“It is said that when the mantra yogis pass away, the heros and heroines lead them to the realm of the dakinis/space-movers. It is also very common in the biographies of the Sarma siddhas that this happens. The reason why it is possible to avert/repel such “untimely summons” is this ritual of Drowa Zangmo that accomplishes it.” –17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje from Ecstatic Music of the Bliss Dakinis: Repelling Summons (2025)
Translator’s Introduction
As the final, third section of the Three Roots Unified trilogy of texts by the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, here is a translation of the introduction and colophon of a text, which the 17th Karmapa calls “Ecstatic Music of the Bliss Dakini: An easy to perform offering to repel “unwelcome” dakinis according to the tradition of Dakini Drowa Zangmo” (མཁའ་འགྲོའི་བསུན་ཟློག་འབུལ་ཚུལ་འཁྱེར་བདེ་བ་ཌཱ་ཀི་དགྱེས་པའི་རོལ་མོ་)[i].
For my recent translations of the Introductions of the other two texts in the 17th Karmapa’s trilogy, see here:
1) Three Roots Unified/Abandoning Falsehoods and
2) Castle of Indestructible Life-Force Method for Long-Life Offering (Ten-Zhug)
I have also compiled these three text translations into one e-book, available for free download as a pdf file here: E-book Three Roots 17th Gyalwang Karmapa 2025 and from the academia.edu website.
In the third text (downloadable as pdf file here: Ecstatic Music of Bliss Dakini repelling summons in Drowa Zangmo tradition by 17th Karmapa translated Adele Tomlin, the 17th Karmapa gives the life-story of a woman/dakini called Drowa Zangmo whom he describes as the female secret wisdom teacher and consort of Gyalwa Gotsangpa (1189-1258)[i]. She then reincarnated as a practitioner and lineage holder of the Rechungpa whispered lineage (according to her former student Ogyenpa Rinchen Pel (1229-1309)). The 17th Karmapa ponders as to whether this means that Drowa Zangmo (Dro-Zang) was the first female tulku in Tibet.
Wisdom woman Drowa Zangmo “Excellent Mover”: first female tulku in Tibet and Gotsangpa’s consort
Drowa Zangmo (which literally means “Excellent Mover (or Go-er)[ii]”, is said to be the dakini origin of this particular method for repelling untimely death (or what are called “untimely dakini summons”). And she was said to have given the long-life ceremony to Gotsangpa (and also possibly his disciple, Ogyenpa).
As with the 17th Karmapa’s previous [second] text on the Original Buddhist sources that support the practice of Long-Life Offering (Ten-Zhug) in Tibet, the 17th Karmapa provides original research on the history of this tradition and the life-story of the female wisdom dakini, Drowa Zangmo. By doing so, the 17th Karmapa also mentions, and (indirectly) challenges, the claim that the second [back-dated] Dalai Lama, Gedun Gyatso’s mother was her incarnation, stating that there are no historical sources to support it. But that her incarnation seems certain to have been Kunden Rema of the Kagyu lineage passed down from Rechungpa, according to Ogyenpa Rinchen Pel and other historical sources.
One of the sources cited by the 17th Karmapa in this text is the Lho-rong History (Lho-rong Cho-Jung) fifteenth century (written before the Gelug-Mongol invasion and takeover of Tibet), a historical text about the Kagyu lineages in particular, by Taglung Kagyu master, Tatshag Tshewanggyel (rta tshag tshe dbang rgyal )[iii]. Other root source texts cited include biographies of Ogyenpa Rinchen Pel and Gyalwa Gotsangpa himself.
The 17th Karmapa shares interesting anecdotal stories from those sources of Drowa Zangmo’s pith instructions to Ogyenpa about practising one taste/equanimity while he was meditating within a toilet pit with maggots, and the faulty concept of a “meditation environment”. Her life-story (as with many other female teachers and consorts of male siddha yogis) provides an example of a female teacher of great accomplished Tibetan masters, directly and truthfully poking holes into their clinging, attachment and desire for comfort and sensory pleasure[iv].
Drowa Zangmo incarnation as Kunden Rema: first female tulku of Tibet?
The 17th Karmapa concludes that it is clear that Drowa Zangmo was the close student-consort of Gotsangpa and teacher to Ogyenpa. Her incarnation as a Rechung lineage holder, Kunden Rema, suggests she could be the first female tulku in Tibet, according to the 17th Karmapa.
Interestingly, there is no mention at all of this dakini/wisdom woman, Drowa Zangmo in the biography of Gotsangpa by Dr. Alex Gardner (Director of Treasury of Lives) on the TOL website. In fact, the biography is very short and brief for such an important and influential figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Also, there are no references to original Tibetan textual sources, which considering that I was told is essential by Gardner when my two biographies for the TOL were peer-reviewed. Perhaps some kind of double standards for me as a female scholar-translator? The TOL biography of Ogyenpa, contains a very brief reference to her in relation to her incarnation as Kunden Rema. However, even that biography (by Joe McLellan) does not have any biographical information about Drowa Zangmo either.
