Disciples celebrate Jamyang Gyamco’ birthday in a low-key fashion.

Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province, one of the six major temples of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, is also the residence of Jamyang Gyamco, the revered Buddhist master and mentor of the 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu. Very few people knew that September 8th is his 85th birthday, and his only celebration was sharing cake with some disciples in the meditation room.

 
Panchen Lama and Jamyang Gyamco at a ceremony.

Since enthronement, the Panchen Lama has been given the Esoteric abhiseka initiation more than 1000 times, and  Jamyang Gyamco is his ordination abbot. At every lesson, the Panchen Lama would only sit down after his mentor did, and always walked his mentor out.  Jamyang Gyamco has explained it this way, “The 10th Panchen Lama was my mentor, and the one before was also my mentor, because of this generational link, I was recommended to be the ordination abbot for the 11th Panchen Lama.”

  
Jamyang Gyamco offers a picture of the Buddha to the Panchen Lama.

While  Jamyang Gyamco is widely considered a “rare Gelug master,” he is very humble. He has said, “My Buddhist learning still needs work, so I could only give the Panchen Lama introductory lessons

Jamyang Gyamco has conducted Kalachakra rituals in Gansu province in 2012 and 2015 with great success, with more than 100 thousand people in attendance. The provincial leaders of Gansu have twice visited  Jamyang Gyamco and highly praised him.

This Buddhist master and monk, considered a “rare Gelug master,” is extraordinarily low-key in everyday life.

  
Jamyang Gyamco's residence is inside this group of squat monk dorms.

Some fans have tried to visit  Jamyang Gyamco at the Labrang Monastery, but realized he actually lived inside this group of low-ceilinged monk dorms, unlike some living Buddhas’ grandiose residential palaces. “There is no tall buildings nor big mansions,” even the gate was just some glazed wood panels, showing the true colors of the material.

After one passes the gate, there is a spotless yard, where Jamyang Gyamco lives in a small room of less than 10 sqm. His lodging is shockingly basic: a single bed topped with a Tibetan-style table, a bookshelf with Buddhist books, and almost no furniture.

Wen Hui Po has reported on the luxury trend among Chinese Buddhist architecture, with temples becoming bigger and more luxurious every day. Some monks would use their birthdays or holidays for huge events and make money for themselves, completely abandoning the frugal ideals and anti-waste movement in contemporary Chinese society, as well as betraying the Buddhist beliefs of “not pursing personal comfort but the salvation of everyone,” not to mention Buddhist teachings and discipline. 

There are very few well-known monks in China today, much less master monks. The commercial trend at the temples has violated the purpose of their existence, troubling many Buddhist scholars. Perhaps  Jamyang Gyamco's example could enlighten some of us?