The Life of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great

May 20, 2019
Gardner, director and editor of the Tibet encyclopedia Treasury of Lives, debuts with a dense, robust biography of 19th-century Tibetan lama Jamgon Kongtrul. Kongtrul was born in 1813 and initially educated in the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet called Bon; his spiritual promise from a young age led him to undergo Nyingma Buddhist training at Zhechen. When Kongtrul was sent to train at Pelpung—a Karma Kagyu Buddhist monastery— at age 20, he felt wrenched from his religious home of Zhechen, which informed the remainder of his life. Though Kongtrul became comfortable with the Kagyu teachings, his learning and spiritual development was often frustrated by the sectarianism that permeated the monasteries where he trained. As Kongtrul rose in reputation and power, teacher Khyentse Wangpo became a lifelong friend and collaborator. Kongtrul, Khyentse Wangpo, and others developed the ecumenical, nonsectarian rimay movement and the text The Five Great Treasuries, which brought together the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Gardner’s biography is painstakingly detailed, but still manages to offer a reverent and human portrayal of Kongtrul. Readers interested in the formations of Tibetan Buddhism will take great interest in Gardner’s in-depth reconstruction of Kongtrul’s life.