So, the 17th Karmapa’s new textually sourced research and life-story of Drowa Zangmo, consort of Gotsangpa, as well as Ogyenpa’s teacher, is thus valuable in fleshing those biographies out with women’s voices and life-stories. I have sent this new translation and research to Gardner and Mclellan for inclusion/updating.
Drugpa and Karma Kagyu roots: Challenging Gelug “ownership” of the Khandro Long-Life Offering
The 17th Karmapa also details how Drowa Zangmo passed away, and why this tradition of offering long life and repelling untimely death summons is easy to carry out and beneficial than others. In particular, how the well-known Gelugpa Dakini Long-Life ritual, is actually the one passed down from the Drugpa Kagyu, the one that originated from the founder and unifier of Bhutan, and was from this tradition. One can only wonder if this practice was taken over by Gelupgas before they violently suppressed and chased the Drugpa Kagyu out of Tibet and Ladakh with the Mongolian army, or afterwards though!
Also, in this new text, although it is not explicitly presented that way, the claim that the 2nd Dalai Lama’s mother was this wisdom woman is also challenged by the 17th Karmapa with scriptural and spiritual authority. This subtle and understated research can thus also be viewed as a “re-writing” of the dominating Gelug sectarian textual and intellectual narratives prevalent since the 17th Century onward.
Such re-writing can easily be read between the lines in the intellectual and research activities of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley. Other examples of this, can be seen in how the 17th Karmapa explained in detail how the Mind Only/Yogacara Madhyamika teachings in Tibet have been unwisely and unfairly dismissed by Tibetans themselves. As we all know, the Gelug sectarians insisted for centuries (with the support of their mass censorship of other texts and violent Mongolian army invasion) that the Prasangika Madhyamika (Rang-tong) view is the only ultimate view of the nature of reality. The 17th Karmapa also recently provided alternative, older non-Gelug sources than the well-known one of Je Tsongkhapa for the important Indian text, the Fifty Verses on a Guru, on how to serve a Vajrayana guru[v].
Conclusion
In those respects, this final text in the 17th Karmapa’s Three Roots trilogy, is remarkable and extremely valuable as it is not only the work of the supreme head of the Karma Kagyu, 17th Karmapa, which revives an important long-life repelling and subduing Vajrayana tradition in the Three Roots Unified of the Karma Kagyu lineage, but also brings to life, the example and inspiration of a female wisdom woman, Drowa Zangmo. A woman who established the main abode of Gyalwa Gotsangpa and gave important philosophical and meditation teachings to both him and his student Ogyenpa on the nature of mind, emptiness and “one taste” equanimity.
A woman who established the main abode of Gyalwa Gotsangpa and gave important philosophical and meditation teachings to both him and his siddha student Ogyenpa on the nature of mind, emptiness and “one taste” equanimity. A woman who is also said to have incarnated as Kunden Rema, in the lineage of Rechungpa, a student of Milarepa. Making her perhaps (as the 17th Karmapa suggested) the first public example of a female tulku in Tibet. As such female biographies are rare indeed, in particular those translated by female translators [vi], I hope that this translation also is a way to support and welcome such an addition to not only Karma Kagyu, but also the Tibetan Buddhist intellectual and spiritual history and legacy.
Translated, written, and edited by Adele Tomlin. 3rd August 2025. Copyright.
Endnotes
[i] See the Treasury of Lives biography of Gotsangpa here: https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Gotsangpa-Gonpo-Dorje/3759
[ii] I have translated the Tibetan word Dro-wa as “mover” because “go-er” in English has both positive and slightly sexual undertones to it, depending on the context and tone in which it is used!
[iii] It is said the work was written between 1446 and 1447 on the estate of Tatshag Gang ( rTa-tshag sgang ) in Lhorong ( lHo-rong ) , corrected in 1451, and a copy dates from 1460.
[iv] For example, I wrote about the overlooked female teachers and the great Indian Mahasiddha, Tīlopa here, who declared “Dakini is Truth!”: https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/10/31/dakini-is-truthtilopas-female-teachers-and-entering-unconventional-conduct-tulzhug/
[v] Also, in the 17th Karmapa’s recent teachings on the important Vajrayana Fifty Verses on the Guru root Indian text, of which Je Tsongkhapa’s commentary (up until recently) has been considered the only/main one. However, the 17th Karmapa brings out other textual sources and commentaries that came prior to Je Tsongkhapa that have never been brought to the forefront and that are seemingly sometimes identical in content.
[vi] The Treasury of Lives recently launched a funded project to re-dress the major imbalance of female biographies on their website. However, it is noticeable how many of those biographies were translated by men (particularly white men), as opposed to qualified, able and willing female translators, such as myself! In fact, one of the biographies incorporated sexist, ageist patriarchal tropes about women, not only hijacking the woman’s story with male narratives but promoting them (see my article about that here). This was also done by the scholar, Michael Sheehy’s treatment of the biography of Kunga Trinley Zangmo, said to have been the secret consort of Je Taranatha, and Zhentong lineage holder. Wangmo was also said to be the mother of the 5th Dalai Lama himself, according to a leading scholar on Taranatha, Dr. David Templeman.