| Type | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Kaḥtok (ཀཿཐོག་) |
| Period | 12th century |
| Transliteration form | Kaḥ thog |
| Pronunciation | Katok |
| Etymology | the letter Ka-on top of |
| Sectarian affiliation | Nyingma |
| Source of information | Dung dkar blo bzang 'phrin las. 2002. Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang. Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center #G17 |
| Location | Near Pombor Gang in Kham, on the banks of the Drichu River. |
| Nation | China |
| Province | Sichuan |
| District | Pombor Gang (spo 'bor sgang) |
| Cultural location | Kham |
| Location's language | Kham dialect (khams skad) |
| Location description | "The monastery was established on top of terrain connected to Ka hill and which looks like the letter Ka. Because of this, it became renowned as Kaḥthok." |
| Date founded | 1159 |
| Founder | Kadampa Deshek (ka dam pa bde gshegs) [1122-1192] |
Kaḥtok is a monastery that was previously founded in the middle of the 12th century, in the Earth Rabbit year (1159) of the third Tibetan sixty-year cycle, by the great Nyingma doctrine-holder Kadampa Deshek [1122-1192] in a region near [the Kham district of] Pombor Gang, on the banks of the Drichu River. Nowadays it exists in the Tibetan autonomous region of Kardzé in the province of Sichuan. Kadampa Deshek’s root lama, Dzamtön [Drogön], said to him, “Go to the abode of Kampo [Kam Lotsāwa] and practice!” It was prophesied that, “If he went to a region called Kaḥtok, the [Buddhist] teachings would come to be greatly increased.” Accordingly, he was 38 years old, and in the Earth Rabbit year (1159) of the third Tibetan sixty-year cycle the monastery was established on top of terrain connected to Ka hill and which looks like the letter Ka. Because of this, it became renowned as Kaḥthok. There were thirteen in that monastery’s abbatial line, from Kadampa’s disciple Tsangtön Dorjé Gyeltsen to the learned and accomplished Yeshé Gyelsten; these came to be known as the thirteen gurus of Kaḥtok. A detailed history of this is illuminated in pages 309-312 of the “Gutra Chöjung” composed by the eternal and virtuous Guru Trashi. (Dung dkar 2002, p.4)