The Trungpa

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples ...

are a line of incarnate

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

s who traditionally head Surmang monastery complex in

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

, now

Surmang Surmang (or Zurmang) refers to a vast alpine nomadic and farming region, historically a duchy under the King of Nangchen, with vast land holdings spreading over what is today the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province. In Tibetan the King ...

. There have been twelve such Trungpa tulkus. They are members of the

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mon ...

tradition as well as the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

tradition.

Line of the Trungpa tulkus

# Künga Gyaltsen (15th century), student of Trungmase # Künga Sangpo (born 1464) # Künga Öser (15th and 16th centuries) # Künga Namgyal (1567–1629) # Tenpa Namgyal (1633–1712) # Tendzin Chökyi Gyatso (1715–1761) # Jampal Chökyi Gyatso (1763–1768) # Gyurme Thenphel (born 1771) # Tenpa Rabgye (19th century) # Chökyi Nyinche (1879–1939) #

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th ...

(Chökyi Gyamtso, 1940–1987) was one of the most influential teachers of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

in the west. He is the founder of

Shambhala Buddhism Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation developed by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened society as not purely mythical, but as reali ...

. # Chökyi Sengay (Sengye/Senge,

Choseng Trungpa Choseng Trungpa Rinpoche is the 12th and current Trungpa tülku. He was born on February 6, 1989, in Pawo village, in Derge, eastern Tibet. He was recognized by Tai Situ Rinpoche in 1991, and enthroned a year later at Surmang Monastery at a cer ...

, born February 6, 1989). Chokyi Sengay is the present Trungpa tülku.

Chökyi Nyinche

According to Fabrice Midal, the tenth Trungpa tulku rejected his role as fundraiser for the Surmang monasteries and preferred to live as a disciplined meditation practitioner. At one point, to escape his duties as the figurehead of the monastery complex, he ran away on foot to study with

Jamgon Kongtrul Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (, 1813–1899), also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath.Jackson, Roger R. The Tibetan Leonardo, 2012, https://www.lionsroar.com/the ...

. He studied with Kongtrul Rinpoche for many years before returning to Surmang, and at that point had the reputation of a realized teacher.

Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 198 ...

and the second Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen studied with him. They later became the direct teachers of the eleventh Trungpa tulku.

Zurmang Lineage

The Zurmang

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

lineage in

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

shares a common origin, but uses a different transliteration of the Tibetan ་ཟུར་མང. They claim Trungmase as the 1st Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche lineage holder.

References

* Midal, Fabrice (2004) ''Chögyam Trungpa: His Life and Vision'' {{Buddhism topics Lamas Tulkus Religious leadership roles