Tsakho Ngawang Drakpa was a close disciple of Tsongkhapa. Born into an aristocratic family in Gyarong, he studied with Tsongkhapa in Lhasa before returning to Gyarong to spread Tsongkhapa's teachings there. He is said to have established 108 monasteries, although the names of only a handful are known.

Tokden Orgyen Tenzin was a Chod practitioner who lived most of his life in caves around the Derge region during the first half of the twentieth century. He was a student of Adzom Drukpa and the paternal great-uncle and teacher of Namkhai Norbu.

Khyentse Chokyi Wangchuk was a reincarnation of his uncle, Jamyang Chokyi Wangpo. He studied with Adzom Drukpa and Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, who would replace him as the Khyentse incarnation of Dzongsar. He was also a disciple of Kunga Pelden, with whom he resided in that lama's later years. Although he revealed several treasure cycles, none survived the chaos of the Communist takeover of Tibet. Khyentse Chokyi Wangpo died in Chinese prison.

Pawo Wangchuk Tengpa was the most celebrated Tibetan guerilla commander in the Gyeltang region of south-eastern Tibet. His fame evolved through civil and military leadership from 1927 through 1964, including over two decades of active armed resistance that ended with the People Liberation Army's annexation of Tibet. After a violent standoff with the PLA and his surrender in exchange for ransom and peace in the region, he assumed civil leadership under Communist Chinese rule and was respected by Chinese Communists and Tibetans, including his fellow guerilla members in Tibet and exile.

The Sixth Ling Rinpoche, Tubten Lungtok Namgyel Trinle, was one of the most renowned and respected Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century. He was student of the Secon Pabongkha and of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, in whose administration he served. In 1941 he became a tutor to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and, in 1964, he was elevated to the position of the Ninety-Seventh Ganden Tripa, the first man to hold the position in exile. During his tenure he supervised the reestablishment of Geluk institutions in India. Ling Rinpoche traveled extensively to Europe, the Americas, and East Asia.