Jampel Gyatso, a native of Tsongkha, was a close disciple of Tsongkhapa, from whom he received the Ganden Mahamudra transmission. He accompanied Tsongkhapa during the retreat at Olka, after which he set out on his own to practice in hermitages and caves in the Lhasa area. His primary disciples were Chokyi Gyaltsen and Chennga Lodro Gyaltsen.

Jampel Gyatso was born in 1356 in the Tsongkha region of Amdo. He entered the religious life at a young age, studying the Candrapradipa sutra and other scriptures. Wishing to further his training, in 1373 he traveled to Lhasa, where he sought out teachers but avoided entering a monastery, wary of the many mundane duties the average monk is charged with.

At Dewachen, a branch of the Kadampa monastery Sangpu Neutok south of Lhasa, Jampel Gyatso attended a teaching Tsongkhapa was giving on the Uttaratantra. Tsongkhapa recognized his acumen and advised him to study Madhyamaka philosophy in the formal setting of the Kadampa monasteries, advice which he followed. He then attended teachings Tsongkhapa gave, with Umapa Pawo Dorje, at Kyormolung Monastery on Chakrasamvara. He also received teachings from Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen and Konchog Sengye who were his teachers.

Soon afterwards, as Tsongkhapa prepared to go into retreat, and he requested that Jampel Gyatso accompany him as one of eight disciples. The group set up a camp named Cholung in the Olka region of Dakpo, before moving to a cave in Gar. There they lived on juniper berries and meager provisions of grains, abstaining from all meat. For three years Jampel Gyatso received teachings on Lamrim, Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara and Vajrabhairava, as well as Cho. In addition, Tsongkhapa transmitted the Ganden Mahamudra tradition that he had received directly from Manjushri, together with the traditions ephemeral scriptural collection known as the Trulpai Legbam, which Tsongkhapa gave to no one else. Later he would train again with Tsongkhapa at Olka Samten Ling, where Tsongkhapa taught Guhyasamaja.

In search of solitary retreat, Jampel Gyatso left Cholung for hermitages near Kadampa monasteries of Medro Gyalpoteng and Pangsa, northeast of Lhasa. For some time he gave teachings, but ultimately sealed up his cave and refused visitors, only increasing his renown. Like his teacher Umapa, he served as a medium of sorts for his main deity, Manjushri, taking questions from people to put before the god.

Jampel Gyatso passed away at Ganden in 1428 at the age of 73. His main disciples were Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang (1385 - 1438) (Name Variants: Gelek Pelzang), Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen (1402-1473) and Chennga Lodro Gyaltsen (1402-1472).

Sources

1. Grags pa byung gnas. 1992. Gangs can mkhas grub rim byon ming mdzod. Lanzhou: Kan suu mi rigs dpe skrun khang, p. 733.
2. Tshe mchog gling yongs dzin ye shes rgyal mtshan. 1970 (1787). Biographies of Eminent Gurus in the Transmission Lineages of the teachings of the Graduated Path, being the text of: Byang chub Lam gyi Rim pai Bla ma Brgyud pai Rnam par Thar pa Rgyal mtshan Mdzes pai Rgyan Mchog Phul byung Nor bui Phreng ba. New Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo, vol 1, p. 849 ff.
3. Willis, Janice D. 1995. Enlightened Beings: Life Stories from the Ganden Oral Tradition. Boston: Wisdom Publications, pp. 48-55.
4. Miranda Adams September 2008
5. http://www.tibetanlineages.org/biographies/view/162/3744