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Layakpa Jangchub Ngodrub (la yag pa byang chub dngos grub) was born in Layak, in Lhokha. He is sometimes called Layak Jose (la yag jo sras) or Layakpa Bawachan (la yag pa lba ba can). This last name signifies that, in addition to hailing from Layak, that he had a goiter (''lba ba''), a rather common medical condition in Tibet in those times.
Layakpa's childhood name was Chokyi Ngodrub (chos kyi dngos grub). His father, Tarka Pelkyi (star ka dpal skyid), was a learned man versed in Abhidharma as well as the tantras, both old and new. His grandfather Tarka Bodhirāja (star ka bo dhi rA dza) developed siddhis through his practice of the old tantras and lived to be one hundred and twelve years old. His mother, Taklo Dadron (stag lo zla sgron), was said to be a manifestation of a wisdom ḍākinī.
According to his hagiography, as a baby when there was no one to look after him, Chokyi Ngodrub was cared for by a mysterious white hand wearing ornaments. One day when he was three and his father started teaching him the alphabet, he protested saying, “Father, I know it, too!” A sensitive child who couldn't bear the thought of anyone suffering, he once fainted when a playmate burned a flea.
Chokyi Ngodrub's earlier studies focused on Prajñāpāramitā Sutras and the Chod practices, along with the treatises by Maitreya. He went at age seventeen for a brief stay in Tsang province, and when he returned two well-known disciples of the Kadampa philosopher Chapa Chokyi Sengge (phya pa chos kyi seng ge, d.u.) were there for the funeral of their teacher. He took this opportunity to further his understanding of the Prajñāpāramitā. People were very impressed by his performance in philosophical debates, and Chapa's student promised him he could be made into a master of Prajñāpāramitā in just one year of tutoring. +
Lekden Dorje was recognized as the rebirth of Rigdzin Godemchen and posthumously given the title of Second Dorje Drak Rigdzin. He was the younger brother of Ngari Panchen Pema Wanggyel, with whom he established the community that later grew into Dorje Drak Monastery, one of the main Nyingma monasteries in Tibet. +
Lerab Lingpa, also commonly known as Terchen Sogyal, was a prominent Nyingma treasure revealer based in Kham. A teacher to many of the twentieth century's major figures, including the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, his treasures are collected in over twenty-volumes. +
Lingrepa Pema Dorje was a student of Pakmodrupa and the main teacher Tsangpa Gyare, who founded the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. He is frequently credited with founding a "Lingre Kagyu" school, though this is historically inaccurate. He initially developed the site that Tsangpa Gyare would build into Ralung Monastery. He is widely regarded as the one Tibetan who best exemplifies the Indian ideal of the Mahasiddha. +
Rinchen Zangpo was one of the most important translators in Tibetan history. Working under the sponsorship of the kings of Guge, he was responsible for the translation of many of the texts of the Second Propagation of Buddhism in Tibet. Seventeen volumes of his translations are in the Kangyur, and thirty-three volumes in the Tengyur. He is credited with one hundred and eight volumes of tantric translations, as well as numerous volumes of texts relating to science and medicine. Rinchen Zangpo is also considered responsible for the construction of numerous temples across western Tibet and the Northwest Indian Himalaya, although almost all of the attributions are tenuous. He was the first to introduce the Cakrasaṃvara tantra and the cult of the deity Mahākāla to Tibet, and was responsible for translations of several important Prajñāpāramitā scriptures. Many of the lineages he introduced, particularly those of the Yogatantras, are maintained in the Sakya tradition. +
Lorepa is considered the founder of a branch of the Drukpa Kagyu called the Me Druk, or "Lower Druk." A very important teacher during his times, he exemplifies the life of solitary meditation under often difficult circumstances. He founded Tharpaling in Bhutan. +
Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub was a member of the ruling house of Lo Montang; like his family he was a devotee of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and his disciples. He twice traveled in Tsang, visiting Nedong, Sakya and Ngor. A great commentator of the works of Sakya Paṇḍita, he was later considered to be his reincarnation. +
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Machik Labdron was a female Tibetan philosopher-adept who is best known for her articulation and codification of the philosophy and praxis of Chod. Chod is a practice grounded in the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra directed toward cutting through ego-clinging and erroneous patterns of thinking. It was adopted by various monastic and lay lineages of Tibetan Buddhism and it also has a Bon corollary. +
Mahāvajrāsana (rdo rje gdan pa chen po) was a tenth century Indian paṇḍita. The Gyude Kuntu (rgyud sde kun btus) lists him in a lineage of the Dākārnava Tantra, which is depicted in the painting from which the image here is drawn. He was a disciple of Nāropa, from whom he received the Dākārnava, and also of Maitripa.
