Wonre Darma Sengge (dbon ras dar ma seng+ge) was born on the slopes of the mountain Hao Gangzang (ha'o gangs bzang) in Tsang Province, his father was Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje's (gtsang pa gya ras ye shes rdo rje, 1161-1211) brother Lhanyen (lha gnyan), his mother Jomo Gyenchen (jo mo rgyan chen). He had an elder brother and both an elder and a younger sister. He learned to read so well that as a child of twelve he was often called upon to read texts for others. As a teenager he excelled in sports such as archery and weight lifting. At age nineteen he asked his uncle if he could enter the religious life, but was told he should put it off for two more years. Then he was ordained and given the name Darma Sengge.

Because of cultivation in previous lives Darma Sengge mastered the Completion Stage practices of Illusory Body and Dream very quickly and without any difficulty. During a meditation retreat, after subduing some of the restless local spirits, he made a handprint in solid rock, but when he told Tsangpa Gyare about this, he was informed how it was at this point very important that he conceal his yogic abilities from people, so he went back and covered over the handprint with plaster. Although most of the teachings and empowerments he received were from his uncle, he also did Hevajra practices under the direction of Ngok Kunga Dorje (rngog kun dga' rdo rje, 1157-1234). For his isolated retreats of several months' duration he would often subsist on an alchemical diet composed largely of calcite (gcong zhi).

When Tsangpa Gyare died in 1211, Dharma Sennge was preoccupied for about three years with erecting memorials and reliquaries. In his subsequent years as abbot of Ralung Monastery (rwa lung dgon), he was often called upon to perform religious services, empowerments and consecration rituals. On many occasions he ordained new monks, sometimes hundreds at a time. He was often asked to resolve disputes. Above all he was famed for his meditation guidance, which he sometimes provided through his contemplative songs. One day during his final illness, he patted his black dog Pajo (pha jo) on the head and said, “You and I are eternal friends.” Pajo was one of the two dogs given to him by a disciple several years before. At that time Dharma Sengge fed the dog with the leftovers from his own table saying, “You will live happily for as long as I live.” When Dharma Sengge passed into nirvana in the middle of the autumn, Pajo died the same morning.