Getse Mahapandita Tsewang Chokdrub

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Getse Mahāpaṇḍita Tsewang Chokdrub (T. Dge rtse ma hA paN+Di ta tshe dbang mchog grub), aka Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrup (T. ‘gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub) (1761-1829). A renowned scholar of Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, who was known for writing a catalogue to the Nyingma Gyübum. He was associated with Katok Monastery.

He was born in the Iron Snake year of the thirteenth calendrical cycle (1761) and recognized as an incarnation of Tsewang Trinlé, the nephew of Longsal Nyingpo (1625-1692). His teachers included Dodrupchen Kunzang Shenpen, Ngor Khenchen Palden Chökyong, Changkya Rolpé Dorje and Dzogchenpa Ati Tenpé Gyaltsen. Through his connection with the Derge royal family, he arranged for the printing of the Collection of Nyingma Tantras (Nyingma Gyübum) and the writings of Longchenpa and Jikmé Lingpa.

Writings

His writings include:

Husks of Unity: A Clarification of the Development Stage Rituals (Wyl. bsKyed pa'i rim pa cho ga dang sbyar ba'i gsal byed zung 'jug snye ma)
- English translation: Sangye Khandro, published in Generating the Deity, which includes a commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche (Ithaca: Snow Lion, second edition 1995)
- English translation: Dharmachakra Translation Committee, published in Deity, Mantra and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2007)

Students

Among his students were the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche and the Third Shechen Rabjam, Rigdzin Paljor Gyatso (1770-1809).

Jigme Lingpa and Getse Mahapandita Tsewang Chokdrub, Deity, Mantra and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2007), page 17
Tomoko Makidono, "Ka˙ thog Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita’s Doxographical Position: The Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness (gzhan stong dbu ma chen po)" in Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies (IIJBS) vol. 12 (2011), pp. 77-119
Tomoko Makidono, "The Turning of the Wheel of Mantrayāna Teachings in the Rnying ma rgyud ’bum dkar chag lha’i rnga bo che by Kaḥ thog Dge rtse Mahāpaṇḍita ’Gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub (149-186)" in IIJBS vol. 13 (2012), pp. 149-186
Ronis, Jann M. “Celibacy, Revelations, and Reincarnated Lamas: Contestation and Synthesis in the Growth of Monasticism at Katok Monastery from the 17th through 19th Centuries”. https://doi.org/10.18130/V3QJ77X7C

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