Shar Kelden Gyatso

Kelden Gyatso (Kalden Gyatso, Kelden Repa, Tibetan: སྐལ་ལྡན་རྒྱ་མཚོ, Wylie: Skal ldan rgya mtsho) (1607-1677) was a 17th-century Tibetan poet, scholar, and siddha. He was the first of the Rongwo Drubchen tulku lineage, and an important figure for Buddhism in Amdo, a region of north-eastern Tibet. The founder of a religious college and a seminary for tantric studies in Rebgong, throughout his life Kelden struggled between his desire to become a recluse hermit and his responsibility to these institutions. While he was ordained and taught in the Gelug school, he had a special affinity for Milarepa, the legendary Tibetan poet of the Kagyu school.

Buddhist resurgence in Amdo Along with the larger Gelug rise to power, Kelden Gyatso is seen as instrumental in the revival of Buddhism in Amdo in the 17th century. According to his biography, he had many students in his lifetime, many of whom followed his example by returning to their own regions and founding colleges and seminaries for tantric studies.