Buddhism: H.E. the Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa, 1932-2012

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H.E. the Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa, 1932-2012 Mar 2nd 2012, 11:47 From Phayul.com: "His Eminence the Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Dorjee Chang Jampel Namdrol Choekyi Gyaltsen, the spiritual head of the Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the spiritual head of Mongolia, passed away earlier today at 5.58am (IST) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was 80." I admit I didn't know who the Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa was, either, nor had I heard of the Jonang tradition. When I first began to write for this site I understood there to be four schools of Tibetan Buddhism --  Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug -- but now I learn there is one more, Jonang. Jonang was founded as an independent tradition in the late 13th century by a monk named Kunpang Tukje Tsondru. In the 17th century the 5th Dalai Lama forcibly converted the Jonangs into his school, Gelug. Jonang teachings on the Kalachakra tantra were absorbed into Gelug. Phayul.com also says, "The title, Khalkha (the largest district of Mongolia) Jetsun Dhampa (Lord of Refuge) was conferred by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, who recognised the First Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa, a young tulku from Mongolia as the reincarnation of Taranatha. The Great Fifth Dalai Lama became the lineage lama of the First Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa, conferring on him all his lineage initiations, empowerments and the further teachings." Making a long and complicated story much shorter -- Jonang seemed to have disappeared as an independent lineage. But it turns out some monasteries here and there had maintained independence from Gelug. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has been very supportive of the present-day Jonangs and even donated some buildings near Dharamsala to them for use as a monastery. Jonang also has been officially recognized as a fifth tradition, independent of Gelug. The late Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa spent his early youth in Drepung Monastery in Lhasa. As a young man he lived as a yogi, engaging in chod meditation and pilgrimages. He left Tibet for India in 1959. When tthe Soviet Union collapsed and Mongolia became free again, the Dalai Lama recognized the Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa as the spiritual head of Buddhism in Mongolia. The Central Tibetan Administration has convened a prayer service to pray for the Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa's speedy rebirth.

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