The Enlightened Master Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen
Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen (Main figure)
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(Top to bottom): Brahmarupa Mahakala, Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen and Dorje Shugden.
Deity: Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen
Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was the heir to the Zimkhang Gongma line of incarnations. The first in the line of these illustrious incarnations was the great Panchen Sonam Drakpa (1478-1554). ‘Zimkhang Gongma’ literally means the Lord of Upper Residence and refers to the great ladrang (household) of Panchen Sonam Drakpa nestled in the hills above Drepung Monastery. It also refers to this incarnation line as well. Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was a contemporary of the Great 5th Dalai Lama and both lamas were the heart disciples of His Holiness the 4th Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen.
Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was a pure monk, an erudite scholar and had a great following of students, especially amongst the Mongol royalty. He once encountered the Dharma Protector Nechung through the state oracle and was reminded of an ancient promise that his previous life had made to arise as a protector of Lama Tsongkhapa’s special teachings. These teachings were Lama Tsongkhapa’s elucidation of Nagarjuna’s Middle Way philosophy. Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen explained to Nechung that he had no anger which was necessary to arise as a protector. Nechung merely replied that he would make the necessary conditions manifest to help him arise a great protector. As such, Nechung fanned the rivalry between disciples of Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen and the Great 5th Dalai Lama.
In the end, disciples of the 5th Dalai Lama plotted to assassinate the popular Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen to allow the Dalai Lama to arise as the leading lama of the day. The first couple of assassination attempts were unsuccessful as Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen could not be killed through ordinary means such as stabbing and poisoning. Finally, the great tulku himself revealed to his would-be killers the manner in which he could be murdered. Thus the promise he made lifetimes ago came to pass, as the murderers forced a khata (silk scarf) down his throat and suffocated the lama. It was then that Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen arose as Dorje Shugden and eventually came to be known as a popular Protector of the Sakyas and Gelugs. Even those within some traditions of the Nyingma and Kagyus traditions consider him to be an extraordinary protector of the Dharma as well.
Underneath his depiction in this thangka, you can see a monastic disciple offering his lama a mandala offering, symbolic of offering up the entire universe to one’s spiritual teacher. There are also two humble Mongolian lay disciples paying obeisance to their guru, Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen.
Deity: Brahmarupa Mahakala (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Gonpo Tramsuk (Tibetan)
Brahmarupa literally means the ‘One in the Brahmin Form’. Portrayed as a dark-skinned Indian yogi, Brahmarupa is a form of the Four-Faced Mahakala, an emanation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. He is considered to be a protector of both the Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara Tantras. He is therefore widely propitiated by many great lamas, yogis and practitioners in order to clear their path of inner obstacles while they engage in spiritual practice and retreats on these two tantric systems. During his life Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen propitiated Brahmarupa Mahakala as his main Dharma Protector.
Deity: Dorje Shugden (Tibetan)
Alternative name: Vajra Bhagawan Rudra (Sanskrit)
When Dorje Shugden first arose as a Dharma Protector, he was enthroned as such within the Sakya tradition. This was due to affinity with the tradition stemming from his previous life as Sakya Pandita. At Sakya, he was mainly propitiated riding upon a horse and sitting on a lama’s lion throne. Later, his practice spread within the Gelug tradition and was propitiated at his chapel known as Trode Khangsar in Lhasa, where he was portrayed riding a snow lion. Later, the great Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche and his student Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche proliferated his practice widely.
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It is always wonderful and blessed to read up about an iconography and background enlightened being such as Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen, Who is none other than the emanation of the Great King Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden. Thank you Rinpoche and blog team for this interesting short write up.😍🙏🕉☸️🔥
Wow…….beautiful art painting of Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen, Brahmarupa Mahakala, and Dorje Shugden. Trülku Drakpa Gyeltsen was an important Gelugpa lama and a contemporary of the 5th Dalai Lama. Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen is basically the lama believed to have arose to become the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden. Interesting brief story of a Great Lama.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.