Biography of Melong Dorje

Biography of Melong Dorje

from The Blue Annals

by Gö Lotsāwa Zhönnu Pal

His [i.e., Trulzhik Sengge Gyabpa’s] student Melong Dorje was born in the highlands of the Drak Valley[1] in the female Water Rabbit year.[2] His father was the yogin Samyé, and his mother was Barma. In his ninth year, he received ordination from the adept Zalungpa and the great abbot Selungpa. He meditated at Zangtso, so that his experience blazed and he developed a degree of heightened perception.

In his sixteenth year, he stayed in Zhok in the Drak highlands, where he practised gaṇacakra[3] about a hundred times. Through this, he realized the fundamental nature.

He travelled to many different places and served many gurus. At sites such as Shawuk Takgo and Kharchu, he underwent major hardship and practised austerities.

In his eighteenth year, the Iron Monkey,[4] he received the Heart-Essence teachings from Sangyé Önpo in Senggé Gyab. Through his practice of meditation, he saw Vajrasattva uninterruptedly for sixty full days,[5] and while engaged in the main practice he had a dream in which he encountered and received blessings from all the gurus of the lineage.

In his twenty-third year, he received numerous treasure teachings, including on Vajravārāhī, from Sangye Repa. He then encountered Vajravārāhī. He also saw a mass of light in which co-emergent Cakrasaṃvara, Hayagrīva, Tārā, the Great Compassionate One, Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, Vimalamitra, the Uḍḍiyāna Guru, Zalungpa, Sangyé Repa and Drogön Rinpoche were all present.

In Dunglung, he heard the sound of ḍākinīs. In Kawachen, he saw Vārāhī and Zalungpa in the sky. In his twenty-sixth year, he studied with several lamas, including Trulzhik Darma and Tulku Gyatso, and received many teachings. He practised in Khenpa Jong, Khenpa Ling, Senggé Dzong, Kunzang Ling and Kharchu, and contributed to the welfare of beings.

He was set to pass beyond during his thirty-seventh year, but due to the prayers of one of his fortunate disciples, known as Lobpön Kunga, he lived to sixty-one. He passed beyond in the female Water Rabbit year.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2024.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal. deb ther sngon po. 2 vols. Sarnath: Vajra Vidya Institute, 2003. Vol. 1: 244–245

Secondary Sources

Dudjom Rinpoche. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom, 1991.

Garry, Ron. "Melong Dorje," Treasury of Lives, accessed February 05, 2024, https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Melong-Dorje/8857.

'Gos Lo-tsā-ba Gzhon-nu-dpal. The Blue Annals. Translated by G. N. Roerich. 2nd edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976,

Nyoshul Khenpo. A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems. Translated by Richard Barron. Junction City, California: Padma Publication, 2005.

Version: 1.0-20240206