Mindrolling Monastery
༄༅། །འོག་མིན་ཨོ་རྒྱན་སྨིན་གྲོལ་གླིང་དགོན། །
Ogmin Orgyen Mindrolling Monastery ('og min o rgyan smin grol gling dgon) ---
See inside ground floor of the Stupa at Mindrolling Monastery (video): [1]
Mindroling was founded in the Drachi Valley of Central Tibet in 1676 by Terdak Lingpa, a great terton and teacher of the Fifth Dalai Lama. It is one the six principal Nyingma monasteries in Tibet and, along with Dorje Drak, one of the two located in Central Tibet (the rest are located in Eastern Tibet). The throne of Mindroling is traditionally held by successive descendants of Terdak Lingpa. The Jetsunmas are his female descendants, who have always played an important role in the preservation of the teachings. Many of them have been remarkable teachers themselves.
After the Chinese invasion of 1959, the great masters of this tradition fled to India. The seat of the Mindrolling lineage was then reestabished by Khochen Rinpoche near the hill town of Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal state, India. It is now one of the largest Buddhist centers in existence today and home to the current head of the lineage His Holiness the XIth Mindrolling Trichen.
Lineage Masters
The Mindrolling lineage has been passed down through two main lines of succession, the Trichen Lineage, or Tri Rab, and the Khen Rab Lineage. Traditionally, the elder son of the Trichen becomes the successor to the Trichen Lineage, while the second son takes monastic ordination and holds the Khen Rab lineage. The successions of these two lineages are as follows:
The Trichen Lineage
- Minling Terchen Terdak Lingpa Gyurme Dorje, founder
- Minling Trichen Pema Gyurme Gyamtso
- Minling Trichen Gyalsay Rinchen Namgyal
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Pema Tenzin
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Thrinley Namgyal
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Pema Wangyal
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Sange Kunga
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Yidzhin Wangyal
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Dechen Chogdrub
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Dondrub Wangyal
- Minling Trichen Gyurme Kunzang Wangyal, the last, who pasted in 2008
The Khen Rab lineage
- Minling Khenchen Gyalse Tenpe Nyima
- Minling Khenchen Lochen Dharmashri
- Minling Khenchen Orgyen Tendzin Dorje
- Minling Khenchen Sangnag Tenzin
- Minling Khenchen Orgyen Chophel
- Minling Khenchen Gyalse Rigdzin Zangpo
- Minling Khenchen Kunga Tsultrim Dorje
- Minling Khenchen Ngawang Khentse Norbu
- Minling Khenchen Khyenrab Gyatso
- Minling Khenchen Jigme Namgyal
Minling Jetsunmas
Mindrolling Monastery also has a renowned lineage of female masters, beginning with the daughter of Terdak Lingpa, Down to the daughter of the current lineage holder
- Minling Jetsunma Mingyur Paldron
- Minling Jetsun Thrinle Chodron
- Minling Jetsun Tsewang Lhamo
- Minling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche
Current Lineage Holders
Practices and Teachings
Contact Information
- Mindrolling Monastery in India:
- Mindrolling Monastery Clement Town 248002; Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India
- Tel: 91-135-2640556 or 91-135-2640968
- Fax: 91-135-2640943
- Email: mindrolling@gmail.com