Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Wangchug Online Lecture

The forgotten story of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug
Prof. Giacomella Orofino
Rome, 11 December 2021 at 18.00 (CET)

At the End of an Era:
The Forgotten Story of ‘Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug (1909–1960)

Abstract

‘Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug was born in Khams, during one the most critical periods of Tibetan history. His life-story reflects the controversial and dramatic times that troubled Tibetan history before the Chinese annexation.

When he was three years old, he was recognized as one of the reincarnations of the great ‘Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse’i dbang po (1820–1892) and received an intense Buddhist education from many important masters of the time.

He mainly conducted his life secluded in retreats and rediscovered several gter ma, under the name of He ka gling pa. He never wanted to get involved in the internecine feuds and rivalries for the succession to the throne of Rdzong gsar monastery.

In 1930 he settled in Sde dge dgon chen but spent frequent periods as a hermit. His fame nevertheless spread widely, he became one of the most renowned and venerated bla ma of the region.

In 1959 he was arrested by the Chinese PLA and brought to Sde dge prison where he died in 1960 soon after the major part of the monasteries in the Khams province had been razed to the ground.

The thread of this story is unravelled against the background of the political situation of the Khams region in the first half of the nineteenth century, where other different lives intertwine with the figure of Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug, casting light on the wider social, ideological and political context of the historical time.

Keywords

Khams local history – Sde dge kingdom – Rdzong gsar monastery’s succession – ‘Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse’i dbang po’s reincarnations – Bya rgod Stobs ldan –Han Buddhist pilg

Giacomella Orofino is full professor of Tibetan language and literature and Indo-Tibetan civilization and religions at the “L’Orientale” University of Naples. She has dedicated important philological and historical-religious studies to Tibetan esoteric Buddhism and to pre-Buddhist traditions. She has organized and participated in numerous international and national conferences. She is president of the Center for Studies on Buddhism of the Oriental University, founding member and president of the Italian Association of Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies (AISTHiM) and founding member of the non-governmental organization ASIA Onlus (Association of International Solidarity in Asia) which implements cooperation and development projects in the Indian countries of the Himalayan area, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia.