Phajo Drugom Shigpo ()
184−1251 / 1208−1275was a
Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
particularly important in the early spread of the
Drukpa school to
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
where he is revered as an emanation of
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...
. His descendants played a significant role in the history of Bhutan. The ''Sacred Sites associated with Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants'' is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.
Biography
Early life
Just before he died, the founder of the
Drukpa school,
Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje told his nephew and heir,
Onre Darma Senge (1177–1237), "A Khampa son from Kham is coming. But he won't meet me. You look after him. Send him to the southern valley that has been visited and blessed by Orgyen Padma Jungne. He will be of great service to the Buddha Dharma."
Phajo Drugom Zhigpo was born, probably in 1184, at Yangtse Babchu ''(ryang tse 'bab chu)'', Tashigang in the
Do-Kham region of East
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
the youngest of three sons of the merchant Dabzang ''(zla-bzang)'', who belonged to a branch of the
Gya
A billion years or giga-annum (109 years) is a unit of time on the petasecond scale, more precisely equal to seconds (or simply 1,000,000,000 years).
It is sometimes abbreviated Gy, Ga ("giga-annum"), Byr and variants. The abbreviations Gya or ...
(rgya) clan, and his wife Achi Palmo Kyid ''(a lce dpal mo skyid)''. His was originally named Dondrub Gyaltsen.
Phajo's Tibetan hagiography and Drukpa Kagyu religious histories from Bhutan relate various auspicious and miraculous signs accompanying his conception, gestation, and birth, and record that he was an obstinate and precocious child.
At the age of seven he began his studies under a local
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 ...
priest who taught him reading and writing. At the age of 12, he went to study with a Nyingma master named Tharpalingpa who gave him the complete set of lay devotees vows and the name Tarpa Gyaltsen. From this teacher he received and received instructions on generating the great thought of enlightenment, teachings on the Maha, Anu and Ati levels of Tantra,
Dzogchen
Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...
and in particular empowerment and teachings on "all the Cycles of Mahākāruṇika"
[Dargye & Sørensen: 2001 p. 3-4](''The Great Compassionate One'' a name of
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...
). He also received all the cycles and empowerments of the Eight Commandments (''bka brgyad'').
From a lama he also received instructions on the texts ''Mahamudra Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance'' and a
Chöd
Chöd ( lit. 'to sever') is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Yundrung Bön tradition as well as in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra). Also known as "cutting through the e ...
text called ''The Profound Teaching of Object Cutting During a Single Sitting.''
Then he did prolonged meditation at Lingkar Drak, a place blessed by Guru Padmasambhava.
Meeting with Sangey Onre Darma Senge
One day he learned of the spiritual reputation of Tsangpa Gyare from some traders of Jang Taklung. Merely hearing the name of Tsangpa Gyare generated a deep sense of devotion in him and tears came to his eyes. Moved with great devotion, he made up his mind to go to Ralung to see Tsangpa Gyare. He sought his teacher's permission to go on a pilgrimage to Lhasa and Samye. After receiving the remaining instructions from his teacher, he set off on his journey. It took him almost a year to reach the U-Tsang region of Tibet.
While in Samye, he heard the news of Tsangpa Gyare's passing away from two ascetics and he fainted. When he regained his senses, he heard about Onre Darma Sengye, the Regent of Tsangpa Gyare at Ralung, whose spiritual attainment was equal to that of Tsangpa Gyare. At the age of 33, Tharpa Gyaltsen arrived at Ralung. As instructed by Tsangpa Gyare, Onre Darma Sengye took him as his disciple and transmitted the teachings of the
Drukpa Kagyu
The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or "Red Hat sect" in older sources, tradition. After receiving the teachings for about a year, Tharpa Gyaltsen meditated at Jekar and Longdol and "strenuously practiced meditation for three years and fully actualized the realization. In particular, he perfected his mastery of Mahamudra." He then went back to his master Onre Darma Sengye and related his experiences and, impressed by his realization, Onre gave him the name Phajo Druggom Zhigpo and bestowed on him the complete empowerments and teachings of
Rechungpa
Rechung Dorje Drakpa (, 1083/4-1161), known as Rechungpa, was one of the two most important students of the 11th century yogi and poet Milarepa and founder of the Rechung Kagyu subtradition of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. (The other studen ...
's ''Ear Whispered Transmission of Samvara'' (''bde mchog snyan rgyud'').
At the appropriate time, Onre Darma Senye told Phajo about Tsangpa Gyare's prophecy and gave him instructions about his activities in Bhutan. In 1224, at the age of 40, Phajo left for
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
to carry out the prophecy of Tsangpa Gyare.
