khang sar bstan pa'i dbang phyug
Ontrul Tenpe Wangchug
dbon sprul bstan pa'i dbang phyug
དབོན་སྤྲུལ་བསྟན་པའི་དབང་ཕྱུག
Khangsar Tenpe Wangchug
ཁང་སར་བསྟན་པའི་དབང་ཕྱུག
Short Biography
Khangsar Tenpé Wangchuk, (1938-2014) was born amidst rainbows and beautiful sounds in Akyong Khangsar in Golok on January 1, 1938. Due to this he was given the nickname Tsilak, auspicious date. He showed signs of his capacity in his early childhood. When he was three, instead of playing childhood games, he pretended to be a lama. Besides playing with ritual objects, he set out rocks and acted as if they were students receiving empowerments and teachings from him. People were amazed by his behavior. When he was asked where he came from, he pointed south toward his first incarnation’s hometown. During this time an elderly woman asked if he would give her teachings when he became a great lama in the future. He responded by shaking his head no as he knew with foresight that she would already be dead when he would begin teaching. At age seven many lamas recognized him as the reincarnation of Payak Önpo Rigdzin Dorjé, an emanation of Yudra Nyingpo, who was one of Guru Rinpoche’s twenty-five disciples. He was enthroned with a large celebration. At age eight he began studying Tibetan texts but had difficulties that caused his teacher to beat him. After one such beating, he went outside and fell asleep. While dreaming he had a vision about a monk and was taught a special ritual. When he returned the next day to study texts, he understood everything. From this point on, everything he learned came easily. He received a wealth of teachings from such amazing teachers as Palyul Choktrul Jampal Gyepé Dorjé and Akyong Tokden Rinpoche Lodrö Gyatso. During a tsok feast, one of his teachers, who was a student of Adzom Drukpa Rinpoche, gave him a full glass of alcohol and told him to finish it. Upon drinking it, all of his thoughts stopped and his teacher gave him Dzogchen instructions that caused teachings, songs, and poems to spontaneously manifest in his mind. Due to his incredible capacity, he started teaching when he was only fifteen years old. During the Chinese invasion Khangsar Tenpé Wangchuk was imprisoned. While in jail he had many dreams and practiced diligently, including reciting Padmasambhava’s mantra one billion times. During his imprisonment he met his root teacher, Tokden Rinpoche, and many other incredible teachers with whom he had the wonderful opportunity to exchange teachings. After his release he built Golok Chikdril Khangsar Taklung Monastery and Payak Monastery, a university and retreat center. He had many visions and was able to talk with Padmasambhava, the ḍākinīs, and the dharmapālas. He received many teachings from these deities during these visions that allowed earth- and mind- terma treasure teachings to spontaneously occur that were sometimes revealed in public. His lifestyle reflected his bodhisattva qualities. He sold almost all of his belongings to release billions of animals. He gave year-round teachings tirelessly , including annual summer Dzogchen instructions. Khenchen Jigmé Phuntsok described this great Dzogchen master as a high-level bodhisattva. On April 13, 2014, during the time of a full moon eclipse, he passed away at age seventy-six.
Main Teachers
Main Students
Main Lineages
Published Works
- The Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature
- Relics of the Dharmakaya: A Detailed Explantion of the Three Lines That Strike the Key Points
- Samantabhadra's Prayer Volume II
Internal Links
Alternative Names
- Lama Tenpo
- Tulku Tenpo
External Links
- BDRC Page[1]