The Treasury of Lives

The Dzongkar Chungwa are a Geluk incarnation line with a seat at Dzongkar Kadam Podrang Tashi Ling Monastery in Dzongkar, Amdo. This line is not to be confused with the Dzongkar incarnation line which is also based at Dzongkar Monastery. The Dzongkar Chungwas also have a seat at Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong.

The Dzongsar Khyentse incarnation line is the primary incarnation line that originated with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. It is based at Dzongsar Monastery in Kham.

The Dzongnang Jewon incarnations are based at Pelyul Monastery. The line originated with Kunzang Gyurme in the nineteenth century.

The incarnation line of the Pelyul Choktrul—which means the Supreme Tulku of Pelyul Monastery—is based at the Nyingma monasteries of Pelyul and Dartang. The line began with Jamyang Sherab Chokyi Nangwa, who was recognized as the reincarnation of Karma Lhawang. Karma Lhawang was known as the First Dzongnang Lama, and thus Jamyang Sherab Chokyi Nangwa is also known as the Second Dzongnang Lama. Jampel Gyepai Dorje, Jamyang Sherab Chokyi Nangwa's reincarnation, was known as the Second Pelyul Choktrul and the Third Dzongnang. The Third Pelyul Choktrul / Fourth Dzongnang Lama, Jigme Chokyi Sengge, was born in 1966.

The Dzonkar incarnation has its seat at Dzongkar Monastery in Amdo. The First Dzongkar was Sherab Tashi, who founded in the monastery in 1683. He was also known as the First Maṇipa, a title which is also held by subsequent Dzongkar Tulkus. 

A clan that is a branch of the Sakya. Dzongpa Kunga Namgyel (1432-1496) established the Dzongpa tradition of the Sakya lineage.

Jang Tana is a Yelpa Kagyu monastery that was founded by Yelpa Yeshe Tsek, a major disciple of the Kagyu master Pakmodrupa, in 1068 in Nangchen, Kham. Yelpa Yeshe Tsek converted an existing Bon monastery. A stūpa there is said to contain Pakmodrupa's relics. It is currently a branch monastery of Tsurpu, the seat of the Karma Kagyu tradition. 

Andreas Gruschke writes that Gesar Lhakhang chapel at Jang Tana contained consecrated relics attributed to King Gesar of Ling and his retinue, which were lost during the Cultural Revolution. These included two swords, the Tapa Lenme sword (ral gri btab pa lan med) of Gesar himself and Yasi Karten (ya zi skar phran) of his brother Gyatsa. These were kept sealed in a box that could only be jointly opened by the Nangchen king and the Tana Abbot. 

Coordinants kindly contributed by Ged Manush, Naldjor Institute.

Dodzong is a Drukpa Kagyu monastery in Kham, and is considered a branch monastery of Khampa Gar. Dodzong was orignally a Yelpa Kagyu monastery that was founded by Yelpa Yeshe Tsek, in 1192. It is the seat of the Dodzong incarnation line. Currently a Drukpa Kagyu monastery, it was rebuilt in the 1980's in a new location after having been destroyed in the 1950's. 

Dzongsar was founded as a Sakya monastery in Derge, Kham, in 1253 by Drogon Chogyel Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen. There was previously a Bon religious community at the site. In 1918 Dzongsar Khamshe College was constructed there by Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, the reincarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. It is the seat of the Dzongsar Khyentse incarnation line.

Garmo Chodzong is a hermitage to the west of Shigatse, near Wensa. It was at this hermitage that the Third Paṇchen Lama, Wensapa Lobzang Dondrub  received the full transmission of the Lamrim and the Ganden Oral tradition from Chokyi Dorje.

Sinmo Dzong is a hermitage in Naksho, Kham. It was the seat of Nyima Drakpa who engaged in retreat there between 1671 and 1674.

Ngulchu is a Geluk hermitage -- orginally a Kadam hermitage -- in western Tsang. Gyelse Tokme Zangpo resided there in retreat for twenty years in the mid-fourteenth century.

In the thirteenth century, Phajo Drugom Zhigpo established a meditation hermitage near the present Tango Shedra in Bhutan, formerly known as Tango Choying Dzong. By the late sixteenth century, Mipam Tsewang Tendzin, who was the grandson of Drukpa Kunle and also considered a reincarnation of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, controlled the site.  In 1616, the Drukpa Kagyu master Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel arrived in Bhutan, having left Ralung Monastery in Tibet. Mipham Tshewang Tenzin offered him Tango Choying Dzong as a place to stay, in part because Mipham Tshewang Tenzin had received his ordination vows from the Zhabdrung’s grandfather, Mipham Chogyal.

Mipham Tshewang Tenzin also gave the Zhabdrung a consort named Damcho Tenzin, in the hopes he would produce an heir. However, it was not to be and Zhabdrung returned her to Mipham Tshewang Tenzin. The two went on to have a son, Tendzin Rabgye, who would later serve as the Fourth Druk Desi, and who would renovate and expand Tango as well as Paro Taktsang. Tango was completed in 1688, and Second Je Khenpo Sonam Ozer assisted with the consecration ceremony.  Later, the Thirteenth Je Khenpo Yonten Taye performed additional ceremonies at the site in 1780. In 1987, the Tango monastic institute became a shedra. Today it functions as both a center of learning and meditation.

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong was in Wangdue Phodrang town in Central Bhutan. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel laid the foundation stone of Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in 1638, and for the next year and a half, Ponlop Nyama Kukye oversaw the construction process. The four storied tower was attributed to Zhabdrung himself, whereas in 1683, Dzongpon (regional governor) Dedun Chophel extended the upper dzong and the shabkor.  A cantilever bridge built in 1685 to span the Puna Tsang Chu.  In 1667, the Seventh Wangdue Dzongpon Sonam Lhundrub extended the dzong to provide a new entrance to the Jowo Lhakhang.  Over time the complex grew to house over thirteen shrines and three courtyards in the complex. An image of Mahakala that was brought from Druk Lhamoche in Ralung occupies the gonkhang.

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong was impacted by a fire in 1837 and an earthquake in 1897; it was completely razed by a fire on June 24, 2012. 

Tashichoedzong, known also as Thimpu Dzong, is located in Bhutan. The site's earliest structure was founded in 1216 by Drigungpa Nyo Gyelwa Lhanangpa Sanggye Rinchen as Do Ngon Dzong, which lies in ruins near the current fortress. Shortly after its founding, Pajo Drukgom Zhikpo of the Drukpa Kagyu took control of the fortress. In 1631 the new dzong, named Tashichoedzong, was completed under the direction of Shabdrung Ngawang Nyamgyel. The Fourth Desi Tendzin Rabgye built a new monastic assembly hall at Tashichoedzong. Shortly thereafter, there was a fire during the reign of the Fifth Desi Gendun Chophel, who oversaw the rebuilding process until its completion in 1698. Additional fires happened in 1760 and 1869, and general reconstructions took place in 1772 and 1777.

In 1962, the Third King of Bhutan Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ordered that Tashichoedzong be extended and renovated in order to accommodate governmental offices in the complex, the consecration for which took place in 1969. Tashichoedzong serves as the Central Monastic body’s summer residence and also houses the offices of the king and cabinet ministers.

Lhadzong Tashigang is a Drukpa Kagyu monastery in Bhutan. It was founded around 1767 by the Twelfth Je Khenpo, Kunga Gyatso.

Shel is a Geluk monastery in Amdo that was founded in 1630. 

Shardzong was a Geluk monastery located in Amdo that was in existence by at least the eighteenth century when Taktsang Lobzang Rabten resided there. It was later considered a branch monastery of Taktsang. 

Punakha Dzong is located at the confluence of the Po Chu and Mo Chu, and is the winter residence of the Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body, who move there from Thimphu on the first day of the tenth lunar month.  Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel laid the foundation stone in 1637. The dzong was intended to look similar to Ralung Monastery in Tibet, where Zhabdrung had previously resided. Gyelse Tendzin Rabgye expanded Punakha Dzong in 1680 when he extended the dukhang to accommodate growing numbers of monks. The complex contains seventeen shrines and temples, and houses the Ranjung Kharsapani, a vertebrae of Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje, as well as the Machen of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel.

Trongsa Dzong is a Drukpa Kagyu monastery-fortress in central Bhutan. Around 1357, Longchen Rabjampa built a monastery called Mandue Sherubling at the site. Renamed as Trongsa Dzong in 1543 by Ngaki Wangchuk, grandfather of Zhabdrung Ngawang Nyamgyel, it significantly expanded over time, a monastic community was established there in 1765 under Tronsa Penlop Zhidar. Due to its strategic location, the Dzong's governors controlled eastern and central Bhutan in the nineteenth century, and it functioned as a defacto capital. It is also known for its printery, which produced religious texts in the traditional Bhutanese method. 

Urge Dratsang Sangngak Mingye Ling, a branch monastery of Labrang Tashikyil located in Amdo, was in existence by at least the eighteenth century when the First Lingtrul, Dondrub Gyatso served as abbot there. Though called Dratsang, it was a small institution that mainly promoted the long-life rituals for the lineage of Junang Ponpo, a descendent of Gushri Khan. The monastery name was later changed to Chogar Tashi Chodzong. 

Chakri Nyidrak, also known as Sindzong Wosel Drubde, is a Nyingma monastery in Kham that was founded in 1703 by Terchen Rigzin Nyima Drakpa, the First Chakri Nyidrak. It is the seat of the Nyitrul or Chakri Nyidrak line.

Rakchab Sengri Dorje Yudzong was a retreat hermitage of Drime Osel Lingpa, a late-ninteenth and early-twentieth century treasure revealer associated with Katok Monastery.

Khamshe Dargye Ling is the monastic college of Dzongsar Monastery in Derge. It was established in 1918 by Zhenpen Chokyi Nangwa, under the encouragement of Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, and is famous for its ecumenical educational system. There are variant lists of the first nine abbots. Following Jackson, we take that of Lodro Puntsok to be correct. 

Drango is a Taklung Kagyu monastery in southern Kham that was founded in the late thirteenth century.

Lhundrub Dzong was a retreat hermitage in Amdo. It was in existence by the mid-seventeenth century when Samten Gyatso, the third abbot of Rongwo Monastery, spent time in retreat there.

Kadam Podrang Tashi Ling is a Geluk monastery in the Rebkong region of Amdo that was founded in 1683 by Maṇipa Sherab Tashi. Dzongkar is a seat of the Dzongkar and Dzongkar Chungwa incarnation lines. The monastery has an upper an lower complex and as of 2013, there were 90 monks at Dzongkar.

A clan in Tibet of which Dzongchungpa Jampa Dorje Gyeltsen (1424-1498) was a member.

Drakkar Treldzong Gon, also known as Tosam Yonten Dargyeling, is a Geluk monastery located at one of the eighteen sacred sites along the pilgrimage circuit around Drakkar Treldzong, or White Monkey Fortress. It is one of the three of the most important relgious sites in Amdo. It was built in 1923 by Arik Tsang.

Shadzong Ritro, a Geluk hermitage located in the Tsongkha region of Amdo and situated on a slope of Amnye Chi Ri, is one of four major meditation sites in Amdo. It was founded in the twelfth century. Legend states that Faxian (337-422) stayed at the location while traveling to India. The Fourth Karmapa stayed at the site and is said to have prophesied the birth of Tsongkhapa, who took his novice vows here at the age of three. The hermitage was expanded over time and in 1383, a temple hall and stupa were built to commemorate the Fourth Karmapa. The site was partially destroyed during the cultural revolution. As of 1999, there were four monks at the hermitage. At some point, relics of Fa Xian were located at Shadzong. 

Drak Yongdzong, a complex of caves located in Dranang County south of Lhasa, is associated with Padmasambhava, whose buddha-body is represented by these caves. According to tradition, Padmasambhava sent two of his newly ordained disciples, Nubchen Sanggye Yeshe and Nanam Dorje Dudjom to meditate at the caves. The site was also an important place for treasure revelation, with both Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel both concealing treasures there. 

The three story Lukhang temple was built on a small island in the lake behind the Potala Palace by the Regent Sanggye Gyatso and the Sixth Dalai Lama. The temple was built in the Zangdok Pelri style and dedicated to the naga spirits of the lake. The first floor of the chapel has a raised platform with images of Nagaraja, the King of the Nagas. The third floor of the chapel is decorated with outstanding murals depicting yogic instructions from Atiyoga and Anuyoga meditations. The Lukhang island had been used as a retreat by the Fifth Dalai Lama, and renovations of the Lukhang were undertaken by the Eighth Dalai Lama and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.

Dzongsho, located in Pelyul county, Kham, was the second of Jamgon Kongtrul's hermitages, after Tsadra Rinchen Drak. He opened the site in 1857 and formally consecrated it in 1867, with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Chokgyur Lingpa. One of the 25 power places of Kham and Amdo, it encompases several caves as well as a pilgrimage circuit. It is a Shangpa Kagyu institution.

Wikcho Dzong was established in southern Kham in the fifteenth century by Zhangzhung Chowang Dorje, a disciple of Tsongkhapa.

Nyegon, a Geluk monastery in southern Trika in Amdo, is a branch of Lamo Dechen. It was founded in either the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The Seventh Zhabdrung Karpo received teachings at Nyegon.

Belonging to the prominent Lhagyari family, this castle was built by Drale Namgyel, the fourth throne-holder of Lhagyari, in the fifteenth century in Lhokha. 

Tsangrong Shardzong Ritro was a hermitage located in Drigung. The First Shechen Rabjam, Tenpai Gyeltsen, spent his later years at the hermitage. 

Gyel Kartse was the palace of the governor of Gyangtse.

Baruun Khiid is a Geluk temple in the Alashan region of Inner Mongolia. It was founded in 1756.

Trashigang Dzong in Bhutan was built in 1659 under the orders of the Trongsa Ponlop Mingyur Tenpa. It functioned as both a fortress and religious institution where Drukpa Kagyu teachings were followed.

Dongkar Castle was a castle near Lhasa. Desi Sonam Chopel captured this castle in around 1641 or 1642 leading to the surrender of Tsangpa forces. 

A sacred site opened by Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro in 1952, on a mountainside above Dzongsar Monastery. Jamyang Khyentse also wrote a description of the site. His personal physician Tsering Puntsok (tshe ring phun tshogs) built a retreat center associated with the sacred cave site. The structure was destroyed in 1958 along with the entire Dzongsar monastic complex, but was rebuilt in 1984. 

Dzonggo was a Nyingma monastery in Ling, founded in the nineteenth century by Ling Terchen Pema Drodul Tsel, the brother of the king of Ling, Gonpo Dargye. It should not be confused with the Sakya Dzonggo Monastery in Yushu.

Kanchendzonga, also known as Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world, at 8,586 meters. It straddles the border between Sikkim and Nepal.

Bengen is a Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu monastery just outside of Denma near Kanze, in Kham. It was the seat of Kalu Rinpoche Karma Rangjung Kunkyab in Tibet. A new temple was constructed in recent years and the original ruins still exist nearby. The The subsequent Kalu incarnation is being educated in Sonada, which was founded in 1963. 

Achung Namdzong is a Nyingma monastery in Qinghai, in present day Chentsa County. Situated within Khamra National Park, it is surrounded by native forests. It is associated with the protector deity Mesang, who, according to tradition, was given the site by Padmasambhava.

According to tradition, three monksnamed Marben Shakya Sengge, Yo Gechung and Tsang Rabsel settled at Achung Namdzong following the persecution of Buddhism in central Tibet in the ninth century.

Kagyu Dzong is a Kagyu dharma center in Paris, France adjacent to the Pagode du bois de Vincennes. Kalu Rinpoche laid the foundation in May 1983, and returned to consecrate the completed building in January, 1985. Kalu Rinpoche appointed his student, Lama Gyurme, director of the center.

Dzonggo is a Sakya monastery in Yushu. It should not be confused with the Nyingma Dzonggo Monastery in Derge. 

Dzonggo Ling, known in English as Fortress Peak, is a hermitage associated with Lachab Monastery. It was a practice site of members of Tulku Urgyen's family as well as his previous incarnation. 

Coordinates kindly provided by Gerd Manusch.

Pema Khyung Dzong is a hermitage above Tsurpu Monastery. It was first used by the Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi. Many masters since have done retreat there, including Tulku Urgyen.

Rizong is a Geluk monastery in Ladakh that was founded in 1833 by Tsultrim Nyima, who is credited with its murals depicting the life of Śākyamuni. Rizong is known for its strict adherance to the vinaya.

Dzong Chode Shedrub Dargye Ling is a Sakya monastery in Muktinath, Nepal. 

Do Dzong was a hermitage in Gyarong of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje. 

Orgyen Chö Dzong is a retreat center in Greenville, New York, associated with Yeshe Nyingpo in New York City. Dudjom Rinpoche established it in 1980. 

Drakkar Treldzong is a major sacred mountain in Amdo with a lengthy pilgrimage circuit. Drakkar Treldzong Monastery is one of eighteen sites along to pilgrimage route. 

Dzongkar Chode is a monastery in Kyirong. It was established in 1392 as a Sakya monastery by Drakpa Gyeltsen, under the sponsorship of Tri Sonam De. The location was apparently the site of an earlier Nyingma community. It was converted to the Geluk tradition in the seventeenth century.

Dorje Dzong is a Geluk monastery in Tsekok Dzong, Amdo.

Dongdzong is a Nyingma monastery in Golok affiliated with Pelyul Monastery. It was founded 1821 by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje.