The Dzogchen Drubwang incarnations are the heads of Dzogchen Monastery in Derge, one of the six main Nyingma monasteries in Tibet. The line began in the seventeenth century with the treasure revealer Pema Rigdzin, who established the Dzogchen Monastery, which became a center for the Longchen Nyingtik teachings. The fifth incarnation, Tubten Chokyi Dorje, established Dzogchen Monastery’s monastic college, Śrī Siṃha.
Biographies
The First Dzogchen Drubwang, Pema Rigdzin
b.1625 - d.1697
The First Dzogchen Drubwang, Pema Rigdzin founded what became Dzogchen Monastery in Derge, at the urging of the Fifth Dalai Lama and the patronage of Sanggye Tenpa, the King of Derge and the abbot of Derge Lhundrubteng. Pema Rigdzin was a chief disciple of the great Karma Kagyu lama Karma Chakme and a teacher to treasure revealer Nyima Drakpa, Namkha Osel, the First Dzogchen Ponlop, and the First Shechen Rabjam, Tenpai Gyeltsen. He spent much of his life in retreat or on pilgrimage, giving teachings across the Tibetan Plateau, from Ngari in the West to his homeland of Kham. A supporter of treasure revealers and a holder of numerous treasure lineages, Pema Rigdzin was himself a terton, revealing several cycles of Dzogchen treasure.
The Second Dzogchen Drubwang, Gyurme Tekchok Tendzin
b.1699 - d.1758
The Second Dzogchen Drubwang, Gyurme Tekchok Tendzin was the third abbot of Dzogchen Monastery in Kham, from 1726 until shortly before his death. During his tenure he restored the monastery after a disastrous fire in 1853, and is credited with helping establish the Derge Parkhang in 1729. He was a close disciple of the second abbot, the First Dzogchen Ponlop, Namkha Wosel, and received ordination vows and teachings from several important Nyingma lamas of U, including Terdak Lingpa and Lochen Dharmaśrī.
The Third Dzogchen Drubwang, Ngedon Tendzin Zangpo
b.1759 - d.1792
The Third Dzogchen Drubwang, Ngedon Tendzin Zangpo was the fifth abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, from 1773 to his death. During his tenure he sponsored the first printing of the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead.
The Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang, Mingyur Namkhai Dorje
b.1793 - d.1870
Mingyur Namkhai Dorje was the Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang and the seventh abbot of Dzogchen Monastery in Kham. A student of the First Dodrubchen, he was a widely venerated Dzogchen master who taught dozens of prominent masters across Kham, and forged close ties with Ninth Dalai Lama, with whom he shared a familial relationship. With the sponsorship of the king of Derge he restored Dzogchen Monastery after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1842.
The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chokyi Dorje
b.1872 - d.1935
The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chokyi Dorje was instrumental in building Dzogchen Monastery’s Śrī Siṃha monastic college into a major center of learning. Having received teachings from many of the most prominent lamas of his era, he passed on the Dzogchen teachings to countless twentieth century Nyingma lamas of Kham and Amdo.
The Sixth Dzogchen Drubwang, Jikdrel Jangchub Dorje
b.1935 - d.1959
Orgyen Jikdrel Jangchub Dorje was the Sixth Dzogchen Drubwang. Born near Lhasa to a student of the previous Dzogchen Drubwang, he is remembered as a highly accomplished master despite passing away at a young age in 1959.
