The Bodongpa or Bodong tradition, is one of the smaller traditions of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

falling outside the classification of the four main schools.

History

Bodong E Monastery (), located in Yutok (), in modern Tashigang (),

Lhatse County Lhatse County (also rendered as Liza County) is a county of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It was established in 1959, with Lhatse Town as the county seat. In 1968, Quxia Town became the county seat. Lhatse County, has a population of s ...

, was the main monastery of the Bodong tradition. It was first established in 1049 by the

Kadam (Tibetan Buddhism) 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) and his students like Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. ...

teacher Mudra Chenpo (). Bodong tradition itself goes back to Bodong Rinchen Tsemo, who received teachings from Drubthob Semo Chewa. Its most renowned figure, often regarded as its founder, was the Bodong Penchen Lénam Gyelchok (, 1376-1451), whose seat was at this monastery. Bodong Penchen authored over one hundred and thirty-five volumes and is known as the most prolific writer in Tibetan history. His most famous work is the ''Compendium of Suchness'' () comprising one hundred and thirty-three volumes having about 500 folios (1000 pages) in each. The extensive version contains one hundred and ten volumes; the medium version, twenty volumes; the condensed version, two volumes; and the extremely condensed version, one volume and this encyclopaedic work is considered the foundation of the tradition.

Je Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Bud ...

studied at Bodong E Monastery with the Lotsawa Namkha Zangpo (), who taught him the ''Mirror of Poetry'' (). A well-known

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples ...

of this tradition is

Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo () is the highest female incarnation in Tibet''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. . and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the P ...

, one of the few female incarnation lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.

Religious establishments

Bodong E Gonpa was almost completely destroyed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

though some parts survived because it had been turned into a granary. Nönga Abbey (), in modern

Tingri County Tingri County or ''Dhringgri County'' (; ), is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Arun River, with the vall ...

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions ...

. Chöde Monastery (), Nyêmo County,

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...

. Founded in 750, converted to the Bodong school in 1250. Pelmo Chöding () in

Nyalam County Nyalam County (; Tibetan: gnya' lam rdzong) is a county in Tibet's Shigatse Prefecture. It borders on Nepal. The land area of the county is . The population as of 2003 was 10,000. The postal code for the county is 858300. The county seat is in ...

, Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region.

Outside Tibet

In 1989 the Pelmo Choding monastery (Porong Gompa) in exile was established at Dharamsala, India. A Porong Pelmo Choding monastery has also been built in Kathmandu, Nepal. These monasteries were established by Tibetans from the Porong region of southwest Tibet to preserve the Bodong tradition.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Bodong Research and Publication Centre
Schools of Tibetan Buddhism {{Tibetan-Buddhism-stub