Current Research Projects
The History of the Monastery Ngor E wam chos ldan:
Foundation and Historical Development
Jörg Heimbel (M.A.), Department of Indian
and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg
See project description
M.A.Thesis (2007): The Life and Works of
the 5th gDong thog sPrul sku bsTan pa'i rgyal mtshan (b. 1933)
Jörg Heimbel (M.A.), Department of Indian and Tibetan
Studies, University of Hamburg
See project description
The Life and Works of the Tibetan scholar-saint ShAkya
mChog lden (1428-1507)
Volker Caumanns (M.A.), Institut für Indologie und Tibetologie,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
See project description
(Coming soon)
M.A.Thesis (2009): The Life and Works of Gong dkar rDo rje gdan pa Kun dga'
rnam rgyal (1432-1496)
Mathias Fermer, Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University
of Hamburg
See project description
The History of the Monastery Ngor E wam chos ldan: Foundation and
Historical Development
PhD research, Jörg Heimbel (M.A.)
After
finishing my M.A. in June 2007, I enrolled as a PhD student at Hamburg University,
which awarded me with a PhD scholarship from April 2008 on. My research focusses
on the foundation and historical development of the monastery Ngor E wam chos
ldan and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that originated from there, the Ngor
pa school. This school was an important sub-school of the Sa skya pa tradition
and is counted nowadays as one of their three main sub-schools (sa ngor tshar
gsum). The founding father of the Ngor pa school was Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang
po (1382-1456), who founded in 1429 the monastery of Ngor E wam chos ldan
in gTsang, form where his tradition originated.
My project deals firstly with the life of Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po and
the foundation of Ngor E wam chos ldan on the basis of his biography that
was compiled by Sangs rgyas phun tshog (1649-7105) (rGyal ba rdo rje 'chang
kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa legs bshad chu bo 'dus pa'i rgya mtsho
yon tan yid bzhin nor bu'i 'byung gnas). In the following the rise of Ngor
and the Ngor pa school will be studied by means of a modern history of Ngor
(Ngor e wam chos ldan gyi lo rgyus ngo mtshar no bu'i phreng ba) and different
sources on the history of the Ngor abbots (ngor gdan rabs). Moreover based
on works by 'Jam mgon A myes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams (1597-1659)
and 'Jam dbyangs Blo gter dbang po (1847-1914) I hope to be able to elaborate
some specific features of the doctrine and practice of the Ngor pa school.
By evaluating these sources the goal of my research is to put together a comprehensive
overview on the history, role, and influence of the monastery of Ngor E wam
chos ldan and the school and doctrinal tradition originating from it.
The Life and Works of Gong dkar rDo rje gdan pa Kun dga' rnam rgyal
(1432-1496)
M.A.-thesis (2009), Mathias Fermer
Gong
dkar Kun dga' rnam rgyal alias Gong dkar rDo rje gdan pa was an important
scholar and tantric master of the 15th century and the founder of the little-known
Gong dkar tradition within the Sa skya pa school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was
born in Central Tibet (dBus) into the noble Yar rgyab family, whose members
acted as local ministers under the ruling Phag mo gru pa court and claim to
be descendents of the creator of the Tibetan script Thu mi Sambho?a. In the
first part of his life Kun dga' rnam rgyal carried out secular duties: He
acted as principal leader (dpon chen) of Yar rgyab (i.e. the territory between
Gong dkar and Yar klungs) and as the district officer (rdzong dpon) in charge
of Gong dkar. As a young ruler he gave order to print the writings of the
five Sa skya founders (Sa skya bka' 'bum). This early xylograph edition is
likewise known to us as the Gong dkar ba-edition. Against the wish of his
family he entered a religious life and studied under numerous masters from
the different traditions. In 1464 he founded the monastery of Gong dkar rDo
rje gdan in present-day lHo kha some twenty-five kilometers northeast of Yar
'brog lake. For the next centuries his seat became an important centre of
Sa skya learning in dBus and is nowadays principally known to us for as the
birthplace of the mKhyen ris painting style and its unique legacy of religious
art. Beside that, the tradition of Gong dkar ba became also widely known for
their ritual practice, religious dance and music, and it were them who passed
on and finally preserved the rare Lam 'bras practice systems of the Sa skya
lines going back to Theg chen chos rje Kun dga' bkra shis (1349-1425) and
rDzong chung ba gZungs kyi dpal (1306-1389).
This analysis is dedicated to Gong dkar ba’s remarkable life and his
literary oeuvre. PART I of this thesis gives an overview of the religious
and political circumstances of Kun dga' rnam rgyal’s time and introduces
the royal family lineage into which he was born. In PART II I’ll summarize
the master’s life, beginning with an overview of previous modern research,
followed by an account of his eventful life and a discussion on the practice
tradition that emerged from him. The next chapter is dedicated to Kun dga'
rnam rgyal’s writings which will be provided in a composite list of
his works and a descriptive catalogue of those texts which have been available
to me. PART III consists of the edition and the translation of the 11th chapter
of his main biography. The translated text gives an impression of him as a
religious teacher and provides a long list of his disciples. In addition the
final section contains illustrations, maps and several appendices. The appendices
include a list of identified works from the Gong dkar ba edition, a table
of Gong dkar ba’s teachers and his disciples who are not mentioned in
the main biography, a genealogical chart of the Yar rgyab lineage, two charts
of the Lam 'bras line of transmission, five letters he received from bSod
nams rgya mtsho and a chart summarizing the main events of his life. A bibliography
concludes the thesis.
