15 Facts About Dolpopa

In 1314, when he was twenty-two years old, Dolpopa received full monastic ordination from the famous abbot of Choelung Monastery, Sonam Trakpa, and made a vow at the time to never eat slaughtered meat again.

In 1321, Dolpopa visited Jonang Monastery at Jomonang for the first time.

Dolpopa then visited Tsurphu Monastery for the first time and had extensive discussions with Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama, about doctrinal issues.

In 1327, after the death of his guru Yonden Gyantso, Dolpopa decided to fulfill a prayer he had made at the great stupa at Trophu to repay his master's kindness.

In time, Dolpopa became one of the most influential and original yet controversial of Tibetan Buddhist teachers, systemizing Buddha-nature and Yogacara-Madhyamaka teachings in teaching known as shentong.

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Dolpopa retired from the leadership of Jonang Monastery in 1338 and appointed the translator lotsawa Lodro Bal to succeed him.

In line with the Buddha-nature teachings and the prevalent Yogacara-Madhyamaka synthesis, Dolpopa interpreted sunyata as twofold, distinguishing the conventional "emptiness of self-nature", and the ultimate "emptiness of other", which is the clear nature of mind.

Dolpopa taught that emptiness of self-nature applied only to relative truth, while emptiness of other is characteristic of ultimate truth, i e ultimate Reality is not empty of its own uncreated and deathless Truth, but only of what is impermanent and illusory.

Dolpopa employed the term 'Self' or 'Soul' to refer to the ultimate truth, that, according to him, lay at the heart of all being.

Hookham further points out that Dolpopa really envisioned the Buddha within each being as an actual, living truth and presence, not conditioned or generated by any temporal process of causation:.

Dolpopa uses many scriptural citations to support his view, drawing upon sutras and tantras to substantiate his understanding of Mahayana and tantric teachings on definitive truth.

Dolpopa explains that the worldling believes he has self, permanence, bliss, and purity; he sees these qualities in what does not have them.

Cyrus Stearns points out that for Dolpopa, spiritual awareness or jnana is a key constituent of the Buddhist path and allows the practitioner to burn away veils of ignorance and thus to see the eternal qualities of the Buddha's body of reality :.

Dolpopa found a strong supporter and advocate in the later Jonangpa lama, Taranatha, who was keen to spread Dolpopa's ideas.

Entire corpus of Dolpopa's writings was completely suppressed by the dominant Gelug school for several hundred years, for both doctrinal and political reasons.