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| Khedrup Je | |
|---|---|
| Name | Khedrup Je |
| Dharma name | Khedrup Gelek Pelzang |
| Birth date | 1385 |
| Birth place | Ü-Tsang, Tibet |
| Death date | 1438 |
| School | Gelug |
| Teacher | Je Tsongkhapa |
| Students | Gedun Drub, Shakya Yeshe, Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen |
Khedrup Je Khedrup Je was a principal Tibetan Buddhist scholar and disciple of Je Tsongkhapa who became a founding figure of the Gelug school. He played key roles in scholastic formation, monastic reform, and the transmission of tantric and sutric lineages, influencing figures across Tibet, Mongolia, and Bhutan. His works and institutional foundations remain central to studies of Je Tsongkhapa, Gelugpa doctrine, and Tibetan monastic history.
Born in 1385 in central Ü-Tsang, Khedrup Je received early training at prominent centers such as Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, and Ganden Monastery. He studied under teachers including Je Tsongkhapa, Kunga Rangjung, and other scholars associated with Sakya, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions. His curriculum encompassed classical commentaries on the Prajnaparamita, Abhidharma texts like those studied at Nalanda, and tantric manuals preserved in lineages connected to Indo-Tibetan transmissions.
As a close disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, Khedrup Je collaborated in establishing the scholastic regulations and ritual protocols that defined the nascent Gelug order at Ganden Monastery. He served alongside contemporaries such as Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen, Rashtrimpa Thangtong, and Sakya Pandita-linked scholars in debates at gatherings that included representatives from Narthang and Shalu Monastery. His authority informed the incorporation of texts from Atisha, Buddhasena, and commentarial lines traced to Bharatrāja and Vasubandhu within Gelug curricula.
Khedrup Je authored influential commentaries and treatises on Madhyamaka, Pramana epistemology, and tantric practice, engaging with sources such as Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Dignaga, and Dharmakirti. His exegeses addressed stages of the path modeled on works like the Lamrim tradition and included analyses of commentarial chains connecting Shantarakshita and Atisha. He produced glosses on tantric cycles venerated in Sakya and Kagyu contexts and cited authorities such as Padmasambhava, Tilopa, and Naropa when situating tantric praxis within Gelug ethical frameworks.
Khedrup Je helped formalize ordination procedures and monastic discipline embodied at institutions including Ganden, Drepung, and Sera. He advocated for standardized curricula incorporating logic from Dignaga and Dharmakirti, and scriptural study of Abhidharma texts preserved in collections comparable to those at Nalanda and Vikramashila. His administrative and ritual initiatives influenced monastic codes later referenced by successors such as Gedun Drub and debated during assemblies that involved representatives from Lhasa and Shigatse.
Iconographic depictions of Khedrup Je in thangkas and statues often appear alongside representations of Je Tsongkhapa, Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen, and other founding Gelug figures, mirroring portrayals common in the visual programs of Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. Prominent disciples included Gedun Drub (the First Dalai Lama), Shakya Yeshe, and figures active in transmission to Mongolia and Bhutan. His lineage connections extend to later Gelug hierarchs and to scholastic exchanges with scholars from Kagyu and Sakya houses.
Khedrup Je died in 1438; his death was commemorated in ritual cycles observed at Ganden and by Gelug communities in Lhasa, Shigatse, and monastic networks in Mongolia. His writings and institutional work shaped the development of the Gelugpa ordination system and scholastic canon later carried forward by figures like Tsongkhapa's disciples and the successive holders of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama lines. Veneration continues through ritual liturgies, thangka painting traditions, and scholastic citations preserved in monastic libraries across Tibet and the Himalayan region.
Category:Tibetan lamas Category:Gelug