiating a truce to conflicts between the two in the mid-1650s. Among hostages freed by Bhutan was a son of the house of Nenying (gnas rnying), another clan-based religious tradition whose merger with the Geluk was accomplished by Chokyi Gyeltsen.
The Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen. Image credit: himalayanart.org. Click to enlarge.
Chokyi Gyeltsen continued to go back and forth between Shigatse and Lhasa, teaching at Tashilhunpo, Drepung, Sera, Ganden, and other Geluk monasteries. In 1617 the Fourth Dalai Lama passed away, and Chokyi Gyeltsen assumed the abbacy of both Drepung and Sera. These were not the last monasteries where he served as abbot; in 1626 he was made abbot of Ganden’s Jangtse college, and in 1642 of Zhalu (zha lu).
In 1618 the ruling family of most of Tibet, the Pakmodrupa (phag mo dru pa), was overthrown by the ruling family of Tsang, based in Shigatse. Supporters of the Kagyu tradition, the new rulers repressed Gelukpa institutions and religious practice, including the large Geluk monasteries of the Lhasa region, although he tolerated the presence of Tashilhunpo and Chokyi Gyeltsen. Curing him of a disease the King believed to have been inflicted by the Fourth Dalai Lama, Chokyi Gyeltsen was able to secure permission from the King of Tsang to confirm the reincarnation of the Fourth Dalai Lama in the person of a boy he named Lobzang Gyatso (blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617-1682) and who later became the Fifth Dalai Lama, although he was forbidden to install him in Lhasa.
Over the next decade relations between Lhasa and Shigatse continued to deteriorate, and Chokyi Gyeltsen was forced to mediate time and again. He was also forced to confront Mongol invasions, first in 1621 when Mongolian troops, brought in after secret negotiations with Geluk hierarchs, laid seige to Tsang authority in Lhasa and drove Tsang forces to Chakpori (lcags po ri), a small rocky hill in Lhasa. Only after Chokyi Gyeltsen’s intervention were the forces allowed to retreat to Shigatse. With Tsang forces out of Lhasa, in 1622 Chokyi Gyeltsen was able to enthrone the Fifth Dalai Lama at Drepung.
Following the defeat of the Tsang King and the ascent of the Fifth Dalai Lama as King of Tibet in 1641, the fortunes of Chokyi Gyeltsen grew greater still. Chokyi Gyeltsen was given the title of Panchen Lama. Two separate systems of enumeration exist; according to the system of Tashilhunpo, three previous lamas, identified as Chokyi Gyeltsen’s previous incarnations, are identified as the First through Third Panchen Lamas: Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang (mkhas grub rje dge legs dpal bzang, 1385-1438), Sonam Chokyi Langpo (bsod nams phyogs kyi glang po, 1439-1505), and Wensapa Lobzang Dondrub. For this reason Chokyi Gyeltsen is either listed as the First or the Fourth Panchen Lama (the convention used on the Treasury of Lives is to list him as the Fourth, following common standard).
Chokyi Gyeltsen continued to teach for the next two decades, passing away in 1662.
Teachers
- nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan ནམ་མཁའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1532 – d.1592
- dam chos yar ‘phel དམ་ཆོས་ཡར་འཕེལ།
- sangs rgyas rgya mtsho སངས་རྒྱས་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
- Sanggye Yeshe སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས། b.1525 – d.1591
Students
- chos rgya mtsho ཆོས་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1571 – d.1635
- dkon mchog rgyal mtshan དཀོན་མཆོག་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1612 – d.1687
- The Fifth Tatsak Jedrung, Ngawang Chokyi Wangchuk རྟ་ཚག་རྗེ་དྲུང ༠༥ ངག་དབང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག། b.1606 – d.1652
- blo bzang dam chos rgyal mtshan བློ་བཟང་དམ་ཆོས་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- blo bzang pad+ma བློ་བཟང་པདྨ།
- dge ‘dun don grub དགེ་འདུན་དོན་གྲུབ།
- sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་རྒྱས་བཀྲ་ཤིས།
- Drakpa Gyeltsen གྲགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1619 – d.1656
- ngag dbang dge legs rgyal mtshan ངག་དབང་དགེ་ལེགས་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1631 – d.1668
