Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje

Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of important Tulku lineage, and a renowned Tertön (treasure revealer). Lineage wise, he was a direct incarnation of both Padmasambhava and Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904). He was a Nyingma householder, yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his disciple Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, he was revered as "His Holiness" and as a "Master of Masters".

According to Khenpo Dongyal, to protect and preserve Tibetan Buddhist teachings and continue Tibetan culture, Dudjom Rinpoche was appointed as the first supreme head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism,Dudjom Buddhist International, ''Our Long History and Traditions'', 22 July 2015, https://dudjominternational.org/?p=29 by the 14th Dalai LamaKyabjé Dungse Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche. Forward to ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism'' by Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje. Wisdom Publications, 1991 https://www.nyingmatersar.org/en/biografia-kyabje-dudjom-rimpoche-jigdrel-yeshe-dorje/ and of the Central Tibetan Administration in the early 1960s, in India. In 1965, Dudjom Rinpoche organized a conference for participants to discuss teachings in the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug schools.

Dudjom Rinpoche is revered by Tibetan Buddhists as a realized master. They consider him to be the "Greatest Terton of Our Time", and a holder of all the teachings of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as that of the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug schools. Dudjom Rinpoche was also a prolific author. The treatise ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History'', written by him is considered as an authority of the teaching. He also authored the ''Political History of Tibet'' and the ''History of the Dharma''. Teachers from various schools confirmed that the terma texts revealed by Dudjom Rinpoche are being used as practice texts.Lotswana House, Tibetan Masters, Dudjom Rinpoche, https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/dudjom-rinpoche/ In addition to the above, Rinpoche also reconstructed monasteries in Tibet, and built some monasteries in India and Nepal afterwards. Dudjom Rinpoche travelled extensively to teach. He had a center in Hong Kong, and had established centers both in France and in the U.S.. This brought the Vajrayana and the Nyingma teachings to the western worlds. Khenpo Dongyal credit this Great Master as a "renaissance in Tibetan studies".

Biography

Introduction

Dudjom Rinpoche was born in southern Tibet in a region named Pemakö (now Mêdog County). This place is known as a ''beyul'' () or "hidden land" to the Tibetans. When he was born, he was given a Sanskrit name Jñāna which means "Yeshe" () in Tibetan. His father was Kathok Tulku Norbu Tenzing, a famous tulku in the Pemakö region, who had trained at the Katok Monastery. His mother was Namgyal Drolma, a descendant of the Ratna Lingpa. Dudjom Rinpoche was also a descendant of Nyatri Zangpo and Powo Kanam Depa, the King of Powo.

The second Dudjom Rinpoche was known as Jigdral Yeshe Dorje; Jigdral (). Later, he was known as "Fearless" by many. This was a name given to him by Khakyab Dorje, the Fifteenth Karmapa. We find in many written texts of revealed tantras and ancient prophesies, that in the time of the Buddha Pranidhanaraja, Dudjom Rinpoche was the yogin Nuden Dorje Chang. This yogin had vowed to appear as the thousandth and the last Buddha of this Light eon, as Sugata Mopa (Od) Thaye.

Based on the biography of Dudjom Rinpoche on the website of Wogmin Thubten Shedrup Ling, a Drikung Kagyü monastery, he was many notable historic figures in his previous lives. On the list are Śāriputra who was one of the foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha in India; Saraha who was the first and greatest of the eighty-four '' mahāsiddhas'' of India; and also Humkara, who was also a ''mahāsiddha''.

The Nyingma school incorporates many diverse lineages and practices, founded in different geographical locations. The lineages can be traced to the great Vajrayana Master and Second Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava, as well as to Yeshe Tsogyal. The Dzogchen lineage in the Nyingma school can be traced to Guru Padmasambhava to Garab Dorje.

Traditionally, there were many decentralised branches of the Nyingma school. No one in the school held political positions, since the 8th century. However, organised efforts to protect the Tibetan Buddhist teachings and culture after the invasion of Tibet resulting in a mass exodus of Tibetans to India after 1959. That time, the 14th Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration requested that someone be installed as the Head of the Nyingma school. Dudjom Rinpoche undertook this role in order to help preserve the Nyingma Lineage.

It is known to many that Dudjom Rinpoche had preserved many Vajrayana Terma teachings of the Nyingma Lineage, as well as that of the Kama Lineage, which were at risk of destruction and lost forever. He also helped transfer many texts out of Tibet, thus prevented them from being destroyed after the invasion of Tibet Cultural Revolution.

Dudjom Rinpoche was revered by many as an exceptional scholar in various fields, including sūtra, tantra, prose literature, poetry, and history, all of which are in the curriculum of monastic shedra programs. He also wrote about the history of the Nyingma school lineages. All twenty-five volumes are deemed as official accounts. Therefore, Dudjom Rinpoche was a poet, author, scholar and Vajrayana Master. He also organised the building of monasteries, and teaching and retreat centers, in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and other countries.

Within the Nyingma School is the Dzogchen Lineage, or the "Great Perfection", in which the 14th Dalai Lama is also a lineage holder. He had received the teachings from two teachers, namely Dilgo Khyentse and Trulshik Rinpoche. Both of them were students of the second Dudjom Rinpoche, and holders of the Dzochen Lineage.

In 1988, a year after his death, Dudjom Rinpoche's body was moved from France to Nepal, and placed in a stūpa in a main monastery near Boudhanath, Nepal. In a letter, Dudjom Rinpoche appointed the Dzogchen Master Chatral Sangye Dorje (1913–2015) as his Vajra Regent.

Birth

Dudjom Rinpoche was born on July 22, 1904, according to the Western ( Gregorian) calendar—the year 2444 after Buddha's passing into parinirvana, the year 2440 after the birth of Padmasambhava, and the year 2031 counted from the inception of the Tibetan monarchy. According to the astrological sixty-year cycle it was year of the Wood Dragon, sixth month, tenth day. The month and day also correspond to the birth date of Padmasambhava. Rinpoche was born into a noble family in the south-eastern Tibetan province of Pema Ko, which is one of the ''beyul'' ("hidden lands") of Padmasambhava. He was recognized as the incarnation of Traktung Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904), a famous ''tertön'' or discoverer of concealed "treasures" ('' terma''), particularly those related to the practice of Vajrakīla (''rdo rje phur pa''). Dudjom Lingpa had intended to visit southern Tibet to reveal the sacred land of Pema Kö, but as he was unable to do so, he predicted that his successor would be born there and reveal it himself.

Dharma activity

In his youth, Dudjom Rinpoche studied with some of the most outstanding masters of the time. He began his studies with Khenpo Aten in Pema Kö, before attending some of the great monastic universities of Central Tibet, such as Mindrolling, Dorje Drak and Tarjé Tingpoling, and of East Tibet, such as Kathok and Dzogchen. Mindrolling was the monastery to which Dudjom Rinpoche returned to perfect his understanding of the Nyingma tradition. Foremost among his many teachers were Phungong Tulku Gyurmé Ngedön Wangpo, Jedrung Trinlé Jampa Jungne, Gyurme Phendei Özer, and Minling Dordzin Namdrol Gyatso.

Dudjom Rinpoche's main area of activity was in Central Tibet, where he maintained the Mindrolling tradition, and especially at Pema Chöling and his other seats in the Kongpo and Puwo regions of southern Tibet. He was renowned in Tibet for the depth of his realization and spiritual accomplishment, as well as for his unsurpassed scholarship.

Unique in having received the transmission of all the existing teachings of the Nyingma tradition, Dudjom Rinpoche was especially renowned as a great tertön, whose termas are now widely taught and practiced, and as a leading exponent of Dzogchen. He was regarded as the living embodiment and regent of Padmasambhava and his representative for this time. Dudjom Rinpoche taught many of today's masters.

