Series: Mongolian authors writing in Tibetan language preserved at the National Library of Mongolia
Chakdor (Phyag rdor, 1868/9-1934), a.k.a. Čaǧdor (Anggi Šaǧdor)
“First, awaken to one’s own heritage of the Great Vehicle. Relying on that, cultivate compassion to take on the burden of suffering. Then, obtain the view of the Middle Way by properly contemplating until you realize ignorance, i.e., clinging to a reality, which is the cause of suffering. Thereupon, cultivate compassion to take on the burden of bliss. Then, cultivate the mind of awakening. These are the stages for how a sharp-minded person, who is definite in the Great Vehicle lineage, generates the mind of supreme awakening.”
– A testimony of Chakdor’s disciple Lamaajav in The Biography of Anggi Chakdor (Ang gi Phyag rdor gyi rnam thar)
Chakdor was born in the Gobi Mergen Wang banner of Khalkha Mongolian Tüsiyetü Qan province (Altanshireet, Dornogov’). Studying at a local monastery until the age of eighteen, he matriculated at Tashi Chöpel monastic college in Ih Hüree, where he flourished and became a great scholar and logician. For his remarkable skill in debate and exceptional ability in memorization, he was referred to by his colleagues and students as the “anggi,” meaning the best among his cohort. Although his collected works are said to consist of nine volumes published in Ih Hüree, only two to three volumes seem to have survived; these were published in Ulaanbaatar in 2008.
ALL is actively preserving the National Library of Mongolia where the writings of these fascinating scholars exist.