- brtson ‘grus rgyal mtshan བརྩོན་འགྲུས་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1567 – d.1650
- nam mkha’ rdo rje ནམ་མཁའ་རྡོ་རྗེ།
- blo bzang bstan dar བློ་བཟང་བསྟན་དར།
- ngag dbang rdo rje ངག་དབང་རྡོ་རྗེ།
- blo bzang bstan pa rab rgyas བློ་བཟང་བསྟན་པ་རབ་རྒྱས།
- grags pa dpal ldan གྲགས་པ་དཔལ་ལྡན།
- blo bzang chos ‘phel བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་འཕེལ།
- The First Tukwan, Lobzang Rabten ཐུའུ་བཀྭན ༠༡ བློ་བཟང་རབ་བརྟན། d.1679
- rnam rgyal dpal ‘byor རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དཔལ་འབྱོར། b.1578 – d.1651
- The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso ཏ་ལའི་བླ་མ ༠༥ ངག་དབང་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1617 – d.1682
- The Second Zhabdrung Karpo, Lodro Gyatso ཞབས་དྲུང་དཀར་པོ ༠༢ བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1610 – d.1659
- blo bzang bstan pa dar rgyas བློ་བཟང་བསྟན་པ་དར་རྒྱས།
- dge legs rgya mtsho དགེ་ལེགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
- dkon mchog rgyal mtshan དཀོན་མཆོག་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- blo bzang bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan བློ་བཟང་བསྟན་པའི་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1635 – d.1723
- blo bzang bstan ‘dzin rgyal mtshan བློ་བཟང་བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱལ་མཚན། b.1639 – d.1704
- The First Rongwo Drubchen, Shar Kelden Gyatso རོང་པོ་གྲུབ་ཆེན ༠༡ ཤར་སྐལ་ལྡན་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1607 – d.1677
- bstan ‘dzin blo bzang rgya mtsho བསྟན་འཛིན་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1593 – d.1638
- The Fourth Tongkhor, Dogyu Gyatso སྟོང་འཁོར ༠༤ མདོ་རྒྱུད་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1640 – d.1683
- ngag dbang bstan ‘dzin ‘phrin las ངག་དབང་བསྟན་འཛིན་འཕྲིན་ལས། b.1639 – d.1682
- don yod chos kyi rgya mtsho དོན་ཡོད་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
- snying stobs rgya mtsho སྙིང་སྟོབས་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
- The Third Tongkhor, Gyelwa Gyatso སྟོང་འཁོར ༠༣ རྒྱལ་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོ། b.1588 – d.1639
- The Third Kirti, Tenpa Rabgye ཀིརྟི ༠༣ བསྟན་པ་རབ་རྒྱས། b.1564 – d.1643
- The Fourth Kirti, Lobzang Jamyang ཀིརྟི ༠༤ བློ་བཟང་འཇམ་དབྱངས། b.1656 – d.1708
Previous Incarnations
- Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang མཁས་གྲུབ་རྗེ་དགེ་ལེགས་དཔལ་བཟང། b.1385 – d.1438
- bsod nams phyogs glang བསོད་ནམས་ཕྱོགས་གླང། b.1439 – d.1504
- The Third Panchen Lama, Wensapa Lobzang Dondrub པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༣ དབེན་ས་པ་བློ་བཟང་དོན་གྲུབ། b.1505 – d.1556
Subsequent Incarnations
- The Fifth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Yeshe པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༥ བློ་བཟང་ཡེ་ཤེས། b.1663 – d.1737
- The Sixth Panchen Lama, dpal ldan ye shes པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༦ དཔལ་ལྡན་ཡེ་ཤེས། b.1738 – d.1780
- The Seventh Panchen Lama, bstan pa’i nyi ma པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༧ བསྟན་པའི་ཉི་མ། b.1782 – d.1853
- The Eighth Panchen Lama, Tenpai Wangchuk པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༨ བསྟན་པའི་དབང་ཕྱུག། d.1882
- The Ninth Panchen Lama, thub bstan chos kyi nyi ma པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༠༩ ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ། b.1883 – d.1937
- The Tenth Panchen Lama, phrin las lhun grub chos kyi rgyal mtshan པཎ་ཆེན་བླ་མ ༡༠ ཕྲིན་ལས་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན །b.1938 – d.1989
Bibliography
- Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan. 1973 (1720). Chos smra ba’i dge slong blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan spyod tshul gsal bar ston pa nor bu’i phreng ba. In Collected Works (Gsung ‘bum) of Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, the 1st Paṇchen Lama, reproduced from tracings from prints of the Bkra shis lhun po blocks, pp. 5-454. New Delhi: Mongolian Lama Gurudeva. Also published as The Autobiography of the First Paṇchen Lama Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1969, Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo.
- Kapstein, Matthew. 2006. The Tibetans. Boston: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 134-139.
