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THE
DRUKPA LINEAGE
Celebrating 800 Years of Legacy
The
lineage acquired the name Drukpa in the twelfth century when,
assuming the human form, Avalokiteshvara - the Great Lord of
Universal Compassion - manifested in Tibet as the outstanding
disciple of Mahasiddha Lingchen Repa. This sublime being was called
Drogon Tsangpa Gyare, the meaning being: Drogon - the Protector of
Beings; Tsang - born in the land of Tsang; Gya - from the noble clan
of Chinese (Gya) origin; Re - a cotton-clad yogi.
Namdruk, where it all began
"Druk"
in Tibetan means "Dragon" and it also refers to the
sound of thunder. In 1206, exactly 800 years ago, Tsangpa Gyare
Yeshe Dorje saw nine dragons flew up into the sky from the ground
of Namdruk, and he named his lineage "Drukpa" or
"lineage of the Dragons" after this auspicious event. In
this way, Tsangpa Gyare became the founder of the lineage and was
known as the First Gyalwang Drukpa.
Tsangpa
Gyare was prophesized in many Sutras and Tantras and was
recognized as the indisputable emanation of Naropa (1016-1100). In
the Fundamental Tantra of Manjushri (Toh. 543), Buddha Shakyamuni
spoke of the coming of Tsangpa Gyare:
Three
thousands years after my nirvana,
Sonam Nyingpo will appear,
in his future incarnation in the land of snows.
He will be born in the Hwashang (Chinese) race
and given the name Gelong Yeshe Dorje.
He will renounce worldly existence
and voluntarily embrace the essential meaning.
He will establish sentient beings in liberation,
and while abiding in the essence free from the two extremes,
he will flourish my doctrine.
 Tsangpa
Gyare's great great grandfather was one of the two strong Chinese
men who were selected to pull the royal chariot that carried the
precious statue of Jowo Shakyamuni to Tibet when Chinese Princess
Wencheng of the T'ang Dynasty married the famous Tibetan King
Songtsen Gampo (617-650). In the early part of his life, Tsangpa
Gyare was called 'Gyaton' which literally means 'Chinese teacher'.
In
his life, Tsangpa Gyare unveiled many treasures of holy teachings
and objects in Southern Tibet, and he also discovered Tsari, a
very famous, holy and powerful place in Tibet. Because of his
spiritual attainments, Tsangpa Gyare became popular as Druk
Tamchay Khyenpa, the Omniscient Dragon, and reverentially called 'Je
Drukpa' (Lord Dragon master). He was a famous teacher whose
teachings were sometimes attended by as many as 50,000 people at
any one time. It was recorded that he had 88,000 eminent
followers, of whom 28,000 were enlightened yogis. His order became
famous for the purity, simplicity and asceticism of its adherents
and the profundity of its spiritual teachings. He wrote a renowned
commentary on the Tantra of Chakrasamvara and taught widely.
When
Tsangpa Gyare passed away in 1211, on the cremation day, a rainbow
canopy appeared and showers of flowers fell. Many could hear
celestial music and smell a beautiful aroma in the atmosphere.
When his body was cremated, his heart, tongue and eyes remained
intact. His skull bore the images of Arya Avalokiteshvara,
Manjushri and Vajrapani; the twenty-one joints of his backbone turned into
twenty-one mini statues of Avalokiteshvara. Many of these relics are still
available in various Drukpa monasteries for reverence and these
are proofs of Tsangpa Gyare's spiritual attainments.
The
Kingdom of Bhutan, considered as one of the few remaining Buddhist
kingdoms in this world and a pure land in the Himalayas, also
takes the name of "Druk" or "Druk Yul",
meaning "the Land of the Thunder Dragons" and its people
are also known as "Drukpa". This is because in the 17th
century, one of Tsangpa Gyare's fourth incarnations, Shabdrung
Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), united the warring regions in Bhutan
and became the political and religious leader there. During his
reign he was responsible for the construction of many fortress
palaces and monasteries as well as devising many of Bhutan's
customs, traditions and ceremonies. This forged a unique cultural
identity distinct from Tibet.
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