Dondup Tseten Dorje (fl. 16th century) was the penultimate prince of the Rinpungpa

Rinpungpa

Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and some of Central Tibet between 1440 and 1565...

 Dynasty which held power in Tsang

Ü-Tsang

Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...

 (West Central Tibet) between 1435 and 1565.

Dondup Tseten Dorje was the second son of the Rinpungpa lord Ngawang Namgyal

Ngawang Namgyal (Rinpungpa)

Ngawang Namgyal was a prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that dominated Tsang in West Central Tibet between 1435 and 1565.-The succession:...

. He succeeded his father as the prince of Tsang at an uncertain date in the mid-sixteenth century, since his elder brother had died young. He was reputedly a valiant warrior. Like his predecessors he was a patron of the Karmapa

Karmapa

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....

 sect of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. He assisted the Karmapa hierarch Mikyö Dorje

Mikyö Dorje

Mikyö Dorje , also Mikyo Dorje, was the eighth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Mikyö Dorje was born in Satam, Kham. According to the legend, he said after being born: "I am Karmapa." and was recognized by Tai Situpa. In this case there was another child from Amdo who...

 (1507-54) to build the Sungrap Ling monastery. He also established a preceptor-patron relationship with the lama

Lama

Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

 Kunkhyen Pema Karpo (1527-92) of the Drukpa Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

 sect, who visited Dondup Tseten Dorje in his castle in 1549. The prince had good religious knowledge and received instruction in Vajrayanasikhara mysticism in the school of the lama Tashi Palzang. Even before the death of his father he expanded Rinpungpa territory by gaining possession of the fief Lhundrubtse in the Nam region. The dynasty tried unsuccessfully to continue the westward expansion initiated by Ngawang Namgyal. Either Dondup Tseten Dorje or his successor suffered a notable defeat in 1554 when the Rinpungpa vainly attacked the Gungthang kingdom in western Tibet. The prince himself died in an unknown year in the 1550s or 1560s and was succeeded by the last ruler of the dynasty, his brother Ngawang Jigme Drakpa

Ngawang Jigme Drakpa

Ngawang Jigme Drakpa was the last ruling prince of Tsang of the Rinpungpa Dynasty. He was also a renowned author.-Literary activity:...

.