Pemasel is said to have been a daughter of the Tibetan emperor Tri Songdetsen. According to legend she was brought back from death by Padmasambhava and given the teaching of the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī, which was hidden as treasure and subsequently discovered as treasure by Pema Ledrel Tsel.

Gyelse Lekpa was Pema Ledreltsel's main direct disciple and, as such, a key figure in the early history of the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī. He was himself a terton and a master to all the important figures of the second generation of the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī lineage holders such as Rinchen Lingpa, the Third Karmapa, and Longchenpa.

Gyelse Zopa was a companion of Longchenpa from the time of his studies in Sangphu to the end of his life. But he is also an interesting figure as a living link between three circles: the Jonangpas, via Yonten Gyatso, Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, and Chokle Namgyel; the original practitioners of the Heart-Essence of the Ḍākinī via Gyelse Lekpa, Rinchen Lingpa; and Longchenpa's own group. It is possible he is the same person as Wozer Gocha who brought the complete text of that cycle to Longchenpa around 1339.

Tennyi Lingpa Pema Tsewang Gyelpo was a fifteenth-century treasure revealer whose literary work escapes the sectarian confines of Tibetan religious traditions. Although he was originally trained mainly as a Drukpa Kagyu practitioner, the center of gravity of his interests seems to have shifted towards the Nyingma tradition around his forties, after he met Pema Lingpa and became his disciple not long before the latter's death in 1521. He later played an important role in the history of the Gungtang Kingdom and is counted as a major figure in the Northern Treasures tradition because he found a terma said to have been discovered and then re-hidden by Rigdzin Godemchen, which complements a cycle of practice that is crucial to the Northern Treasures. He is counted as one of the "eight lingpas."

The Tenth Paṇchen Lama was a steadfast advocate for the preservation and revitalization of Tibetan Buddhist traditions under Chinese Communist rule. By advocating for adaptation to and cooperation with the Chinese Communist state, alongside other progressive Tibetan reformers, he played a pivotal role in the revival of Tibetan Buddhism after the calamity of the Cultural Revolution. He was classically trained in the traditional monastic system and a prolific writer of numerous religious works. Although initially a member of many high-level Communist committees, the Paṇchen Lama fell out of favor following the publication in 1962 of his 70,000-Character Petition which criticized Communist policy in Tibet. He was arrested and remained imprisoned until 1978, after which he renounced his monastic vows and married, accepting this as a condition of his return to public life. He died under suspicious circumstances in 1989.