The Treasury of Lives

The Seventh Gangteng, Orgyen Tenpai Nyinje (sgang steng 07 o rgyan bstan pa'i nyin byed) was born in Dramitse (dgra med rtse) in Mongar (mong sgar) around 1875. His mother was Sengge Drolma (seng+ge sgrol ma) and his father was Konchok Wangdu (dkon mchog dbang 'dus), who was a descendant of Pema Lingpa (pad+ma gling pa, 1450-1521). The couple gave birth to other eminent incarnate lamas as well; their eldest son was Zhabdrung Tuktrul Jigme Chogyel (zhabs drung thugs sprul 'jigs med chos rgyal, 1862-1904), and their middle son was Tango Tulku Kunga Drakpa (rta mgo sprul sku kun dga' grags pa, d.u.); the Seventh Gangteng was their youngest son.

After enthronement in 1894, the Gangteng Tulku received numerous teachings, including from his teacher, a lama named Shakya Gyeltsen (shAkya rgyal mtshan, d.u.). He spent much effort renovating the seat of the lineage, Gangteng Monastery, overseeing renovation of the main tower. Further, he founded four meditation centers: Kunzang Choling (kun bzang chos gling), Gorgon Lhakhang (sgar dgon lha khang), Zizi Lhakhang (gzi gzi lha khang) and Pangkhar Samten Choling (spang kha bsam gtan chos gling), as well as a retreat center at Khenpajong (mkhan pa ljongs). All of these places emphasized Pema Lingpa meditative practices.

After the death of his father, Tenpai Nyinje and his brothers turned the care of Dramitse to their sister Tsewang Drolma (tshe dbang sgrol ma, d.u.). Later in 1897, when a large earthquake struck Bhutan and damaged Gangteng, Tenpai Nyinje supervised all necessary repairs, added a number of treasures, and had the murals repainted. His two brothers returned to the site and the three of them performed the re-consecration ceremony in the company of other religious masters of the time. After the ceremony, Tenpai Nyinje fell seriously ill, and he passed away in 1905 at Norbugang Gonpa (nor bu sgang dgon pa).