Amongst the most widely read of his works are ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, Its Fundamentals and History''; which he composed soon after his arrival in India as an exile and which is now available in English translation. This history of the Nyingma School presents a great deal of new material on the development of Buddhism in Tibet. At the invitation of the Dalai Lama, Dudjom Rinpoche also wrote a history of Tibet. Another major part of his work was the revision, correction, and editing of many ancient and modern texts, including the whole of the Canonical Teachings (''kama'') of the Nyingma School, a venture he began at the age of seventy-four. His own private library contained the largest collection of precious manuscripts and books outside Tibet.

After leaving Tibet, Rinpoche settled first in Kalimpong, in India. He gave extensive teachings in Kalimpong and Darjeeling, including giving the Vajrasattva sādhana to Sangharakshita.

During a train ride back to Kalimpong from Dharamsala in the 1960s, the head lama of Kathok Monastery, Kathok Öntrul Rinpoche, believed able to do mirror divination, said that he saw a Padmasambhava statue wrapped in barbed wire. Dudjom Rinpoche was with him, and asked for that divination. The train had a stopover in Siliguri. According to Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, enemies of Dudjom Rinpoche told Indian intelligence that Rinpoche was collaborating with the Chinese Communist party and was receiving a salary from them; the police put him under house arrest.

''As the news of this spread, his disciple were shocked and saddened. They'd also heard that authorities were going to transport His Holiness by train from Siliguri to Panchimari, the site of a prison for Tibetans detained for political reasons. Many students from Sikkim, Darjeeling, Bhutan, and Kalimpong planned to prevent the train from leaving by lying on the railroad tracks. But by then His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his officials, the king of Sikkim, and the king, queen, and ministers of Bhutan, and important figures from India and Nepal, as well as thousands of students, had already written letters to Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. After a few days His Holiness was released from house arrest in Siliguri and returned to his home in Kalimpong.''

He played a key role in the renaissance of Tibetan culture amongst the refugee community, both through his teaching and his writing. He established a number of vital communities of practitioners in India and Nepal, such as Zangdok Palri in Kalimpong, Dudal Rapten Ling in Orissa, and the monasteries at Tsopema and Boudhanath. He actively encouraged the study of the Nyingma Tradition at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, and continued to give teachings according to his own terma tradition, as well as giving many other important empowerments and transmissions, including the Nyingma Kama, the Nyingma Tantras and the ''Treasury of Precious Termas'' ( Rinchen Terdzo).

When Dudjom Rinpoche was eight years old, he began to study Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara with his teacher Orgyen Chogyur Gyatso, a personal disciple of the great Patrul Rinpoche. When they had completed the first chapter, his teacher presented him with a conch shell and asked him to blow it towards each of the four directions. The sound it made to the East and to the North was quite short, in the South it was long, and in the West longer still. This was considered to be an indication of where his work in later times would be most effective. Kham, in the east of Tibet, had been the birthplace of Dudjom Lingpa, who had already been very active in that region. In the South, throughout the Himalayan regions of Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and Ladakh, Dudjom Rinpoche had many thousands of disciples; when, on one occasion, he gave teachings in Kathmandu intended only for a few lamas, between twenty-five and thirty thousand disciples came from all over India and the Himalayas.

In the final decade of his life, in spite of ill-health and advancing years, he devoted much of his time to teaching in the West, where he successfully established the Nyingma tradition in response to the growing interest amongst Westerners. He founded many major centres including Dorje Nyingpo and Orgyen Samye Chöling in France, and Yeshe Nyingpo, Urgyen Chö Dzong and others in the United States. During this period, he tirelessly gave teachings and empowerments, and under his guidance a number of Western students began to undertake long retreats. Dudjom Rinpoche also traveled in Asia, and in Hong Kong he had a large following, with a thriving center which he visited on three occasions.

In the 1970s, Dudjom Rinpoche conducted a few teachings in the United States and London and then some retreats at Urgyen Samye Chöling in France. Eventually, "the wanderer, Dudjom", as he sometimes used to sign himself, settled with his family in the Dordogne area of France, and there in August 1984 he gave his last large public teaching. He died on January 17, 1987.

Dudjom Lineage

The Dudjom terton lineage started in 1835 with Dudjom Lingpa. Dudjom Lingpa is considered a mind manifestation of Padmasambhava. Dudjom Lingpa was also considered a voice manifestation of Yeshe Tsogyal. Finally Dudjom Lingpa was considered the body manifestation of his own previous reincarnation, Drogben Lotsawa, who was one of the twenty-five main disciples of Padmasambhava].

Other reincarnations of Dudjom Lingpa, besides the most recent Dudjom Rinpoche, have been claimed. One story of his reincarnation describes a new birth occurring before Dudjom Lingpa died. In that story, he sent his main disciples to Pema Ko saying: "Go to the secret land of Pema Ko. Whoever has faith in me, go in that direction! Before you young ones arrive, I will already be there." It took a few years for the disciples to stumble upon the exact location but the very young Dudjom Rinpoche reportedly aged about three called the surprised incognito strangers by their individual names, spoke in their Golok dialect which no one else did in that area and invited them to his surprised parents' house. It is said he could remember his previous lives clearly.

Dudjom Tersar Lineage

''Dudjom Tersar'' is the collective name for the large collection of terma teachings revealed by Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Rinpoche. As a class of texts, ''Tersar'' (''gter gsar'') means "new or recently revealed treasure teachings". Dudjom Rinpoche was a major Tertön, terton ( Wylie: ''gter ston'') or treasure revealer of hidden teachings. Dudjom Rinpoche is considered one of the Hundred Great Tertons in the Nyingma lineage.

Most ''terma'' are small in scale; major cycles are rare. Those containing many major cycles, such as Dudjom Tersar, are even rarer historically. The Dudjom Tersar is possibly the most comprehensive suite of terma to be revealed in the twentieth century. Since terma traditionally are considered to be discovered during the time they are most needed, the most recently discovered ''terma'' may be the most pertinent to current needs. Recent ''terma'' are, then, considered to "still have the warm fresh breath of the dakinis".

A set of preliminary practices known as Dudjom Tersar ngöndro has to be undertaken by beginners prior to higher initiations. Dudjom Tersar contains different cycles: some are comprehensive, from beginning instruction through the highest Dzogchen teachings, and there are also smaller cycles, and individual practices, for specific purposes.

There are four major cycles in the Dudjom Tersar of Dudjom Lingpa, the first three being Mind Treasures ( Wylie: ''dgongs gter'') and the last one an Earth Treasure (Wylie: ''sa gter''):
*(a) The "Dagnang Yeshe Drawa" cycle (The Wisdom Nets of Pure Visions), such as the Troma teachings;
*(b) The "Maha-Ati Yoga Zabcho Gongpa Rangdrol" cycle (The Profound Teachings on Naturally Self-liberating Enlightened Visions), such as the teachings of Chenrezig;
*(c) The "Chonyid Namkhai Longdzo" cycle (the Vast Space Treasure from the Wisdom Sky of the Ultimate Nature), with teachings of Thekchod and Thodgal; and
*(d) The "Khandro Nyingthig" (Heart Essence of the Dakini) cycle.

There are four major cycles in the Dudjom Tersar of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, which are all Mind Treasures ( Wylie:''dgongs gter''):
*(a) The "Tsokyi Thugthig" cycle, for the practices on the outer, inner, secret and innermost secret sadhanas of the Lama;
*(b) The "Pudri Rekpung" cycle, for the practices of the Yidam;
*(c) The "Khandro Thugthig" cycle, for the practices on the outer, inner, secret and innermost secret sadhanas of the Khandro; and
*(d) The "Dorje Drolod" cycle.

Dudjom Yangsis (Reincarnations)

Yangsi (), or Tulku, is the honorific title of a young recognized reincarnation of a high lama. There are reportedly three currently known Dudjom Yangsis.

