When we speak of “Teaching on the Commentary Composed by Jetsun Sherab Sengey”, we enter a sacred terrain of Tibetan Buddhist tantric lineage, centered particularly in the Gelug tradition. Jetsun Sherab Senge (also spelled Sherab Sengge) is revered as one of the principal disciples and tantric heirs of Je Tsongkhapa, and his role in preserving, elaborating, and transmitting tantric commentarial literature is of deep importance. In this blog I seek to sketch his life and context, then explore the meaning and value of the “commentary” in question and finally reflect on what it means to teach on such a work in modern times.
Historical and Biographical Context
Jetsun Sherab Senge was born in 1382 or 1383 (some sources give 1383) in Gurme, Tsang, Tibet. From a relatively early age, he pursued monastic training, entering Nartang Monastery (a major early Gelug-affiliated college) and receiving transmission of sutric and tantric teachings from eminent teachers of his time.
He later became one of Je Tsongkhapa’s closest disciples, particularly in the tantric branch of his teachings. The central episode in the tradition is this: when Je Tsongkhapa, nearing the end of his life, conferred his great commentary on the Guhyasamaja Tantra (a paramount tantra in his system) among a gathering of disciples, he famously asked, “Who will uphold and preserve my tantric lineage?”
According to the story, Jetsun Sherab Senge stepped forward when others hesitated, pledged himself to maintain and transmit the tantric teachings, and was thereby entrusted as the tantric heir. He was gifted with sacred ritual implements, commentarial texts, and empowerments to fulfill that role.
In 1433, he founded the Lower Tantra College (Gyüme) in Lhasa, a major institutional locus for tantric study and practice in the Gelug tradition. Through his efforts, the tantric practices of the Gelug school (Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara, Yamantaka, etc.) were stabilized and propagated, particularly in the region of Tsang (western Tibet) and in later centuries beyond Tibet itself. As a testament to his lineage, the Sed-Gyued (or Segyu) tradition of tantric teaching claims a direct line from him.
Thus, Jetsun Sherab Senge is not merely a commentator or scholar, but a living hinge for the tantric continuity of Tsongkhapa’s system. When one speaks of “Teaching on the Commentary Composed by Jetsun Sherab Sengey”, one is touching directly the transmission vessel of his authority, wisdom, and realization.
The Nature of the “Commentary” and Its Teaching
What exactly is the “commentary” in question? The references to “Teaching on the Commentary Composed by Jetsun Sherab Sengey” often appear in the context of tantric workshops or discourse series organized by Sed Gyued monasteries or associated lineages. Though the available sources do not always state precisely which root tantra and which commentary is being taught, much suggests that it refers to the Fourfold Interwoven Commentary on Guhyasamaja, or related commentaries on tantric generation and completion stages associated with Guhyasamaja.
The Guhyasamaja Tantra holds preeminence in Tsongkhapa’s tantric system; he wrote extensive root texts, commentaries, and scholastic expositions on it, and his tantric lineage emphasizes the practice and study of Guhyasamaja as a central pillar. The “Fourfold Interwoven Commentary” is one of Tsongkhapa’s major expositions on Guhyasamaja, integrating generation and completion stages in a unified presentation. Therefore, teaching a commentary by Sherab Senge likely means explicating his interpretative remarks on Tsongkhapa’s text (or related lineage expositions) clarifying doctrinal subtleties, remedying potential misinterpretations, and connecting them with meditative application.
In teaching on such a commentary, several layers of engagement become essential:
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Historical lineage context — The student must be aware of how Sherab Senge’s commentary sits within the broader Tsongkhapa–Gelug tantric lineage. When Sherab Senge accepted the charge to uphold the tantric tradition, he did not merely recite a text; he incarnated the interpretative heart of that tradition. Thus, any commentary he composed carries not just textual value, but lineage authority.
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Philosophical and doctrinal elucidation — Tantric texts, especially Guhyasamaja and its commentaries, often condense profound views in terse symbolic language. A teacher must unpack issues such as deity identity and function, the generation-stage yogic visualization, the meaning of “two stages” (generation vs completion), subtle points about emptiness and method, and how to reconcile nonduality with meditational dual reference. The commentary by Sherab Senge likely addresses contentious points or interpretive difficulties that earlier or later students encountered.
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Practical integration with meditation and retreat — A commentary is not meant purely for intellectual study. In tantric systems, the point is to support, refine, and guide actual tantric practice. Thus a teacher must bridge the theoretical and the experiential: explaining how certain lines in the commentary translate into meditational stance, mantra recitation, inner yogic sequence, internal dissolutions, and completion-stage practices.
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Adaptation to students’ level — Not all disciples possess equal foundation in debate, logic, philosophy, or prior tantric training. A good teaching will gauge the maturity of the students and pace the presentation accordingly, offering more scaffolding or conjectures when needed.
Therefore, the teaching of Sherab Senge’s commentary is not a mechanical reading; it is a living transmission moment, where meaning is reawakened and adapted to a new generation of practitioners.
Why This Teaching Matters Today
In our modern era, Buddhist practitioners globally face challenges of continuity, textual integrity, and authentic lineage. Many teachings can be transmitted loosely, without firm grounding in lineage or without deep textual engagement. The Teaching on the Commentary Composed by Jetsun Sherab Sengey is especially relevant today for several reasons:
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Preserving lineage purity: Since Sherab Senge was the trusted tantric heir of Tsongkhapa, his commentarial works are uniquely authoritative. Teaching from his commentary helps ensure that meanings are not drifted or diluted but maintain fidelity to the original tradition.