- Smith, Gene. 2001. “The Autobiography of the First Paṇchen Lama.” In Among Tibetan Texts, pp. 119-131. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
- Tshe mchog gling yongs ‘dzin ye shes rgyal mtshan. 1970 (1787). Biographies of Eminent Gurus in the Transmission Lineages of the teachings of the Graduated Path, being the text of: Byang chub Lam gyi Rim pa’i Bla ma Brgyud pa’i Rnam par Thar pa Rgyal mtshan Mdzes pa’i Rgyan Mchog Phul byung Nor bu’i Phreng ba. New Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo, vol 1, pp. 88-235.
- Willis, Janice D. 1985. “Preliminary Remarks on the Nature of rNam-thar: Early dGe-lugs-pa Siddha Biographies.” In Soundings in Tibetan Civilizations. Barbara Aziz and Matthew Kapstein, eds. Delhi: Manohar, pp. 304-319.
- Willis, Janice D. 1995. Enlightened Beings: Life Stories from the Ganden Oral Tradition. Boston: Wisdom Publications, pp. 85-96.
Source: Alexander Gardner, “The Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen,” Treasury of Lives, accessed July 11, 2018, http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Lobzang-Chokyi-Gyeltsen/9839.
Alexander Gardner is Director and Chief Editor of the Treasury of Lives. He completed his PhD in Buddhist Studies at the University of Michigan in 2007.
Published December 2009
Disclaimer: All rights are reserved by the author. The article is reproduced here for educational purposes only.
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The Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen was a prolific writer and teacher, and a teacher who was close ally of the 5th Dalai Lama, called “the Great”. , Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen was the fourth Panchen Lama of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and the first to be accorded this title during his lifetime.The “Great Fifth” gave him Tashilhunpo Monastery and declared him to be an incarnation of Amitābha. It was from there since then, every Panchen Lama has been the master of Tashilhunpo. Amazingly he did even composed than three hundred works, wrote a root Mahamudra text and its auto commentary which is still widely taught till this day. Interesting read of a GREAT LAMA.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
H.H. the 10th Panchen Lama (Main figure)
(Top to bottom): Amitabha, Lama Tsongkhapa, H.H. the 10th Panchen Lama, Tsangpa Karpo and Dorje Shugden.
The Panchen Lama line of incarnations are believed to be emanations of Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light. Amitabha is relied on strongly within Pure Land Buddhism that is popularly practised in East Asia. He embodies the awakened aggregate of discernment and that means he purifies desire within the mindstream of practitioners. He currently resides in Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, where practitioners aspire to take rebirth in order to continue their spiritual practice.
Panchen Lama is not just a name but a title bestowed by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama upon his illustrious teacher, Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen and it literally means ‘Great Scholar’ in recognition of his teacher’s scholarly prowess. Since then, the Panchen Lamas have been regarded as the second highest incarnation lineage after the Dalai Lamas in Tibet. Although this incarnation lineage stems all the way back to India, it is traditionally traced back to Kedrub Gelek Pelsang, one of the two main heart disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug tradition. Furthermore, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama bestowed the monastery of Tashi Lhunpo in Shigatse to be the monastic seat of the Panchen Lamas. Therefore, Tashi Lhunpo which was originally established by the First Dalai Lama Gendrub Drub has since become the monastic seat of the later incarnations of the Panchen Lama.
In 1938, the 10th Panchen Lama was born in what is today’s Qinghai province. He was enthroned and given the name Choekyi Gyaltsen at Kumbum Monastery in 1949. In 1954, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama travelled to Beijing in order to attend the first session of the first National People’s Congress, meeting Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders. When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, the Panchen Lama remained in Tibet and supported the Chinese government in order to be the spiritual head of his people that remained in Tibet. Following a tour of Tibet, in 1962 the Panchen Lama wrote a document entitled the 70,000 Character Petition denouncing the abusive policies of the Chinese in Tibet. In 1964, he was publicly humiliated and dismissed from all posts and imprisoned. In 1978, he returned his monastic vows and married Li Jie, a soldier and medical student. In 1983, Li Jie gave birth to a daughter who was named Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo. She is highly revered as she is the only known offspring of the either Panchen Lama or Dalai Lama incarnation lineages. The Panchen Lama entered clear light from a heart attack in Shigatse at the age of 51 in 1989.