The most widely know reincarnation was Kyabje Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, also known as Dudjom Rinpoche III, Sangye Pema Shepa, who was born on April 21, 1990, Year of the Iron Horse, in Jyekundo, Kham, Tibet, (Qinghai, China.). His mother is Pema Khandro, and his father is the third son of Dudjom Rinpoche II, Dola Tulku, known as Jigmé Chokyi Nyima.Dudjom Tersar. Biography, ''Kyabje Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche'', 2019.''The Life Story of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987)'', Dudjom Buddhist Association, http://www.dudjomba.org.hk Sangye Pema Shepa was first recognized by Terton Khandro Tare Lama through a prophetic poem written in dakini script on the day of his birth. Tare Lama wrote to Chatral Rinpoche, who confirmed the prophecy then wrote to Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, the eldest son of
Sangyum Kusho Tseten Yudron and Dudjom Rinpoche II, and then recognized the three-year old Yangsi in person. Recognitions were also conferred by the 14th Dalai Lama, by Minling Trichen Rinpoche, Kyabje Penor Rinpoche, Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, and Kathok Situ Rinpoche.

Sangye Pema Shepa was then enthroned in Tibet at Dzongsar Monastery by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, with Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, and enthroned in Godavari, Nepal on Lhabab Duchen, November 25, 1994, by Chatral Rinpoche in the presence of many Nyingma lamas and students of Dudjom Rinpoche II. Dudjom Rinpoche II had named Chatral Rinpoche as his successor in a letter to take over all his spiritual matters and sit in the middle of his mandala after his death. Chatral Rinpoche was the main teacher of Sangye Pema Shepa, as he promised to the previous Dudjom Rinpoche, who wrote a long life prayer for him. Chatral Rinpoche was considered by Nyingmapas to be their highest master after Dudjom Rinpoche II died.

Sangye Pema Shepa bestowed his first initiations at the age of seven, and has spent the majority of his years in retreat and in study. In June 2018, he made his first visit to the USA where he transmitted the Dudjom Tersar Empowerments and Transmissions at Pema Osel Ling in California. In August 2019, Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche travelled to Dudjom Rinpoche's European seat in France, where be conferred Dudjom Rinpoche's lineage initiations and blessings.
Sangye Pema Shepa has expressed his ecological concerns and has composed a prayer for this cause. Dudjom Rinpoche Sangye Pema Shepa suddenly passed away on February 15, 2022, at the age of 31 in China.

The Bhutanese Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, Tenzin Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, was born in Bhutan and recognized by the fourteenth Dalai Lama and by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje (b. 1990) is a reincarnation of Dudjom Rinpoche and resides mainly in Bhutan and Nepal.

Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje was born in 1990 as the first of two sons of a couple of Bhutanese students of Dudjom Rinpoche His father, Kesang Dadul, is the son of Dasbo Drongong and a descendent of the Nyo lineage of Bumthang. His mother, Sonam Chokyi, is the daughter of Colonel Penjor Ongdi and Deki Choden.

On the 30th of September 1993, the enthronement ceremony was held in Dudjom Gompa, in Boudhanath, Nepal, by Trulshik Rinpoche at the behest of Dudjom Sangyum Rikdzin Wangmo.

The ceremony of initiating Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje's education was performed in July 1994, in Nagi Gompa, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje has received teachings and empowerments from many masters, including:

Dalai Lama

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Lhalung Thugsey Rinpoche

Namkhai Nyingpo Rinpoche

Penor Rinpoche

Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche

Trulshik Rinpoche

Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje resides and studies mainly at two places: Dudjom Namdrol Choling, across the valley from Yangleshö cave in Pharping, Khatmandu ; and in Sartsham Chorten, opposite Taktsang Monastery, Paro, Bhutan, where he has founded a gomde, or study and practice center for lay practitioners.

Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje also oversees the activities of the Nyimalung Monastery dratshangs in Bumthang and Gelephu, Bhutan. In 2005, he was appointed as the monastery's first abbot.

In the last few years, Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje has performed many drubchens and conferred empowerments at various monasteries in Bhutan and India, and has presided annually at the Ngagyur Nyingma Chenmo world peace prayers at Bodhgaya, India.

“Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje - Rigpa Wiki.” ''Rigpa Wiki'', Rigpa Wiki, https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Dudjom_Tenzin_Yeshe_Dorje. Accessed 25 May 2022.

Also, Sungtrul Rinpoche, known as Tulku Orgyen, has been recognized. He was born on November 6, 1988, in the shrine room of his grandfather Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, on his remote retreat land in Oregon, USA. He was recognized by Mogtsa Rinpoche. His father is Jigme Tromge Rinpoche and his mother is Rigzin Wangmo Tromge.

Dudjom Rinpoche's Family

Dudjom Rinpoche was a householder, a yogi, a writer, and a master and guru with a family, married twice.

First Wife Sangyum Kusho Tseten Yudron

Dudjom Rinpoche's first wife was Sangyum Kusho Tseten Yudron, and they had seven children.

Their eldest daughter, Semo Dechen Yudron ( English: Turquoise Radiance of Great Bliss.), lived in Lhasa, taking care of Dudjom Rinpoche's seat, Lama Ling, in Kongpo.

Their eldest son, Thinley Norbu ( English: Jewel of Activity), was a Nyingma scholar like his father.

Their second son, Dola Tulku, Jigmed Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche ( English: Sun of Dharma), of the mainly Sakya lineage, was the father of Dudjom Rinpoche Sangye Pema Shepa.

Their second daughter Semo Pema Yudron ( English: Lotus of Turquoise Light) lived near Dola Rinpoche in Qinghai.

Their third son, Pende Norbu Rinpoche ( English: Jewel of Beneficial Well-Being), lived in Nepal with his wife Sangyum Kusho Pasang Wangmo.

The fourth son, Se Dorje Palzang ( English: Indestructible Noble Glory), went to school in Beijing in the late 1950s, but was killed by the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution.

The youngest daughter, Semo Tsering Yangchen ( English: Melodious Long Life), passed away when she was very young.

Second Wife Sangyum Kusho Rigzin Wangmo

Dudjom Rinpoche's second wife was Sangyum Kusho Rigzin Wangmo, and they had four children, one son and three daughters.

Their first daughter, Dekyong Yeshe Wangmo, was recognized as an incarnate ḍākinī and was believed to be an emanation of Yeshe Tsogyal, but died when she was a young woman. It was said that since birth she had no shadow, which meant she had fully attained the rainbow body () while in the flesh, and that she displayed many miraculous signs and all who saw her felt great devotion. Dudjom Rinpoche wrote the now famous "Aspiration Prayer to Journey to the Realm of the Copper Colored Mountain" after her death; it is said the inspiration for this prayer was her parting gift for sentient beings.

Their elder daughter is Semo Chimey Wangmo, and their younger is Semo Tsering Penzom. Their son, Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche (, 1950–2018), was a main holder of the Dudjom Tersar Lineage. Rinpoche spread the Dudjom Tersar throughout the East and West, establishing temples and retreat centers in France, Spain, and the US. His son, H.E. Dungsey Namgay Dawa Rinpoche, currently spreads the Dudjom Tersar Lineage as a main Lineage holder by overseeing centers in the US and Spain in lieu of Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche's wishes.

Grandchildren

Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche's two grandsons via his first wife and their son Thinley Norbu are renowned lamas. Thinley Norbu Rinpoche's wife, Jamyang Chödön, comes from the blood lineage of Künkhen Pema Karpo from the Drukpa Lineage in Bhutan.

One grandson is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. He is considered to be the reincarnation of Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö; he oversees monasteries and educational and retreat centers throughout the world.

