Sera Khandro Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo (1892–1940) or Sera Kandro is considered an emanation of

Yeshe Tsogyal Yeshe Tsogyal (c. 757 or 777 – 817 CE) , also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge", " Knowledge Lake Empress" (, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ), or by her Sanskrit name ''Jñānasāgara'' "Knowledge Ocean", or by her clan n ...

, and in her lifetime was a Terton of Tibetan Buddhist

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

, a biographer and autobiographer, and a highly respected teacher. She taught

Dudjom Rinpoche Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

, Chatral Rinpoche, and the First Adzom Drukpa, Drodul Pawo Dorje, among other high lamas. Sera Khandro was born into a rich family, but ran away at the age of 14 to escape an unwanted engagement, and to follow the

teacher Drime Ozer, who was then in

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...

on pilgrimage from

Golok A golok is a cutting tool, similar to a machete, that comes in many variations and is found throughout the Malay archipelago. It is used as an agricultural tool as well as a weapon. The word ''golok'' (sometimes misspelled in English as "gollock" ...

in Eastern Tibet. She returned with him and his students to Golok, where she lived as a renunciate. There, Sera Khandro became life partners with Garra Gyelse. Garra Gyelsel disliked her Terma revelations, and this caused Sera Khandro to become sick. Her health returned when she left and returned to Drime Ozer with whom she subsequently revealed the specific treasure scriptures, or Terma, for which Sera Khandro is known. From when she was young she had experienced visions of Vajravarahi and exhibited many confirming indications of being a treasure revealer, a Terton. This meant that Sera Khandro had karmic connections with hidden treasures of the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

Terma lineage, and to those which concealed the Termas, eighth-century

master

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

and his consort and Vajrayana master

. Sera Khandro was a teacher to many high

lamas, including

Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

and

Chatral Sangye Dorje Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche (, "Enlightened Indestructible Freedom From Activity"; June 18, 1913 – December 30, 2015) was a Tibetan Dzogchen master and a reclusive ''ngagpa'' yogi, known for his great realization and strict discipline. C ...

. She is considered an emanation of

. In Sarah H. Jacoby's ''Love and Liberation: Autobiographical Writings of the Tibetan Buddhist Visionary Sera Khandro'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014), the author wrote Khandro was "one of the few Tibetan women to record the story of her life." Khandro also wrote the biography of her guru, Drimé Özer, son of the Terton

Dudjom Lingpa Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904) was a Tibetan meditation master, spiritual teacher and tertön. He stands out from the norm of Tibetan Buddhist teachers in the sense that he had no formal education, nor did he take ordination as a monk or belong to ...

Books and academic articles

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References

External links

*
Sera Khandro Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo
- article at '' The Treasury of Lives''
Rigpawiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet 1892 births 1940 deaths Female Buddhist spiritual teachers Tibetan women