The Gyalwang Drukpa or Drukchen ("Druk" means "Dragon", and "Chen" means "Chenpo" or "Great" in Tibetan, an unofficial address of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa) are a line of re-incarnate lamas or tulku

Tulku

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...

 who are the head of the Drukpa school, one of the independent Sarma

Sarma (Tibetan Buddhism)

Sarma In Tibetan Buddhism, the Sarma schools include the three newest of the four main schools, comprising:*Kagyu*Sakya*Kadam/Gelukand their sub-branches.The Nyingma school is the sole Ngagyur or "old translation," school....

 (new) schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

. They are considered to be re-incarnations of Tsangpa Gyare

Tsangpa Gyare

The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...

 the first Gyawang Drukpa and founder of the school. The present Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen is the twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa.

School

The Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

 traces its origin back to the primordial Buddha Vajradhara (Dorje Chang in Tibetan) through an unbroken line of masters.

The early founders of the lineage include the great teachers Tilopa

Tilopa

Tilopa was born in either Chativavo , Bengal or Jagora, Bengal in India. He was a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha. He developed the mahamudra method, a set of spiritual practices that greatly accelerates the process of attaining bodhi...

, Naropa

Naropa

thumb|right|NaropaNāropā was an Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism...

, Marpa

Marpa Lotsawa

Marpa Lotsawa , sometimes known fully as Lhodak Marpa Choski Lodos or commonly as Marpa the Translator, was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, including the teachings and lineages of Vajrayana and Mahamudra.-Biography:Born as...

, Milarepa

Milarepa

Jetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.- Life :...

, Gampopa

Gampopa

Gampopa Sonam Rinchen "Sonam Rinchen from Gampo" — who was equally well known in Tibet as Dagpo Lhaje , Nyamed Dakpo Rinpoche , and Da'od Zhonnu , — establishedthe Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism today, as an...

, Rechungpa, Phagmo Drupa and Lingchen Repa. Lingchen Repa was the guru of the first Gyalwang Drukpa, Tsangpa Gyare.

Tsangpa Gyare

Tsangpa Gyare

The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...

 was recognized as the Buddha of Compassion, (Tibetan Chenrezig, Sanskrit Avalokiteshvara), in human form, as well as an incarnation of the first Buddhist King of Tibet, Songsten Gampo, the great sage Naropa and Milarepa's son-like disciple Gampopa.

The Drukpa order spread throughout Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

, Ladakh

Ladakh

Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...

, Northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

, and is renowned for the pure qualities of its practitioners and the numerous yogis who have attained enlightenment

Enlightenment in Buddhism

The English term enlightenment has commonly been used in the western world to translate several Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese and Japanese terms and concepts, especially bodhi, prajna, kensho, satori and buddhahood.-Insight:...

.

Following the death of fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, Pema Karpo

Pema Karpo

Kunkhyen Pema Karpo was the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the Drukpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the most famous and learned of all the Gyalwang Drukpas...

, there were two reincarnations, as he prophesized. One, Pagsam Wangpo, remained in Central Tibet with the patronage of the King of 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...

. The other, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, went to Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 after seeing in vision the deity Mahakala offering him the Kingdom. In Bhutan, the Drukpa lineage is now the official religious order of the state. Ever since Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal appointed Pekar Jungne as the first Je Khenpo, the spiritual head of all monasteries in Bhutan, the successive Je Khenpos have acted as the Spiritual Regents of Bhutan.

List of successive Gyalwang Drukpas

Incarnation	Name	Lived
1st Gyalwang Drukpa	Drogon Tsangpa Gyare Tsangpa Gyare The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...	1161 - 1211
2nd Gyalwang Drukpa	Kunga Paljor	1428 - 1476
3rd Gyalwang Drukpa	Jamyang Chodrak	1478 - 1523
4th Gyalwang Drukpa	Kunkhyen Pema Karpo	1527 - 1592
5th Gyalwang Drukpa	Pagsam Wangpo	1593 - 1641
6th Gyalwang Drukpa	Mipham Wangpo	1641 - 1717
7th Gyalwang Drukpa	Kagyü Trinle Shingta	1718 - 1766
8th Gyalwang Drukpa	Künzik Chönang	1768 - 1822
9th Gyalwang Drukpa	Jigme Mingyur Wangyel	1823 - 1883
10th Gyalwang Drukpa	Mipham Chökyi Wangpo	1884 - 1930
11th Gyalwang Drukpa	Tendzin Khyenrab Geleg Wangpo	1931 - 1960
12th Gyalwang Drukpa	Jigme Pema Wangchen	1963 - present

External links

• Homepage of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa