A very important Geluk incarnation line with its primary seat at Labrang monastery in Amdo, one of the six great monasteries of Tibet, founded by the First Jamyang Zhepa, Jamyang Zhepai Dorje with the patronage of a Quoshot Mongolian ruler. Within the Geluk hierarchy, the incarnations of Jamyang Zhepa are superseded only by the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lamas. The Jamyang Zepas maintained religious and secular authority over Labrang and all of its territories. The line dates from the mid-17th century.
Biographies
The First Jamyang Zhepa, Jamyang Zhepai Dorje
b.1648 - d.1721/1722
Jamyang Zhepai Dorje, the First Jamyang Zhepa, was a noted scholar and prominent Geluk lama, a self-styled defender of Geluk orthodoxy against syncretic and ecumenical trends in the tradition. A native of Amdo, he was educated at Drepung and Gyume monasteries, later serving as abbot of Drepung Gomang Monastery and composing most of the texts for its monastic curriculum. During his tenure he was a staunch supporter of Lhazang Khan and an opponent of Desi Sanggye Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama's regent. Having gained fame in Lhasa, he returned to Amdo in 1709 and founded Labrang Tashikhyil, which grew to become one of the major Geluk monasteries in the Tibetan region. He later established a Tantric school there and also at Gonlung Jampa Ling.
