Mipam Gyatso

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Mipam Gyatso (T. mi pham rgya mtsho) (1846–1912), also known as Jamgon Mipam (T. 'jam mgon mi pham), was an influential scholar and teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Douglas Duckworth states:

Mipam...shaped the trajectory of the Nyingma school, a Buddhist tradition from Tibet that traces its history back to its early transmission from India in the eighth century. Mipam is a major figure in this tradition, and in terms of the breadth and depth of his writings, he is in a class of his own. His works live today as part of the curriculum of study at several contemporary monastic colleges in Tibet, India, and Nepal. Thus, Mipam is not simply a towering figure of historical importance; he continues to hold a central place in a flourishing Buddhist tradition. Although he lived quite late in the long history of Buddhist development in Tibet, his influence on the Nyingma school has been enormous.[1]

Mipam's collected works include some 320 titles in more than thirty volumes that span the entire range of Indo-Tibetan learning. It includes classical religious subjects like Madhyamaka philosophy, Tantra, and ritual.[2]

Mipham also had a keen interest in the practical arts (medicine, divination, astrology, etc.) and the literary sciences (grammar, poetics, dramaturgy, and prosody), and he published works on these topics.[2]

Mipam is also considered an important figure in the non-sectarian rimé tradition.

Biographies

From José Ignacio Cabezón

José Ignacio Cabezón writes:

Considering that he was one of Tibet’s greatest scholars, we do not have many sources on Mipham’s life. As John Pettit notes, “Tibetan scholars of lesser importance have been remembered in reminiscences much more extensive than the small but inspiring biographical sketches of Mipham available at present.”[3] Nonetheless, a few short Tibetan biographies do exist, and the most important of these is the Essential Hagiography written by Khenpo Kunzang Palden (1862–1943), a direct disciple of Mipham. Other brief biographies have also been written by the most important Nyingma lamas of the twentieth century, including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–1991), Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987), and Khenpo Jigmé Phuntsok (1933–2004).
Over the last decade or so, Western scholars have published studies and translations of some of Mipham Rinpoche’s most important works. These books contain concise biographies of Mipham’s life that draw on these short Tibetan hagiographical works.[4] I recommend these books to readers who wish to gain a more holistic picture of Mipham’s life and thought, but for the sake of completeness I will sketch out his biography here.
Mipham was born to an aristocratic family in the kingdom of Dergé in 1846. His family had ties to the Dergé royal court from both his maternal and paternal side. His father, Gönpo Dargye, was a renowned physician, which makes it likely that Mipham received some training in the medical sciences in his youth; he would later write various works on medicine and alchemy. At age twelve Mipham took novice vows and entered Ju Mohor Sang-ngag Chöling, a branch of the great monastery of Zhechen. By all accounts a child prodigy, his intellectual gifts were quickly recognized and it was not long before he was known in the monastery under the moniker “the little monk scholar.”
Around 1861 Mipham undertook an eighteen-month retreat on Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom, at Junyung Hermitage. He later told his close disciples that from that time on he could understand almost any work on any subject without studying it, simply by receiving a brief explanatory transmission.
Shortly after completing this retreat, Mipham took to the road, fleeing, as did many others, the turmoil of the Nyagrong wars in Kham... Traveling with his uncle, he first went to the nomadic region of Golok and then to Lhasa, where he spent one month studying at the Gelug monastic university of Ganden. Mipham became well versed in Gelug philosophy and continued to take exoteric teachings from Gelug masters even after returning to Kham.
On his return journey from central Tibet, Mipham took the southern route. At Lhodrag Kharchu, a retreat place of the great tantric saint Padmasambhava, he had a spontaneous mystical experience of blissful heat that he attributed to the sanctity of the site. It was during this time, while traveling in southern Tibet, that he met two of his most important teachers: Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887), the fifth abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), one of the greatest scholars of his day who, together with Jamgön Kongtrul (1813–1899) and Chogyur Lingpa (1829–1870), was at the center of an important trans-sectarian religious revival in Kham known as rimé. Mipham’s relationship to rimé is complex. On the one hand, he was a student of the “founders” of this tradition. On the other hand, Mipham is known for his attempts to revitalize Nyingma, to create a distinctive identity for the school, and to defend this tradition vis-à-vis other Tibetan schools.[5]
Mipham took Khyentse Rinpoche as his root guru and Khyentse in turn considered Mipham as his heart-son. He gave Mipham many teachings and empowerments and on more than one occasion publicly acknowledged Mipham’s extraordinary erudition and high realization, on one occasion even prophesying his future worldwide renown. Mipham’s service to Khyentse Rinpoche is often touted as exemplary—for example, he gave away all his belongings to his master on seven different occasions. Of course, Mipham also studied under many other famous Khampa masters, including Khenpo Padma Vajra (1807–1884), the eighth abbot of Dzogchen Monastery; the Sakya lama Jamyang Loter Wangpo (1847–1912), from whom he received teachings on Sakya Paṇḍita’s Treasury of Reasoning; and the great Jamgön Kongtrul, from whom he received, inter alia, teachings on the “worldly sciences” such as grammar and alchemy.
Once Mipham had returned to Kham, Khyentse Rinpoche commissioned him “to write some textbooks for our [Nyingma] tradition.” This was the beginning of a period of intense literary activity for Mipham that focused chiefly on exoteric subjects; many of the textbooks written during these years are used in Nyingma monastic universities to this day. Mipham realized that there was a need to explain the classical Indian texts from the viewpoint of the Nyingma tradition. “Nowadays,” he wrote in his Essential Hagiography, “the Early Translation [or Nyingma] teaching…does little more than imitate other systems, there being few who even wonder what our own philosophical system is.” Mipham therefore set out to elaborate the doctrinal foundations of a specifically Nyingma understanding of the great Indian texts. In doing so, he was not reluctant to defend his views against the prevailing opinions of his day, even if it meant critiquing other schools.
Of course, as scholars of other traditions (most notably the Gelug) began to learn of Mipham’s criticisms, “polemical responses began to arrive from all directions.”[6] Mipham, however, maintained a very open and critical perspective in his debates with rival scholars. While affirming his right to critically examine all views, he was also open to the fallibility of his own position. “If someone who possesses the Dharma eye refutes me in accordance with scripture and reasoning, I should rely upon him as a doctor and would never reply out of anger. Thus, with a noble and honest intention, I have debated upon occasion.”[6] True to his word, Mipham often acknowledged the greatness of other scholars. For example, in a competition not of words but of magical powers with the famous Jonang scholar Bamda Gelek (1844–1904), Mipham is said to have praised his rival. “I have met many scholars,” he said, “but in this day and age, to meet a scholar of the highest rank is rare. Dzamtangpa Gelek is such a scholar.”[7]
Mipham was a true polymath. His collected works—some 320 titles in more than thirty volumes—spans the entire range of Indo-Tibetan learning. It includes classical religious subjects like Madhyamaka philosophy, Tantra, and ritual. As Gene Smith notes, “Mi pham’s greatest contributions to the cultural history of Tibet lies in his brilliant and strikingly original commentaries on the important Indic treatises.”[8]
But Mipham also had a keen interest in the practical arts—magic, crafts, erotics, alchemy, medicine, divination, and astrology. In these texts he preserved, in quasi-anthropological fashion, many of the local traditions and folk practices of Kham. Mipham was also known for his interest in the literary sciences: grammar, poetics, dramaturgy, and prosody, including the great Tibetan epic of Gesar. Given his insatiable appetite for learning, it is not surprising that we should find works that belong to the Indian genre of nītiśāstra in his collected writings...
One might wonder, given his tremendous literary output, whether Mipham had time for anything else but his writings. However, all the biographies agree that Mipham also extensively taught and that he spent a great deal of time in meditation retreat. Although he was neither a recognized incarnation, or trulku, nor a revealer of hidden treasure, or tertön, his saintliness gave rise to a number of miracle stories that have been chronicled in various sources.[9]
In his final days Mipham wrote some verses in which he confessed to having suffered from a debilitating illness for the last seventeen years of his life, a “severe illness of the energy channels” that had made him experience “uninterrupted and intense suffering.” Despite this, he states, he chose to remain in the world for the sake of others, but now welcomed death.[10] Mipham passed away in 1912 at his hermitage, located near Dzogchen Monastery, in his home district of Ju. He claimed that he would not take rebirth again in the “impure” states of existence—that is, in the human world. “Now is a critical moment in these final times; the barbarians and so forth are close to destroying the teachings, so there is no point whatsoever in my taking rebirth.”[10] But as Douglas Duckworth shows, several individuals have since been identified over the last century as Mipham’s reincarnations.[2]

Other biographies

Web publications:

  • Douglas Duckworth (2013), Mipam Gyatso, Treasury of Lives
  • Mipham_Rinpoche, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
  • Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Rangjung Yeshe Publications (This was translated and adapted from Samantabhadra Dharmakirti’s short biography of Jamgon Mipham, found in Mipham’s collected writings, by Lhobpon Rechungpa and Eric Forgeng, 2003)

Print publications:[2]

  • E. Gene Smith, Among Tibetan Texts, chapter 16
  • Steven D. Goodman, “Mi-Pham rgya-mtsho: An Account of His Life, the Printing of His Works, and the Structure of His Treatise Entitled Mkhas-pa’i tshul la ’jug pa’i mgo,”
  • John W. Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty, 19–39, which contains a translation of Khenpo Kunzang Palden’s Essential Hagiography
  • Douglas Duckworth, Mipam on Buddha-Nature, xx–xvii
  • Douglas Duckworth, Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings
  • Karma Phuntsok, Mipham’s Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness, 13–19

Writings

Collected works

Mipam was a prolific writer.

His collected works—some 320 titles in more than thirty volumes—spans the entire range of Indo-Tibetan learning. It includes classical religious subjects like Madhyamaka philosophy, Tantra, and ritual. As Gene Smith notes, “Mi pham’s greatest contributions to the cultural history of Tibet lies in his brilliant and strikingly original commentaries on the important Indic treatises."[2]

His collected works are available in the Tibetan language here:

Selected commentaries

Most of the works cited below have been translated into English.

On Mahayana philosophy

On the Mahayana path

On Vajrayana and Dzogchen

On ethics

On astrology and divination

Stories of inspiration

Selected practice texts

Mipam's most well-known practice texts include:

Various shorter texts

Lotsawa House publishes a variety of Mipam's shorter texts, including words of advice, prayers, practice texts, practice instructions, brief philosophical works, etc.

Book-length translations of Mipam's works

This list from Wikipedia includes some English-language translations of Mipam's works not mentioned above.

Alternate names

Note that Mipam's name is also commonly spelled "Mipham" (with an 'h'). However, since the 'h' is not pronounced, scholars such as Duckworth, Hopkins, et al, spell the name as "Mipam."

Alternate names for Mipam are:

  • Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (ʼjam-mgon ʼju mi pham rgya mtsho)
  • Jamgön Mipham (ʼjam mgon mi pham)
  • Ju Mipham (ʼju mi-pham)
  • Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho)
  • Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatso (ʼju mi pham rnam rgyal rgya mtsho)
  • Mipham Namgyal Gyatso (mi pham rnam rgyal rgya mtsho)
  • Jamgon Mipham Gyatso (ʼjam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho)
  • Mipham the Great (mi pham chen po)
  • Lama Mipham (bla ma mi pham)
  • Mipham Rinpoche (mi pham rin po che)

Notes

  1. ↑ Duckworth 2011, "Introduction".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jamgon Mipham 2017, Introduction.
  3. ↑ "John W. Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty, 19."
  4. ↑ See #Other biographies
  5. ↑ “On the rimé movement, see Sam van Schaik, Tibet: A History, 165–69; Ringu Tulku, The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great; and especially Alexander P. Gardner, “The Twenty-five Great Sites of Khams,” 114f.”
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The words are found in the Essential Hagiography; see Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty, 27."
  7. ↑ “See José I. Cabezón, “Bamda Gelek,” Treasury of Lives, http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Bamda-Gelek/7272.
  8. ↑ "Smith, Among Tibetan Texts, 231. Smith goes on to describe Mipham’s interest in Tibetan literature, including his important work on the Gesar epic. Some important texts of the Gesar corpus, based on works written by one of Mipham’s disciples, have been translated by Robin Kornman, Sangye Khandro, and Lama Chönam in The Epic of Gesar of Ling."
  9. ↑ "See the comments of the Essential Hagiography translated in Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty, 33–34, and the work of Khenpo Jigmé Phuntsok translated by Ann Helm, Miracle Stories of Mipham Rinpoche."
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "John W. Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty, 36."
  11. ↑ A translation is forthcoming from John Canti.
  12. ↑ Uttaratantra Shastra, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
  13. ↑ Mulamadhyamaka-karika, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
  14. ↑ Forgues 2024, p. 255 fn. 59

Sources

  • Duckworth, Douglas (2011), Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings, Boston: Shambhala Publications 
  • Forgues, Gregory (2024). Radical Nonduality: Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatso's Discourse On Reality. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde. pdf
  • Jamgon Mipham (2017), The Just King: The Tibetan Buddhist Classic on Leading an Ethical Life, translated by José Ignacio Cabezón, Snow Lion 
  • Pettit, John Whitney (1999), Mipham's Beacon of Certainty: Illuminating the View of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, Wisdom Publications 

Further reading

Studies of Mipham's thought

  • Phuntsho, Karma (2005). Mipham's Dialectics and Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-35252-5. 
  • Phuntsho, Karma (2007), "Ju Mi pham rNam rgyal rGya mtsho: His Position in the Tibetan Religious Hierarchy and a Synoptic Survey of His Contributions", in Prats, Ramon N., The Pandita and the Siddha: Tibetan Studies in Honour of E. Gene Smith, New Delhi: Amnye Machen Institute, ISBN 81-86227-37-7 
  • Smith, E. Gene (2001). Among Tibetan Texts: History & Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Somerville MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-179-3. 

Biographies

  • Dharma Fellowship of HH the Gyalwa Karmapa. "The Life of Mipham Jamyang Namgyal (1846–1912)". Dharma Fellowship of HH the Gyalwa Karmapa. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
  • Duckworth, Douglas (2011), Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings, Boston: Shambhala Publications 
  • Dudjom Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje; Gyurme Dorje (2005), The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, Its Fundamentals and History (2 ed.), Boston: Wisdom Publications 
  • Germano, David (2002). "A Brief History of Nyingma Literature". THDL. Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
  • Goodman, Steven (1981). "Mi-pham rgya mtsho: An Account of His life, the Printing of His Works, and the Structure of His Treatise entitled mKhas pa'i tshul la 'jug pa'i sgo". Windhorse (I). 
  • Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, Miracle Stories of Mipham Rinpoche, translated by Ann Helm for Nalanda Translation Committee, 2008
  • Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, Fundamental Mind (Snow Lion, 2006), 'Biography of Mi-pam-gya-tso' by Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay.
  • Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, trans. Richard Barron (Junction City: Padma Publishing, 2005), pages 415–425.
  • Pettit, John. "The Life and Works of Mipham Rinpoche" in Pettit, John Whitney. Mipham's Beacon of Certainty: Illuminating the View of Dzochen, the Great Perfection. Boston: Wisdom Publications (1999). p. 19-39

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