第三届世界居士佛教论坛

Introducing Gorampa Sonam Sengey, a 15th century
Scholar-Saint of the Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism

Khenpo Ngawang Jorden

 

I have done quite a lot of research and writing on Gorampa's works, and so I have a degree of familiarity with him as an inspiring figure through having entered into his intellectual world.

I'm introducing Gorampa for several reasons: firstly, although he is very well-known in the Tibetan scholarly community, he is is not very prominent outside of it. The second reason is that, even within the Tibetan Buddhist scholarly community he is a controversial figure because of his very strong criticism of Tsong Khapa's interpretation of Indian Buddhist thought. (Tsong Khapa is the founder of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism). My third reason is that Gorampa possessed an outstanding academic mind, and his thoughts speak directly to today's scholars.

The Tibetan government, at that time, was under the exclusive authority of the Gelugpa Lineage.  Since Gorampa was so critical of Tsong Khapa, his writings were suppressed and even banned by the Tibetan Government for printing, distribution, and even for study.  For that reason, until the 13th Dalai Lama's reign, Gorampa's writings were rare and widely dispersed.

The 13th Dalai Lama's government, in the early 20th Century, gave permission to a Sakya master named Jamyang Gyaltsen, a lama from Eastern Tibet, to collect all of Gorampa's writings which were then available, in order to produce 13 volumes of wood-block xylograph copies at the monastic publishing centre in Derge, Eastern Tibet. These printing blocks are still in the Great Printing House of Derge Goen Chen monastery.

Although Jamyang Gyaltsen was only able to collect 13 volumes of the many remarkable works by this master, it was due to this initiative that Gorampa's writings, even in their incomplete form, were now able to be accessed and studied by scholars of every Lineage.

Gorampa Sonam Sengey was born to a very ordinary nomadic family in Eastern Tibet and travelled to Cental Tibet as a foreign student. He later distinguished himself there, in his studies with a great many of the monastic luminaries of the time.

Since his scholastic brilliance encompassed every one of the Ten Sciences, he was, and still is, known as one of the two leading experts in both Sutra and in Tantra within the Sakya Lineage.

After finishing his studies in Central Tibet, he wanted to return home to Eastern Tibet in order to benefit those sentient beings in his homeland. However, his teachers persuaded him to remain among them. He ended up staying there for the rest of his life and serving the Sakya Lineage in many roles, including that of the Throneholder of the Ngorpa sub-lineage of Sakya, for 4 years. 

Gorampa also established his own monastic learning centre, named Thupten Namgyal Ling, in Tanakh, Central Tibet, before passing away. Not only did he, himself, produce many great masters among his disciples, but also, his monastery became a famed training ground for many great teachers and scholars, and was one of the most important centres of learning for the entire Sakya Lineage.