12th Gyalwang Drukpa

His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of Ladakh.

The Gyalwang Drukpa in Alice Springs, 1991

The Gyalwang Drukpa and his mother in Alice Springs, 1991

The Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen (b. 1963), is the head of the Drukpa Lineage school, which is one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Some consider it the Northern (Tib. Chang, Wylie: Byang-'Brug) Drukpa.^[1]

The Drukpa lineage was founded in 1206 after Drogon Tsangpa Gyare, (Drogon - 'Protector of Beings'; Tsang - 'born in the land of Tsang'; Gya - 'from the noble clan of Chinese (Gya) origin'; Re - 'a cotton-clad yogi') after he saw nine dragons fly into the sky from the ground at Namdruk. He is known as the First Gyalwang Drukpa and is recognized as the indisputable emanation of Naropa (1016–1100).^[2]

Jigme Pema Wangchen is the twelfth and present incarnation of the Gyalwang Drukpa. He was born while his parents were on pilgrimage in Tso Pema, (Rewalsar) Himachal Pradesh, a sacred place of Padmasambhava, during the festival and a major ceremony of lama dances and a holy feast celebrating Guru Padmasambhava's birthday, in 1963. His father, Zhichen Bairochana, is a Dzogchen Master, these days commonly called Bairo Rinpoche. His mother, Kelsang Yudron, commonly known as Mayumla, came from Lhodrak, in southern Tibet.^[3]

"My name, Jigme Pema Wangchen was given by the holy Master Dudjom Yeshe Dorje with his traditional congratulations and divine blessings. Ever since then, I am blessed and entirely protected by him and Guru Padmasambhava forever."^[3]

He was taken as a reincarnation of the 11th Gyalwang Drukpa at the age of four, to Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling Monastery, in Darjeeling, which is his main monastery.

The monastic centres of the Drukpa lineage are:

• Namdruk, Ralung and Sangag Choeling in Tibet
• Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling in Darjeeling, India
• Hemis Monastery in Ladakh
• Druk Amitabha Mountain, which is now being built in Kathmandu, Nepal.^[4]

He became a vegetarian at a young age.^[5]

His Holiness is well-known for his non-political approach to Tibetan Buddhism and therefore has recently decided to rename his lineage Drukpa Lineage.^{[citation needed]}. In 2010 he was awarded the Bharat Jyoti Award of the India International Friendship Society.^[6]

Humanitarian Projects of the present Gyalwang Drukpa

His Holiness is the founder of The Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh, India, and is the Abbot of Hemis Monastery, the most important monastery in Ladakh, where he was installed in 1981 at age 17.

References

1. ^ The Biographies of Rechungpa: The Evolution of a Tibetan hagiography. Roberts, Peter Alan. Routledge, 2007. ISBN 0-415-76995-7pg. 53
2. ^ "The Drukpa Lineage"
3. ^ ^{a b} "Autobiography"
4. ^ "Monastic & Spiritual Practice Centres."
5. ^ Gyalwang Drukpa
6. ^ His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa received the prestigious Bharat Jyoti Award

External links

• Homepage of His Holiness.
• The Drukpa Trust supports and promotes the activities of His Holiness in the United Kingdom.
• The Gyalwang Drukpa's Humanitarian Projects website.
• The Druk White Lotus School, of which the Gyalwang Drukpa is founder.
• You can watch live and archive video of His Holiness on drukpa.tv

Persondata
Name	Gyalwang Drukpa 12
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Date of birth	1963
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