The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211) was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorje and the founder of the

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or "Red Hat sect" in older sources,

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at

Ralung Ralung Monastery (), located in the Ü-Tsang, Tsang region of western Tibet south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1180 by Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingj ...

in the Tsang region of Tibet. Later, following the birth of Gyalwang Je Kunga Paljor (1428–1476) considered to be the first of his re-incarnations, Tsangpa Gyare was held to be the first of a succession of

Gyalwang Drukpa The Gyalwang Drukpa () is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. This lineage of reincarnated masters started from Tsangpa Gyare, the first Gyalwang Drukpa and fou ...

or Drukchen incarnations who, at the time of the fifth Gyalwang Drukpa Pagsam Wangpo (1593—1653), became established as the reincarnate leaders of the Drukpa lineage in Tibet. __TOC__

Predictions regarding Tsangpa Gyare

Later hagiographies of Tsangpa Gyare record several verses which are said to foretell his coming. In a terma, discovered by Guru Chokyi Wangchuk (1212–1270), it is said

Guru Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

foretold the coming of Tsangpa Gyare: :''At the conjoining of three valleys
Which one calls Khule Sarel – the Fissure in the Earth –
An emanation of the Holder of the Jewel will manifest
From the summit of the large rock resembling a cube,
He will embark upon the teaching of the Dharma'' In another terma, said to have been revealed by Terton Ratna Lingpa (1403-1478/79) and Terton Padma Lingpa (1445–1521) on different occasions, Padmasambhava is recorded as predicting: :''In Druk and in Ralung
Tsangpa Gyare will perform
The magic dance of emanation
Of Great Pandit Naropa.'' When the famous disciple of

Milarepa Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...

Rechungpa Rechung Dorje Drakpa (, 1083/4-1161), known as Rechungpa, was one of the two most important students of the 11th century yogi and poet Milarepa and founder of the Rechung Kagyu subtradition of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. (The other studen ...

received the teaching of Naropa’s ''Six Points of Equal Taste'' from the Indian master Tipupa Sangag Dongpo, the master prophesied that Tsangpa Gyare would re-discover the text of the teachings.

Biographical details

Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was born into the Gya clan at a place near Kule in the Tsang province of Southern Tibet. His father was Gya Zurpo Tsabpey and his mother Marza Darkyi. According to legend and hagiography, the child was born with his birth membrane intact, causing his parents to abandon him through fear. Whilst a giant eagle protected the vulnerable child with his wings, the new born kicked through the membrane leaving a footmark on the nearby rock. As a young man, Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was a practitioner who studied the Sutra canon of the time, including Logic, The Way of the Bodhisattva, Metaphysics, the Transcendent Perfection of Great Wisdom and the

Middle Path The Middle Way ( pi, ; sa, ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha.; my, အလယ်� ...

. He met his Guru Lingchen Repa when he was 23. After establishing Longbol (kLong rBol) and

monasteries Drogon Tsangpa Gyare went to a place called Nam Phu to build a monastery. It is said that when he and his disciples reached the place nine roaring dragons arose from the ground and soared in the sky. The Tibetan word for dragon is 'Brug which is pronounced as 'Druk'. The flying dragons were taken to be an auspicious omen and the monastery and the lineage which sprang from it came to be known as the Drukpa. This school eventually became very popular in Tibet and surrounding regions. Many followers of this school were simple people, content with few material possessions, known for their deep practice of the dharma. There is a Tibetan proverb which says: :"Half the people are Drukpa Kagyupas,
Half the Drukpa Kagyupas are beggars,
And half the beggars are Drubtobs (Siddhas)."

Students

* Önre Darma Senge (dar ma sengge) 177—1237- nephew of Tsangpa Gyare and first of the Middle Drukpa Kagyu lineage based at Ralung. * Zhonnu Senge (gzhon nu sengge) 200—1266- nephew of Tsangpa Gyare and successor of Önre Darma Senge. * Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje (rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje) 189—1258* Lorepa Wangchug Tsondru (lo ras pa dbang phyug brtson 'grus) 187—1250* Gyaltsha Rinchen Gon (rgyal tsha rin chen mgon) 118—1195- Trophu Kagyu * Dremowa ('bras mo ba) - founder of myang stod 'bras mo dgon * Terkungpa

Sources

* * * *

References

External links

TBRC P909
* Page o

on His Holiness the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa's website. * Page o
Tsangpa Gyare
at wiki.drukpa.com * Biography o
The First Drukchen, Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje
at Treasuryoflives.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyare, Tsangpa 1161 births 1211 deaths Drukpa Kagyu lamas Gyalwang Drukpas Tertöns 12th-century Tibetan people 13th-century Tibetan people