The Treasury of Lives

The Fourth Zhabdrung, Jigme Norbu (zhabs drung 04 'jigs med nor bu) was born at Drametse (dgra med rtse) in the far eastern part of Bhutan in 1831, the iron-hare year of the fourteenth sexagenary cycle. His father was Tendzin Chogyel (bstan 'dzin chos rgyal) and his mother was Yungdrunggi Gyelmo (g.yung drung gi rgyal mo). He was descended through his father from Pema Lingpa's (pad+ma gling pa, 1450-1521) mind emanation Drakpa Gyeltsen (grags pa rgyal mtshan, b. 1554).

As a boy he was identified as the reincarnation of the Third Zhabdrung, Jigme Drakpa (zhabs drung 03 'jigs med grags pa, 1791-1830), and thus the fourth mind emanation of the great Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (zhabs drung ngag dbang rnam rgyal, 1594-1651).

At a young age Jigme Norbu was invited to the capital and formally enthroned. He was given instructions on maturation and liberation teachings by the Twenty-fifth Je Khenpo, Jampel Sherab Gyeltsen (rje mkhan po 25 'jam dpal shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1772-1848) and the Thirty-first Je Khenpo, Yonten Gyeltsen (rje mkhan po 31 yon tan rgyal mtshan, 1804-1870). His other main teachers were Pema Zangpo (pad+ma bzang po, 1779-1850), who served as both the Twenty-seventh and Twenty-ninth Je Khenpo, and the Thirtieth Je Khenpo Jampel Gyatsho (rje mkhan po 30 'jam dpal rgya mtsho, 1798-1858).

Jigme Norbu declined to take monastic ordination, and instead took a consort in order to practice advanced Mahāmudrā (phyags rgya chen po). The text records that Jigme Norbu had a wife, Dechen Tsomo (bde chen mtsho mo, d.u.) and that they had a daughter named Rinchen Tsomo (rin chen mtsho mo, d.u.). His reputation suffered from this, and as a result he traveled to Tibet, abandoning his traditional seat at Talo Sang-ngak Choling (rta log gsang sngags chos gling). It is said that just before his departure he built a replica of the capital, Punakha Dzong (spu na kha rdzong) out of parched flour and then poured butter tea on one side of it, an action that signified the dzong would face destruction by water in the near future. Soon afterward, the Punakha Dzong suffered a great flood and was partially washed away.

Later, Jigme Norbu returned to Gorina (sgo ri nang) in Paro, the monastery founded by his teacher Sherab Gyeltsen and there he passed into nirvana at the very young age of thirty-one in 1861, the iron-bird year.