Gyalwang Drukpa Rinpoche
Gyalwang Drukpa Rinpoche, the head lama of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. Also known as the Gyalwang Drukchen and Druk Tamche Khyenpa "All-knowing Drukpa" ('brug thams cad mkhyen pa ) the sucessive Gyalwang Drukpa are considered to be incarnations of Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje(1161-1211) founder of the Drukpa Kagyu school and one of the main disciples of Lingje Repa Pema Dorje.
Followers of the Drukpa Kagyu school consider Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje to have been an emanation of Avalokiteshvara and incarnation of Naropa. This also applies to the subsequent Gyalwang Drukchen incarnations.
སྐུ་ཕྲེང་། The Successive Incarnations[edit]
- 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje (1161-1211)
- 2nd Gyalwang Drukpa, gyal ba kun dga' dpal 'byor (1428-1476)
- 3rd Gyalwang Drukpa, ('jam dbyangs chos grags / rje chos kyi grags pa) (1478-1523)
- 4th Gyalwang Drukpa, kun mkhyen pad ma dkar po (1527-1592)
- 5th Gyalwang Drukpa, dpag bsam dbang po, (1593-1653)
- 6th Gyalwang Drukpa, mi pham dbang po (1654-1717)
- 7th Gyalwang Drukpa, phrin las shing rta (1718-1766)
- 8th Gyalwang Drukpa, kun gzigs mi pham chos kyi nang ba (1768-1822)
- 9th Gyalwang Drukpa, mi pham chos kyi rgya mtsho, (1823-1883)
- 10th Gyalwang Drukpa, mi pham chos kyi dbang po, (1884-1930)
- 11th Gyalwang Drukpa, bstan 'dzin mkhyen rab dge legs dpal bzang po (1931-1960)
- 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, 'jigs med pad ma dbang chen, (b.1963)
There were two immediate incarnations of the 4th Gyalwang Drukpa, Kunkhyen Pema Karpo (1527-1592) - each recognized by a different group of followers: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) and Pagsam Wangpo, (1593-1653). Pagsam Wangpo was favoured by the powerful Tsang ruler Phuntsog Namgyal (1597-1621) and eventually recognised as the official incarnation in Tibet. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal went to Bhutan and established his lineage there.