Translation Practice of Tibetan Religious History
Khedrubje Gelek Pelzang was born in Tsang in 1385, better known as Khedrup Je. His father, Gunga Tashi Pelzang, was a member of the Se, a famous clan in Tsang, and his mother was Budren Gyelmo. He learned from Khenchen Sengge Gyeltsen, and then started his tour to give initiations around Tsang .
From the age of sixteen he studied at the Sakya monastery of Ngamring Chode, training with Bodong Chokley Namgyel, the founder of the Bodong tradition, who taught him logic and philosophy. Bodong rised a great argument to criticize the controversy in the Treasure of Logic on Valid Cognition, one of the well-know books from Sakya Pandita. Even respected Buddhist scholars were not able to answer the question. After a discussion, Khedrup Je was nominated to engage the debate when he was 16 years old. Even back then, he was a powerful speaker, drawing on his deep knowledge of the scriptures to form powerful arguments for the topic. Bodong Chokley Namgyel was impressed by his logic and wisdom. This debate was recored by other scholars present, also Khedrup Je cited some arguments of this debate in his book.
Khedrub Je received instructions from Tsongkhapa, whose reforms to Atiśa's Kadam tradition are considered the beginnings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism when he was 18 years old. He wined the debate with a highly regarded scholar in Nyingma.At the age of forty-nine, Gelek Pelzang was asked by Gyeltsab to take the golden throne of Ganden, becoming the third man to occupy the seat after Tsongkhapa and Gyeltsab Darma Rinchen. At Ganden Khedrup taught extensively, gave many initiations, and personally guided some of the most renowned scholars of the era to mastery of the tradition. He passed away there in 1438, at the age of fifty-four.