Vajradhara in Human Form: The Life and Times of Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po

Book excerpt: The present book presents a detailed study of the life and times of the tantric expert Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, 1382–1456), who was one of the most outstanding and influential Sakya masters of fifteenth-century Tibet. Among his many influential activities, Ngorchen is best remembered for his founding of the monastery of Ngor Ewam Choden (Ngor E waṃ chos ldan) in 1429. Withdrawing from the worldly distractions of the bustling town of Sakya (Sa skya) and sectarian conflicts, he left his traditional alma mater, the monastery of Sakya, and established his own monastic seat in the remote Ngor valley, some 30 kilometres southwest of modern Shigatse (gZhis ka rtse) in the central Tibetan province of Tsang (gTsang). There, based on the observance of a strict monastic discipline, Ngorchen hoped to return to traditional Sakya teaching and practice in a more supportive environment. Ngor immediately became a new centre for tantric training within the monastic circles of the Sakya school. As the leading tantric expert, Ngorchen trained a whole new generation of young students, producing some of the brightest minds of the Sakya school. At his monastic seat, Ngorchen and his abbatial successors established one of the most prominent subdivisions of the Sakya school, the Ngor tradition (ngor lugs), based on Ngorchen’s distinctive understanding of tantric ritual and practice. The religious influence of Ngor and its abbots extended to far-western Tibet (mNga’ ris), including Mustang (Glo bo), Purang (sPu hrang), Guge (Gu ge), Spiti (sPyi ti), and Ladakh (La dwags). In the following centuries, Ngor’s influence also extended eastwards to Khams, where the tradition became very influential in Derge (sDe dge), Lingtsang (Gling tshang), and Gapa (sGa pa). From the 17th century onward, the Ngorpa enjoyed the patronage of the ruling house of Derge, whose successive kings called upon retired abbots of Ngor to serve as their court chaplains (dbu bla).