One of Rinpoche's grandsons is Garab Dorje Rinpoche. Rinpoche oversees monasteries and educational and retreat centers throughout the world as well. Apart from his root gurus Dudjom Rinpoche and Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (his own father), he studied under many masters, and pursued higher studies at Penor Rinpoche's Institute and at the Mindrolling Monastery in India. He is responsible for the welfare of several hundred monks at Rangjung Wösel Chöling, nuns at Thegchog Kunzang Chödön, a nursing home for the elderly, and four retreat centers in eastern Bhutan. He has also established Buddhist study centers globally. At present, there are twenty-five Tröma Chöd Groups, with membership ranging from five hundred to over a thousand, throughout Bhutan; there ar
DudjomTersar.org
also Tröma Chöd Groups in Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany. Garab Dorje is a lineage holder of the Dudjom New Treasure () lineage.

Dudjom Rinpoche's grandsons via his second wife, Sangyum Kusho Rigzin Wangmo, and their son, Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche are also renowned lamas. Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche helped His Holiness establish his vajra seat in North America at Dudjom Tersar Yeshe Nyingpo Temple in New York City in 1976 and its sister retreat center Orgyen Chö Dzong in Greenville, NY in 1980. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche was offered an old farm, soon to be transformed into a Dharma Center named Urgyen Samyé Chöling in Laugeral, Saint Léon-sur-Vézère France in 1979. Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche went on to establish Dudjom Tersar centers in Southern California and Spain.

From his first marriage to H.R.H. Ashi Pema Chodon Wangchuk, a royal family member of Bhutan, he has two sons.

· H.E. Dungsey Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche

· Kathok Situ Rinpoche

One of Dudjom Rinpoche's grandsons, the 5th Kathok Situ Rinpoche, is the younger son of Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche. Kathok Situ Rinpoche oversees monasteries in Bhutan and Taiwan. Rinpoche is the "heart son" of Chatral Rinpoche, under whose guidance he is actively spreading the Kathok and Nyingma lineages throughout the East from Bhutan and the West in the US.

Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche went on to marry Sangyum Sonam Choksit la. They have two daughters, Semo Dechen Yangzom and Semo Tseyang Drolkar.

H.E. Dungsey Namgay Dawa Rinpoche is the elder son of Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche. Dungsey Namgay Dawa Rinpoche was enthroned by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche himself, who blessed him and predicted his future. Rinpoche is a main lineage holder that currently oversees Dudjom Tersar Yeshe Nyingpo Temple in New York City and its sister retreat center, Orgyen Chö Dzong in the Northern Catskill Mountains in New York. Dungsey Namgay Rinpoche oversees sister Dharma Centers in Spain and the US.

Notes

Bibliography

* ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History'', Wisdom Publications,
* ''Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoche's Heart Advice (Tsadra Foundation)'', Snow Lion Publications,
* ''Counsels from My Heart'', Shambhala Publications,
* ''A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices'', Shambhala Publications,
* ''History of the Dharma''
* Lotswana House, Tibetan Masters. Dudjom Rinpoche series, ''Texts by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche Jikdral Yeshe Dorje''

* ''Political History of Tibet''

External links

Biographies of Dudjom Rinpoche

A Short Biography of Dudjom Rinpoche, at Tersar
* Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, with Samye Translation Group. ''Light of Fearless Indestructable Wisdom: The Life and legacy of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche'', Snow Lion Publications, 2008.

Photographs

Image of Dudjom Rinpoche, at Saraswati Bhawan

Dudjom Rinpoche's texts and teachings

Lotsawa House – Translations of texts by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, at Lotsawana House''The Dudjom Tersar'', at Rigpa''Heart-Essence of the Great Masters'', by Dudjom Rinpoche''A Prayer To Recognize My Own Faults and Keep in Mind the Objects of Refuge'', by Dudjom RinpocheDudjom Rinpoche's Short Ngondro
* ttp://www.dudjom.net/ Teachings and Videos of Dudjom Rinpoche, at Dudjom.net
Dudjom Rinpoche online resources at Shambhala

Other

Informal audio reading of ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism'', a translation by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein of Dudjom Rinpoche's text, ''History of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudjom Rinpoche
1904 births
1987 deaths
Dzogchen lamas
Nyingma lamas
Nyingma tulkus
Rinpoches
Tertöns
Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet
20th-century lamas