Guru Jober Biography

Biography of Guru Jober

from The Jewel Rosary History

by Longchen Rabjam

It was from such a noble guru [i.e., Khepa Nyibum] that the master of the teaching Guru Jober received the complete instruction. He [Guru Jober] was born as the son of Dawa Bum, the younger brother of Khyepa Nyibum, and Gyamo Alu. Until his seventh year, he appeared to be mentally deficient, but in his eighth year his intelligence blazed like fire. Until his eighteenth year he stayed with his uncle, Khepa Nyibum, from whom he received all the empowerments and instructions of the secret, unsurpassable teachings. He also spent his time explaining the tantras and diligently practising.

During his eighteenth and nineteenth years, he studied the Three Continua, including all the related pith instructions, and the Malgyo tradition of Cakrasaṃvara with Sakya Lotsāwa. He also mastered the teachings on Madhyamaka, Valid Cognition (Pramāṇa) and the like, and studied various scriptural collections, tantras, transmissions, and instructions from several other learned and accomplished masters.

In his twenty-second year he received Mitrayogin’s instructions, including the three cycles of Trophur, from Trophu Lotsāwa. He received the dohas and various other Mahāmudrā instructions from the Nepali Drakpa Bummé. He studied with numerous learned and accomplished teachers, mastering a great many scriptural collections, tantras, transmissions and instructions.

During practice he had visions of several yidam deities. On a visit to Lhasa he saw five-coloured rainbow light appear around the face of the Jowo. Five spheres of light poured out of the statue’s mouth, and in their centre he saw Vajrasattva and consort, Vajrapāṇi, and the Great Compassionate One [Avalokiteśvara]. At dawn, he saw the protector Amitāyus amidst iridescent light. He later said, "It was seemingly by virtue of this that even though I have no tradition of longevity in my family, things have turned out well for me."

Having thus acted as a leader, guiding beings by means of boundless wisdom and compassion, he passed beyond during the full moon in the first month of autumn in the year of the Rabbit. His body was surrounded by a web of rainbow light for a week, and his remains featured the syllables oṃ āḥ hūṃ and produced numerous ringsel, which inspired a sense of awe in the people present.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2024.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer. "lo rgyus rin po che’i phreng ba" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 1: 109–111 (1.5 folios)

Secondary Sources

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

Leschly, Jakob. "Guru Jober," Treasury of Lives, accessed February 06, 2024, https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Guru-Jober/8891.

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

Version: 1.0-20240208