Acording to the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, among his students were the Indian paṇḍita Niṣkalaṅkadeva, Khyungpo Neljor (khyung po rnal 'byor, 978-1127), the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition, and Vajrāsana the latter, whose personal name was Amoghavajra, phoneticized as Donyo Dorje (don yod rdo rje). +
Melong Dorje was a holder of the Bima Nyingtik lineage of Dzogchen that is said to have originated with Dangma Lhungyel. He was a disciple of Trulzhik Senggye Gyabpa, and the master of Rigdzin Kumarājā, who taught Longchenpa. +
Namcho Mingyur Dorje, the reincarnation of a Katok lama named Wangdrak Gyatso, was a prolific treasure revealer. Educated and sponsored by the great Kagyu master Karma Chakme, his revelations formed in part the basis of the Pelyul branch of the Nyingma tradition. Among his many treasures included in the Rinchen Terdzod are the Namcho cycle, for which he is best known. He should not be confused with Yongge Terton Mingyur Dorje, another student of Karma Chakme who was born in 1628. +
Kunzang Sonam of Minyak (b.1823 - d.1905) studied widely, especially in the Geluk tradition, before becoming one of the principal disciples of Patrul Rinpoche and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. After his studies, he returned to his homeland of Minyak, where he spent time in isolated hermitages. He was renowned for his ethical conduct and his mastery of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'', a text on which he wrote three major commentaries, including his monumental, 460-folio magnum opus, ''Excellent Vase''. His writings also include a guide to Ngulchu Tokme Zangpo’s ''Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva'', commentaries on two sūtras, and, it is claimed, several texts published in the name of his own student, Loter Wangpo. +
Ju Mipam Gyamtso was a prolific author who brought formal philosophical study, including debate, to the Nyingma tradition. Based in Kham during a period of great inter-sectarian exchange, he trained with the Kagyu lama Jamgön Kongtrul and the Sakya lama Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, among others, even as he preserved a strong Nyingma identity. Among his most celebrated works are the ''Beacon of Certainty'' and a commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. In addition to his considerable literary output he spent decades of his life in retreat. +
Mitrayogin was a highly regarded Indian teacher who flourished in the final days of Buddhism's prominence in India. He was invited to Tibet by his disciple Tropu Lotsāwa and is best known for his tantric collection known as One Hundred Transmissions of Mitra and his Letter to King Candra. +
Kyoton Monlam Tsultrim (skyo ston smon lam tshul khrims) was born into the Kyo (skyod) clan at a place named Tanakyang (rta nag yang), in U (dbus), in 1219, the earth-rabbit year of fourteenth sexagenary cycle.
He studied the complete Kadam traditions under the guidance of the sixth abbot, Sanggye Gompa Sengge Kyab (sangs rgyas sgom pa seng ge skyabs, 1179-1250) and the seventh abbot of Nartang Monastery (snar thang dgon), Chim Namkha Drak (mchims nam mkha’ grags, 1210-1285).
Due to his extensive practice of Vajrapāṇi, of whom he was believed to have been an emanation, he was said to have been capable of curing diseases caused by malicious spirits. He was also said to have been an emanation of Avalokiteśvara and Mañjuśrī.
In 1285 he was appointed to the abbatial throne as the eighth abbot of Nartang Monastery. During his tenure he established the printing house and had a wall built around the monastery.
He composed a commentary on Prajñāpāramitā, but this does not appear to be extant. Among his disciples were Chomden Rikpai Reldri (bcom ldan rig pa'i ral gri, 1227-1305) and Drakpa Tsondru (grags pa brtson 'grus, 1253-1316), the tenth abbot of Nartang.
He wrote a biography of his master, Chim Namkha Drak, which is stored in the Cultural Palace of Nationalities (民族文化宫) in Beijing.