Download
Preface
(PDF, 290kb)
Table
of Contents (PDF, 160kb)
The Life and Works of the 5th gDong thog sPrul sku bsTan
pa'i rgyal mtshan (b. 1933)
M.A.-thesis (2007), Jörg Heimbel (M.A.), Department of Indian and Tibetan
Studies, University of Hamburg
The
M.A. thesis is dedicated to the life and literary work of the outstanding
Sa skya scholar and historian gDong thog sPrul sku bsTan pa'i rgyal mtshan
(b. 1933), better known as T. G. Dhongthog Rinpoche. Born in 1933 in the region
of Tre hor in Khams, Dhongthog Rinpoche was identified by Sa skya bDag chen
Ngag dbang Kun dga' rin chen (1902-1950) as the rebirth of Ngag dbang kun
dga' rgyal mtshan (1885-1933), the 4th gDong thog sPrul sku, and already in
1937 he was enthroned as the 5th sPrul sku of gDong thog Rig grol phun tshogs
gling, a Sa skya monastery situated only some kilometres southeast of dKar
mdzes town. Dhongthog Rinpoche studied in Tibet under numerous masters of
different traditions considering Khang gsar mKhan chen Ngag dbang blo gros
gzhan phan snying po (1876-1952) and rDzong gsar mKhyen brtse 'Jam dbyangs
Chos kyi blo gros (1839-1959) as his two main spiritual masters. Under Chos
kyi blo gros he studied for a total of around 3 years at the prominent scriptural
seminary of rDzong gsar monastery, the Khams bye bshad grwa, in the region
of sDe dge. Under the growing pressure of the Chinese communist occupation
of Tibet, Dhongthog Rinpoche left his homeland in 1957 for India, where he
continued his studies under Chos kyi blo gros, who already had escaped from
Tibet in 1955, and upon whose advice he relied on bDud 'joms 'Jigs bral yes
shes rdo rje (1904-1988) as his third main spiritual teacher. For more than
13 years Dhongthog Rinpoche served the Tibetan Government in Exile in different
functions/numerous positions: among others he worked for the Tibetan Freedom
Press in Darjeeling and was the librarian of the Tibet House
in New Delhi. Disappointed by the conditions in some departments of the Tibetan
Government in Exile, he followed the invitation of Sa skya Phun tshogs Pho
brang bDag chen Kun dga' bsod nams (b. 1927) and immigrated in 1979 to the
United States of America. Settling down in Seattle, he founded in 1987 the
SapaN Institute—a small institute dedicated to Buddhist studies and
practice that also publishes works on Tibetan culture and religion. Regular
travels lead Dhongthog Rinpoche numerous times to India and Nepal, to Singapore,
Malaysia, Taiwan and different countries in Europe and once even back to Tibet.
Dhongthog Rinpoche's life in India and the U.S.A. is characterized by his
vast literary contributions. As a polymath, he composed numerous books, smaller
writings and articles on Buddhist practice and doctrinal issues as well as
astrological, grammatical, lexicographical, historical and biographical works.
In the context of the controversy on the practice of rDo rje shugs ldan /
Dol rgyal, Dhongthog Rinpoche, as a proponent of an anti-sectarian approach,
wrote important refutations against the practice of this deity. As editor,
he continuously published over the years numerous works and work collections.
He, moreover, is a gifted poet and calligrapher. During his first years in
India, he worked under Lokesh Chandra as a Tibetan scribe of printing plates
in the International Academy of Indian Culture and wrote for more
than 20 of his publications the lithographs by hand. In 2004 he published
his autobiography, on which large parts of my thesis are based, looking back
at his past life in a very detailed, straightforward and honest way. Nowadays
Dhongthog Rinpoche is still living in Seattle and continues to engage in his
scholarly activities.
Part I of this thesis gives an overview on the history of the Tre hor region
as well as the gDong thog monastery and presents biographical sketches of
the first four gDong thog sPrul skus. Part II provides an overview on the
scarce previous research and available references on the life and works of
Dhongthog Rinpoche. In Part III the autobiographical sources on Dhongthog
Rinpoche are introduced. Part IV is dedicated to the eventful life of Dhongthog
Rinpoche consisting in a summarized presentation on his lifetime in Tibet
(1933-1957), a word by word translation of the chapter on his life in India
(1957-1979) from his autobiography, and a summary on his life after his immigration
to America (1979-2004). Part V gives an historical overview on the controversy
concerning rDo rje shugs ldan and introduces Dhongthog Rinpoche's contributions
in the scope of this debate. Part VI is dedicated to Dhongthog Rinpoche's
writings and lists in an annotated bibliography all the works in which he
functioned as author, editor or translator and also gives a descriptive catalogue
on all the works he authored. Four appendices and a bibliography conclude
the thesis.
Download
Bibliography
of Dhongthog Rinpoches works (German)
Table of Contents (German)
(English)