Khenpo Kunzang Palden
Khenpo Kunzang Palden (མཁན་པོ་ཀུན་བཟང་དཔལ་ལྡན་, Wyl. mkhan po kun bzang dpal ldan) (c.1872-1943), or Kunpal (མཁན་པོ་ཀུན་དཔལ་) for short, also known as Gekong Khenchen Kunzang Palden[1] or Kunzang Chökyi Drakpa, was a great scholar of the Nyingma tradition, and a close disciple and biographer of Patrul Rinpoche. He was born in Dzachukha valley, in Kham and was ordained as a monk by Khenpo Yönten Gyatso of Dzogchen monastery. After receiving the transmission from Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and the fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, he became one of the great holders of the Longchen Nyingtik lineage. He was also an important student and biographer of Mipham Rinpoche. He taught at Gekong Monastery of Dzachukha and was the first teacher at the shedra of Kathok monastery, where he was assisted by Khenpo Ngawang Palzang (Khenpo Ngakchung). He left many important writings like The Stories of Vinaya and commentaries on Mipham Rinpoche's Beacon of Certainty (ངེས་ཤེས་སྒྲོན་མེ་, Ngeshé Drönmé). He is best known for his commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara, by Shantideva which is taught to this day in most shedras. He was the main teacher of Pöpa Tulku, and also taught Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.
Selected Writings
Footnotes
- ↑ Not to be confused with Derge Lama Kunga Palden, an important disciple of Orgyen Tendzin Norbu and teacher of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Further Reading
- Khenchen Kunzang Pelden and Minyak Kunzang Sönam, Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries, Editions Padmakara, 1999
- Kunzang Palden, The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, Shambhala, 2007
- Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, Padma Publications, 2005