Activities in Bhutan
At the time of Phajo's arrival at Lingzhi, in Bhutan, a cow belonging to a local rich man named Matong Gyi, had given birth to a calf with the head of a donkey and a snake as the tail. He approached Phajo for help. Phajo subjugated the evil spirit and it became a normal calf. All the nomads of Lingzhi joined together and offered Jagoe Dzong and all the surrounding land to Phajo.
Then Phajo meditated at
Paro Taktsang
Paro Taktsang ( dz, སྤ་གྲོ་སྟག་ཚང་, also known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest), is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. It i ...
for a month. In a vision during the meditation, Guru
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 ...
instructed him to travel throughout the country and meditate at twelve places:
*Four Dzongs (fortresses) -
Taktsang Sengye Samdrub Dzong, Tago Choying Dzong, Lingzhi Jagoe Dzong and Yangtse Thubo Dzong;
*Four Draks (rocks) - Gom Drak, Thukje Drak, Tsechu Drak and Dechen Drak
*Four Phugs (caves) - Tsedong Phug, Gawa Phug, Langthang Phug and Sengye Phug.
While staying at Darkar Latse, Phajo met Achog and took her as his consort. A son was born and given the name Dampa.
When Phajo went to Wang Sinmo, he met Sonam Paldron, a girl with the signs of a Dakini, at Chagzam Bridge. Since meeting her had been prophesied to Phajo in a vision, he took her also as his consort. The bridge came to be known as Lungten Zampa, or the ‘Bridge of the Prophecy’. Phajo gave her all the instructions and empowerments of the Drukpa tradition. Then they went to meditate at the cave Dodena, where Tago monastery stands today. In a vision during the meditation, Hayagriva instructed Phajo to continue his line through children to spread the traditions of the Drukpa lineage. After nine months Sonam Paldron gave birth to a daughter.
Leaving his consort and daughter at Dodena, Phajo went to meditate at all the places prophesied. One day, while he was at the Dechen Drak, the string of his rosary broke and the beads scattered in all directions. This was an omen that his teachings would spread all over the country in the future.
Prior to the arrival of Phajo Druggom, the followers of Nyoe Gyalwa Lhanangpa, a disciple of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon (1143–1217), the founder of the Drikung
Kagyud
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
, known as Lhapa had great influence and controlled a large part of western Bhutan. However, the Phajo over came the dominance over Lhapa in the later periods.
Sonam Paldron gave birth to seven sons. One day, Phajo took all seven sons to a bridge and, invoking the deities to decide which of his sons were demons and which would preserve his lineage, he threw all of them into the river. Three sons drowned and four remained unharmed. This story spread across the country and Lhakpas, the later holders of Lhanangpa's line of teaching (i.e. Dregung Kaguye) was said to have become envious and hostile as the parties sought dominance of the area. It was said that Lhapas sent a letter to Phajo saying, "You cannot spread your teaching without a mutual consent since I have started the teaching in this country for the first time. You should either look after the monastery of Jathel Dzong or serve as in a mutual way. Else we will have dispute".
Phajo dismissed the threat and wrote back saying that he had been sent by Onre Darma Sengye in accordance with the prophecy of Tsangpa Gyare, to spread the teachings of the Drukpa lineage. Then the dispute erupted between the lhapas and Phajo, exchanging forces and power, where the Phajos effort made it to succession by over coming the Lhapas to spread the drukpa kagyued. When this news was conveyed to Noge Gelwa Lhanangpa, he said to his followers that, the drukpa spread was predestined for the small kingdom, while the rulers of the kingdom will remain from his lineage.
Phajo began to spread the teachings of the Drukpa lineage systematically. He firmly established the Drukpa lineage teachings as the main school in western Bhutan and exerted considerable political and spiritual influence in the rest of the country. He passed on the teachings to his sons and sent them to different areas. They ruled according to the principles of the Dharma. In 1251, at the age of 68, Phajo died at Tago.
References
Sources
* Dargye, Yonten and Sørensen, P.K. (2001); ''The Biography of Pha 'Brug-sgom Zhig-po called The Current of Compassion.'' Thumphu:
National Library of Bhutan
* Dargye, Yonten. (2001) '' History of the Drukpa Kagyud School in Bhutan ''(12th to 17th Century A.D.)''
*Ardusi, John A. (2000). ''The House of 'Ob-mtsho — History of a Buddhist Gentry Family during the 13th to 20th Century''. in ''Journal of Bhutan Studies'' Vol 2:1 p. 1-29. Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan Studies.
External links
Phajo Drukgom Zhigpo- at Rangjung Yeshi Wiki
P7825 'brug sgom zhig po- at TBRC
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phajo, Drugom Shigpo
1180s births
1251 deaths
Kagyu Buddhists
Buddhism in Bhutan
Bhutanese lamas
13th-century lamas
Drukpa Kagyu lamas
12th-century Tibetan people
13th-century Tibetan people