Jikten Sumgön's Leaves his Hometown the First Time & Returns

 
"The Serkhang Chojé," a most blessed statue of Kyobpa Rinpoché enshrined in the Golden Temple at Drikung Thil Monastery.

When he was 15, Jikten Sumgön’s home area was struck with a severe drought. There was much suffering in the area, causing his father to even have to part with his personal Dharma texts in exchange for a little food for his family. In that same year, his father passed away. In the next year, his mother passed away as well. And one year later, one of his closest teachers also passed away. 

At the age of 18, with the painful truth of impermanence deeply in his mind, he decided to
leave his hometown in search of more Dharma teachings from other teachers. When he bade his Kadampa teacher Kyebupa farewell, Kyebupa predicted that Jikten Sumgön “will be a great master like Geshé Langri Thangpa (1054-1123), perhaps even greater!” Jikten Sumgön departed for the south and benefited the ordinary people there by reading sutras, meditating and performing other Dharma activities. In particular, while in the south he also received Vajrayoginī teachings from the lama, Sangyé Yeshé.

After spending three years in the southern part, Jikten Sumgön returned to his hometown. After his return, his younger sister married a certain local patron by the name of Akar. His sister was the junior wife of Akar. Unable to bear the constant scoldings and mistreatments from Akar, Jikten Sumgön’s sister eventually committed suicide. An argument over her funeral escalated a serious fued between the two clans. In order to pacify the fued and prevent further loss of lives, Jikten Sumgön paid an astrologer to determine that only someone born in the Year of the Pig can be entrusted with his sister’s funeral. In that way, Jikten Sumgön was given her sister’s corpse (since that was his birth-year) and put in charged of the funeral. Consequently, much harm was averted for the two clans. Not long after the funeral, Akar’s health deteriorated due to “wind” (Tib. lung) problems and no doctor was able to help. Instead, Jikten Sumgön gave some special instructions to Akar and by following them Akar recovered. This caused Akar to have great faith in Jikten Sumgön and to support him.

Through the connection of Akar, Jikten Sumgön was introduced to a patron by the name of Nyazang who sponsored Jikten Sumgön when he entered into retreat after the death of his sister. At Lungmoche, he practiced assiduously. In the daytime he would rest his mind in the state of Mahāmūdra and in the night he would practice the generation-stage of Vajrayoginī. A year into his retreat, Nyazang came with some offerings and requested to see Jikten Sumgön. Although Jikten Sumgön accepted his offerings, he declined to see Nyazang. Instead of praising Nyazang with sweet words and flattery, Jikten Sumgön said, “These offerings are neither the result of one’s own virtuous actions, nor worldly pursuits, nor the kindness of patrons. These appeared due to the kindness of the Lama and the Three Jewels.” A year later, when Nyazang once again visited Jikten Sumgön, he brought even more offerings as he had heard that Jikten Sumgön’s health was weak due to his rigorous practice in retreat. On this occasion, Jikten Sumgön met with Nyazang briefly. In later years, Jikten Sumgön would use this as an example to teach his students not to strive to gain others’ favor but to only diligently focus on their own practice. He said to them, “The more you seek others’ favor, the less you will receive it. If you try to grasp on to it, it will escape you. But when you don’t want it, it will come to you by itself.”

As his practice advanced, so did his blessings and powers increase. Once, an advanced tantric practitioner who had been afflicted with an illness for twelve years came to Jikten Sumgön in hopes of being freed from the illness through Jikten Sumgön’s blessings. Before he even arrived at Jikten Sumgön’s retreat hermitage, his ailment miraculously
cleared. On another occasion, when Jikten Sumgön paid a visit to a dying person, the person surprised everyone by fully recovering after Jikten Sumgön said some simple prayers such as the Refuge prayer. In this way, his reputation for having magnificent blessings spread far and wide.

There was once a robber who stole a horse and an ox from Jikten Sumgön’s patron, Akar.  After stealing from Akar, the robber proceeded to Jikten Sumgön’s hermitage and demanded that Jikten Sumgön turn over to him all his belongings. When Jikten Sumgön told him that he was only a simple lay-practitioner with nothing worth stealing, the robber did not believe him and demanded to intrude into Jikten Sumgön’s retreat and did so even though Jikten Sumgön warned him that his powerful Dharma-protectors might be offended by the intrusion.  That night, the robber mysteriously died as he was drinking beer with a
group of fellow-drinkers. In this way, word of Jikten Sumgön’s power spread around and many treated him with a mixture of respect and fear. Jikten Sumgön himself would later regard his reputation as a powerful practitioner to be a fault. He told his disciples, “Whenever anyone in conflict with my patrons die, others say it was caused by me. Possessing great power was my fault.”

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