Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s1.t7.12

v1.c7.s1.t7.12

“Vbri gung bkav brgyud pa”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by rin chen dpal (also known as skyob pa vjig rten mgon po, 1143～1217 CE), disciple of phag mo grub pa. Rin chen dpal was born in dan-ma (present-day Dengke County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province) and served as an abbot of a small temple in vbri gung. In 1179 CE, he started massive construction and extended the small temple into vbri gung mthil. In particular, rin chen dpal carried out religious activities such as preaching Buddhist dharma and precept, abstaining from alcohol and meat and teaching unique esoteric Buddhism and consequently vbri gung mthil became a temple in which many monks practiced, founding vbri gung bkav brgyud pa.