Kunzang in full Kuntu Zangpo (Kun tu bzang po), was a prince of the Rinpungpa

Rinpungpa

Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and some of Central Tibet between 1440 and 1565...

 Dynasty that wielded power in Tsang

Ü-Tsang

Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...

 (West Central Tibet).

He was the second son of Norzang

Norzang

Norzang , in full Norbu Zangpo , was the founder of the power of the Rinpungpa Dynasty in Central Tibet.-Religious activities:...

, the founder of the power of the family. At the time when his father died in 1466, Tsang was dominated by the arms of the Rinpungpa. Kunzang took over as the senior member of the line, his elder brother Upasika having died early. He received investiture as dsongpon (lord) of the Rinpung

Rinbung County

Rinbung County is a county at the northeastern boundary of the Xigazê Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.-Settlements:*Ramba...

 fief from the formal ruler of Central Tibet, Kunga Lekpa

Kunga Lekpa

Kunga Lekpa was a King of Tibet who ruled in 1448-1481. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa dynasty, which was the leading political regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and retained a certain political status until the early 17th century...

 of the Phagmodrupa dynasty

Phagmodrupa dynasty

The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru of Tibet was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen at the end of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Tai Situ came from the monastic fief Phagmodru , which was originally founded as a hermitage in 1158 by the famous Kagyu scholar Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo...

. His younger brothers lorded over Shigatse

Shigatse

Shigatse is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region , People's Republic of China, with a population of 92000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...

, Kharthog and Nyangkhok. However, his accession marked a temporary downturn in the successes of the Rinpungpa armies. The Phagmodrupa monarch, who had his residence in Nêdong

Nedong

Nedong may refer to:*Nêdong County, county in Tibet*Nêdong , village in Tibet...

 in Ü

Ü (region)

Ü is a geographic division and a historical region in Tibet. Together with Tsang , it forms Central Tibet Ü-Tsang , which is one of the three Tibetan regions or cholka . The other two cholka are Kham and Amdo...

 (East Central Tibet), generally held an averse attitude to the Rinpungpa. Like his father, Kunzang was a patron of the Sakya

Sakya

The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...

 sect of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and established a patron-preceptor relation with the hierarch Kunkhyen Sangye Pal. He upheld a similar relation with Gorampa

Gorampa

Gorampa Sonam Senge was an important philosopher in the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the author of a vast collection of commentaries on sutra and tantra whose work was influential throughout Tibetan Buddhism. He instituted the formal study of logic in the Sakya tradition and...

 Sonam Senge, also of the Sakya sect. Kunzang had two sons called Dorje Tseten and Donyo Dorje

Donyo Dorje

Donyo Dorje was the third and most powerful prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that held power in much of Central Tibet from 1435 to 1565.-Succession and religious patronate:...

, of whom the latter took over the leadership of the family at Kunzang's demise, some time prior to 1479.