One of the main protectors of the Panchen Lama line of incarnations is Tsangpa Karpo, the peaceful aspect of Setrap Chen. Setrap along with his various manifestations is a Dharma Protector that arose in ancient times in India and was brought to Tibet by Lotsawa Loden Sherab. Dorje Shugden was also closely associated with the Panchen Lamas by virtue of his previous life as Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen, the heart disciple of His Holiness the 4th Panchen Lama. There is a large chapel dedicated to Dorje Shugden in Tashi Lhunpo Monastery which still stands today. It was consecrated by Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche at the request of His Holiness the 9th Panchen Lama. Within the collected works of the 10th Panchen Lama, there is an extensive liturgy propitiating Dorje Shugden. Therefore, his writings bear testament to the fact that the Panchen Lama worshiped and considered Dorje Shugden to be beneficial and his practice efficacious.
More free downloads: https://bit.ly/2oxb4qU
Read more about the 10th Panchen Lama: https://bit.ly/2EKfDJI
H.H. the 4th Panchen Lama (Main figure)
(Top to bottom): Manjushri, H.H. the 4th Panchen Lama, H.H. the 5th Dalai Lama, Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen, Dorje Shugden and Four-Faced Mahakala.
The Panchen Lama line of incarnations are believed to be emanations of Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light. Amitabha is relied on strongly within Pure Land Buddhism that is popularly practised in East Asia. He embodies the awakened aggregate of discernment and that means he purifies desire within the mindstream of practitioners. He currently resides in Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, where practitioners aspire to take rebirth in order to continue their spiritual practice.
Panchen Lama is not just a name but a title bestowed by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama upon his illustrious teacher, Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen and it literally means ‘Great Scholar’ in recognition of his teacher’s scholarly prowess. Since then, the Panchen Lamas have been regarded as the second highest incarnation lineage after the Dalai Lamas in Tibet. Although this incarnation lineage stems all the way back to India, it is traditionally traced back to Kedrub Gelek Pelsang, one of the two main heart disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug tradition.
Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen who later became known as the 4th Panchen Lama was born in a village called Drukgya in the Lhan valley, in Tsang, in 1570. He searched for and enthroned Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso as the 5th Dalai Lama and Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen as the 4th Zimkhang Gongma (the incarnation of Panchen Sonam Drakpa). These two lamas became the heart disciples of Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen.
Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen managed to keep suppression by the Tsang king at bay by healing the king from disease and subsequently, he was allowed to recognise the Fifth Dalai Lama. Later, he forged an alliance with the invading Mongols after they had defeated the Tsang king and thus, he was able to enthrone the Dalai Lama as the temporal leader of Tibet at Drepung Monastery. In turn, the Dalai Lama unified Tibet and established his government of the Gaden Podrang. He offered his monastic seat of Tashi Lhunpo to his guru, Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen and also bestowed upon him the title Panchen Lama. Thereafter, Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen was known as the Panchen Lama and Tashi Lhunpo became the monastic seat of the Panchen Lama incarnation lineage. On the spiritual side, he wrote prolifically and one of his most famous works was the Lama Chopa, also known as the Guru Puja. It was originally transmitted through an oral tradition and stemmed from the sacred teachings and transmissions that Manjushri gave to Lama Tsongkhapa.
Four-Faced Mahakala is a protective emanation of Manjushri, the patron Bodhisattva of Wisdom and is a protector of the Cakrasamvara Tantra. This is one of the main tantric systems widely practised within the Gelug order and therefore, this protector is widely propitiated by many high lamas of our tradition as well.
Upon his passing Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen arose in the form of Dorje Shugden, who became a protector of the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa and has been widely propitiated as such ever since.
More free downloads: https://bit.ly/2oxb4qU
Read more about the 4th Panchen Lama: https://bit.ly/2JeLUXY
These are beautiful pictures of H.E. Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche going to meet His Holiness Panchen Rinpoche and getting blessings from Panchen Rinpoche. You can see how humble Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche is. He is always bowed in the presence of Panchen Rinpoche. Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche is a great lama himself yet has not ego to get blessings from another very high lama. Beautiful to see this. Real dharma practitioners.
Nice short video of a new LED signage reminding us of who we can go to for blessings in case of need: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBwrkaKUoH0
Listening to the chanting of sacred words, melodies, mantras, sutras and prayers has a very powerful healing effect on our outer and inner environments. It clears the chakras, spiritual toxins, the paths where our ‘chi’ travels within our bodies for health as well as for clearing the mind. It is soothing and relaxing but at the same time invigorates us with positive energy. The sacred sounds invite positive beings to inhabit our environment, expels negative beings and brings the sound of growth to the land, animals, water and plants. Sacred chants bless all living beings on our land as well as inanimate objects. Do download and play while in traffic to relax, when you are about to sleep, during meditation, during stress or just anytime. Great to play for animals and children. Share with friends the blessing of a full Dorje Shugden puja performed at Kechara Forest Retreat by our puja department for the benefit of others. Tsem Rinpoche
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbzgskLKxT8&t=5821s