He passed away at the age of eighty one, in 1299, the earth-pig year of the fifth sexagenary cycle. +
The Sakya master known as Muchen Sempa Chenpo Konchok Gyeltsen (mus chen sems dpa' chen po dkon mchog rgyal mtshan) was born in the Mu (mus) valley of Tibet in 1388. His father was Konchok Zangpo (dkon mchog bzang po, d.u.) and his mother was Namkha Kyong (nam mkha' skyong, d.u.).</br></br>
When he was nine, Konchok Gyeltsen took monastic ordination with Wang Opa (dbang 'od pa, d.u.). At age fifteen he began to study the Prajñāpāramitā and Bodhicaryāvatāra with the teachers Lelung Khenpo Kunmon (gle lung mkhan po kun smon, d.u.) and Zur Chopa Changchub Sengge (zur chos pa byang chub seng+ge, d.u.).</br></br>
At age twenty he requested initiation into Chod (gcod) practice from Muchen Namkha Neljor (mus chen nam mkha' rnal 'byor, d.u.). Soon afterwards, he joined Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon) to train briefly under Yaktuk Sanggye Pel (gyag phrug sangs rgyas dpal, 1350-1414) before the master passed away. At twenty-eight, Konchok Gyeltsen went to the Mugulung Hermitage (mu gu lung), a famous site for Lamdre (lam 'dre) transmission, where he studied the Uyuk tradition of logic ('u yug pa'i tshad ma) with Zhonnu Gyelchok (zhon nu rgyal mchog, d.u.). At thirty-four, Konchok Gyeltsen underwent a course of study with Sheja Kunrik (shes bya kun rig, 1367-1449) in Ngamring (ngam ring) to clarify doubts that remained from his previous studies. The next year, he circumambulated Lhasa one hundred thousand times.</br>In addition to the masters mentioned above, Konchok Gyeltsen's teachers also included Peljor Sherab (dpal 'byor shes rab, d.u.), Kunga Pel (kun dga' dpal, d.u.), Yakton Sanggye Pel (g.yag ston sangs rgyas dpal, 1348-1414), Rongton Sheja Kunrig (rong ston shes bya kun rig, 1367-1449) and most importantly, Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (ngor chen kun dga' bzang po, 1382-1456), with whom he studied the Cakrasaṃvara and Hevajra Tantras, as well as the Six Unions of the Kālacakra Tantra.</br></br>
Konchok Gyeltsen helped Kunga Zangpo establish Ngor Monastery (ngor dgon) in 1430. He taught there from the age of fifty-nine and took the throne as the second abbot in 1456, at the age of sixty-eight. It was during Konchok Gyeltsen's tenure at Ngor that the Lamdre teachings were divided into two: Lobshe (slob bshad) and Tsokshe (tshog bshad). He lived and taught at Ngor until 1462, when he retired Mu Tendzin Puk (mus bstan 'dzin phug) where he resided and practiced until passing away in 1469.</br></br>
Konchok Gyeltsen also founded Linga Dewachen Monastery (gling dga' bde ba chen) in 1437 and Musu Yama Monastery (mus su ya ma dgon) in 1459.</br></br>
Some of Konchok Gyeltsen's close disciples were the Twenty-first Sakya Tridzin, Lodro Gyeltsen (sa skya khri 'dzin 21blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1444-1495), who wrote his biography; Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub (glo bo mkhan chen bsod nams lhun grub, 1456-1532); Muchen Sanggye Rinchen (mus chen sangs rgyas rin chen, 1450-1524); Kunga Wangchuk (kun dga' dbang phyug, 1424-1478) and Gorampa Sonam Sengge (go rams pa bsod nams seng ge, 1429-1489).</br></br>
Konchok Gyeltsen's written works include the biography of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo, and a biography of the Sakya master Pelden Tsultrim (dpal ldan tshul khrims, 1333-1399), as well as works he compiled and edited on mind training or Lojong (blo sbyong).
Muge Samten Gyatso is most famous for his role as one of the so-called Three Great Scholars after the Cultural Revolution. This epithet is drawn from tenth century Tibetan history when the first Three Great Scholars brought the Dharma to Eastern Tibet due to Langdarma's persecution of Buddhism in central Tibet. Thus this title indicates how Muge Samten and the other two Great Scholars, Dungkar Lobzang Trinle and Alak Tseten Zhabdrung, contributed significantly to the revival of Tibetan scholarship, both at monasteries and secular institutions, following a near twenty-year vacuum due to various political campaigns. Many of today's great Tibetologists both int he PRC and abroad studied with one of these Three Great Scholars. A native of Amdo, Muge Samten trained with some of the great lamas of his day at Muge Tashi Khorlo and Labrang. He was active in modern education, and went to Beijing twice to serve on committees overseeing Tibetan language policy for the PRC. +
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Naktso Lotsāwa Tsultrim Gyelwa was a prominent Tibetan translator of the early eleventh century who, at the order of Lha Lama Jangchub Wo, brought [[Atiśa]] to Tibet. He is credited with almost one hundred translations in the Kangyur and Tengyur. +
Ngakgi Wangpo was the main lineage holder of the Jangter, or Northern Treasures tradition. He was the founder of Dorje Drak Monastery and served as its first throne holder. For this he earned the title of Dorje Drak Rigdzin, which was posthumously assigned to his previous incarnations; at least in some sources; Ngakgi Wangpo is occasionally known as the First Dorje Drak Rigdzin. +
Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wanggyel was a major Nyingma lama of the early sixteenth century. Born in present day Mustang, Nepal, he traveled widely around Tibet promoting the Jangter tradition with his brother, Lekden Dorje. He is remembered to have strictly observed his monastic vows and was the author of many texts, including Ascertaining the Three Vows, which lays out the Buddhist path according to the Nyingma tradition. +