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Bridging tradition and contemporaneity: Modern students often live far from the Tibetan monasteries, in different cultural and linguistic milieus. To keep the tantric tradition vibrant, one needs teachers who can translate not just the language but the meditative spirit for new contexts. Teaching on Sherab Senge’s commentary offers that bridge: rooted in the old, alive in the new.
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Deepening understanding beyond ritual: Many practitioners may engage in ritual, mantra, deity visualization, but find themselves unclear on why things are done in a certain way. A well-explained commentary discloses the rationale, symbolism, and inner structure behind rituals, enhancing faith with clarity.
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Cultivating integration of study and practice: In many Buddhist traditions, there is a tension: scholars study, meditators practice, and they rarely merge. A teaching on Sherab Senge’s commentary inherently demands combining rigorous textual insight with meditative discipline. That integrative ideal is particularly relevant today, when fragmentation is common.
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Uplifting the tantric colleges and monastic connection: In exile and diaspora, Tibetan tantric colleges such as Gyüme and Gyutö depend on a living stream of teachings to stay vital. Public teachings of Sherab Senge’s commentaries can help build renewed connection between lay students, international sanghas, and the monastic heart of tantra. His role is explicitly acknowledged in modern Gyüme ceremonies.
In sum, teaching his commentary is more than scholarly reverence; it is a mode of tantric preservation, renewal, and communication.
Challenges and Guidelines for Teaching It
Teaching such a commentary is a demanding task, and a few challenges frequently arise. Recognizing these and adopting guidelines can help the teacher and students alike:
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Complexity and brevity of tantric text
Tantric texts tend to be dense, symbolic, and allusive. The commentator (Sherab Senge) may not always spell out every intermediate step. The teacher must often reconstruct or supply missing links (explanatory expansions), drawing on root tantras, other commentarial traditions, or oral instructions. -
Risk of misinterpretation or syncretism
Without careful lineage guidance, interpretations can slip into speculative readings. One must constantly cross-check meaning with recognized lineage commentary, cross-referencing earlier and later masters in the same tradition (e.g. Tsongkhapa’s own commentaries, or later Gelug commentators). -
Maintaining balance between reverence and critical inquiry
Students who revere the lineage may hesitate to question subtle points. Yet authentic engagement demands critical reasoning—posing doubts, raising alternative readings, reexamining assumptions. A living commentary teaching should allow respectful inquiry. -
Time & pacing
A long commentary may require dozens of sessions; compressing it may lead to superficial treatment, while dragging may lose the attention of students. A judicious outline and scaffolded plan (core sections first, peripheral ones later) helps. -
Balancing translation, explanation, and meditation pointers
In multilingual or cross-cultural settings, translation is necessary. But a teaching should not be only translation + commentary; each section should ideally conclude with how practitioners may reflect, meditate, or apply the content. -
Supportive materials and preparation
Good handouts, textual cross-references, recommended preparatory texts (e.g. root tantra, earlier commentaries) can make the teaching more accessible. Encouraging students to pre-read or submit questions in advance helps.
When teaching, a possible structure could be:
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Opening with lineage homage and contextual framing (how Sherab Senge received the commentary, his role)
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Reading a passage of the commentary aloud
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Offering layered translation and gloss
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Revealing the doctrinal import (how it solves or clarifies a knot in tantric method)
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Highlighting meditational pointers, experiential integration
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Encouraging questions, debate, and alternate readings
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Summarizing and connecting to the next segment
A Sample Thematic Focus: Deity Identity and Union
To illustrate how one might teach a piece from such a commentary, consider the theme of deity identity and the meaning of “union” (of method and wisdom) in tantric practice. Sherab Senge’s commentary might elaborate on lines where the text asserts “the deity is emptiness yet appears,” or “in the illusory body, the primordial wisdom and method unite as inseparable.”
A teacher might begin by explaining the two truths perspective how the deity, as an object of meditation, is not separate from emptiness (ultimate truth) but appears from compassion (conventional). Then, one could unpack how the commentary clarifies that the “union” is not a merger of two distinct entities, but a nondual realization in which method and wisdom co-emerge. The teacher could compare other commentators’ takes, show how Sherab Senge’s wording nuances possible pitfalls (for instance, avoiding eternalism or nihilism), and finally suggest meditational reflections: contemplating the deity in dissolution, or in the stage of clear light, or integrating the view-meditation in daily practice.
This careful layering meaning, lineage nuance, comparative view, and meditation instruction exemplifies how a teaching on Sherab Senge’s commentary becomes a bridge from text to awakening.
Concluding Reflections
The Teaching on the Commentary Composed by Jetsun Sherab Sengey is not merely an academic event or a ritual recital. It is a living continuation of the tantric lineage that preserves the heart of Tsongkhapa’s system. To teach it is to assume responsibility not only for doctrinal fidelity but also for enlivening meditational connection in students. For modern Buddhist practitioners far from the Tibetan heartland, such a teaching is a gift: a chance to reconnect with an unbroken line, to deepen understanding beyond superficial ritual, and to carry forward an authentic tantric tradition into new contexts.
If you ever attend or lead such a series, may your mind remain humble, your study rigorous, your meditation faithful, and your compassion boundless so that the commentary’s meaning may fructify in genuine realization, not just intellectual admiration.