Bamda Gelek, whose given name was Tubten Gelek Gyatso, was one of the greatest scholar-practitioners of the Jonang tradition. Based largely at Dzamtang, he was considered the reincarnation of various masters, including the Indian saint Candrakīrti, the siddha Nāropa, and two famous early Jonang lamas, Tāranātha and Kunga Drolchok. Because of his strong interest in the Geluk tradition, some thought him to also be an incarnation of the great Geluk scholar Jamyang Zhepa. His intellectual prowess and strong devotion to the deity Mañjuśrī, his tutelary deity, led others to surmise that he might be an emanation of the deity himself.
On the topic of this person
A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940)
Although the doctrines and leading early figures of the Jonang tradition have been the focus of increasing scholarly attention over the past thirty years, much has yet to be written about developments in the tradition during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The goal of this paper is to shed light on this later period by focusing on one particular Jo nang thinker, Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880-1940). In order to contextualize his distinctive view and style, I will begin by sketching the historical evolution of the Jo nang tradition across Central and Eastern Tibet, and by providing some biographical and doctrinal information about Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho’s main teacher, ’Ba’ mda’ Thub bstan dge legs rgya mtsho (1844-1904).
Brambilla, Filippo. "A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940)." Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 45 (2018): 5–50.
Brambilla, Filippo. "A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940)." Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 45 (2018): 5–50.;A Late Proponent of the Jo nang gZhan stong Doctrine: Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940);Jonang;gzhan stong;Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho;Thub bstan dge legs rgya mtsho;Filippo Brambilla
Mentioned in
Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Filippo Brambilla examines how a broad range of philosophical views translated to Tsoknyi Gyatso's (1880–1940) position on buddha-nature. On the basis of key passages from two of his major philosophical works, Brambilla argues that Tsoknyi Gyatso sought to harmonize the orthodox perspective of his own (Jonang) tradition on this subject with that of the Gelukpas.
Brambilla, Filippo. "Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1cTYaIFa4g
Brambilla, Filippo. "Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1cTYaIFa4g;Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;Dol po pa;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Jonang;zhentong;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra;tridharmacakrapravartana;neyārtha;nītārtha;prasajyapratiṣedha;Geluk;guṇa;Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho;Kun mkhyen jo nang pa chen po'i dgongs pa gzhan stong dbu ma'i tshul legs pa bshad mthar 'dzin gdung 'phrog;Kun mkhyen jo nang pa'i bzhes dgongs dbu tshad kyi gzhung spyi dang gung bsgrigs te spyod pa'i spyi don rab gsal snang ba;Filippo Brambilla;Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature
Other names
- འབའ་མདའ་ཐུབ་བསྟན་དགེ་ལེགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ · other names (Tibetan)
- 'ba' mda' thub bstan dge legs rgya mtsho · other names (Wylie)
Affiliations & relations
- Jonang · religious affiliation
- ngag dbang chos 'phags rgya mtsho · teacher
- a dkon · teacher
- pad+ma badz+ra · teacher
- ngag dbang chos 'phel rgya mtsho · teacher
- skal bzang thub bstan dbang phyug · teacher
- chos grags rgya mtsho · teacher
- Dzogchen Drubwang, 4th · teacher
- Dpal sprul rin po che · teacher
- ngag dbang bsod nams bzang po · student
- 'dzong bo skyabs mgon · student
- ngag dbang bstan pa rab rgyas · student
- kun dga' ngag dbang dpal bzang · student
- kun dga' mnyam nyid · student
- ngag dbang chos 'byor rgya mtsho · student
- skal bzang thub bstan dbang phyug · student
- phur tsha bla ma blo rgyam · student
- ri 'phongs bla ma ngag bstan · student
- kun dga' ngag dbang dpal bzang · student
- mgo log bla ma tshogs rgyam · student
- mu ra bla ma mthu rtsal · student
- lha skor bla ma kun bzang · student
- chos shul bla ma byams pa · student
- kaH thog bla ma 'jigs grol · student
- ngang ba bla ma ngag bstan · student
- rgya mtsho bla ma sgra dbyangs · student
- rong ba bla ma rab ldan · student
- yu ngog sprul sku blo bzang · student
- gser dung dkar dbon po · student
- Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho · student
