Just as a tapestry is woven from many threads, so a terma tradition emerges through a web of interdependent connections. For the pattern to appear, all must come together: the tertön, the consort, auspicious circumstances, the disciple who requests the revelation, the scribe who records it, and the dedicated practitioners who sustain the lineage across generations. Among the most important of these living threads in the Düdjom Tersar was Ling Lama Orgyen Chökyi Jorpa.

A Monk Disciple of Dza Paltrül

Ling Lama Orgyen Chökyi Jorpa was born in the 1850s in the rugged, high-altitude pasturelands of Golok amidst fiercely independent semi-nomadic tribes. He belonged to the Ling Tsang clan, traditionally associated with the heroic warrior-king Ling Gésar, whose exploits are preserved in the vast Epic of King Gesar. He is remembered as an embodiment of spiritual power and enlightened activity who defended and unified regions of Tibet and surrounding areas in ways reminiscent of Guru Rinpoché. Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa’s courage and spiritual fortitude and eventual devotion to Düdjom Lingpa and his teachings would echo this ancestral heritage.

Little is known of Ling Lama Orgyen Chökyi Jorpa’s childhood. With the dedication characteristic of his clan, he renounced worldly ambitions and pursued ultimate liberation by donning the maroon attire of a celibate monk. From an early age, he became known for his disciplined adherence to monastic vows and careful attention to both study and practice.

Under the guidance of teachers in his native region, he undertook a thorough course of classical Buddhist training. He studied the Madhyamaka, or ‘Middle Way’, philosophy of Nagarjuna (c.150–c. 250); the Bodhisattvacaryavatara (‘Entering the Bodhisattva Conduct’), by Shantidéva (c.685–763); the Domsum Namngé (‘Ascertainment of the Three Vows’), by Ngari Panchen Pema Wangyal (1487–1542); and the Lojong, or ‘Mind Training’, teachings stemming from Atisha Dipaṃkara Shrijnana (982–1054). Alongside the study of these foundational texts, he received instruction in many other subjects, forming a broad grounding in both philosophy and contemplative training.

Early in his life, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa became a close disciple of Dza Paltrül Orgyen Orgyen Jikmé CHökyi Wangpo (1808–1887), one of the most revered and influential teachers of nineteenth-century eastern Tibet. Dza Paltrül lived much of his life as a wandering yogin, deliberately avoiding reliance on monastic institutions or secular patronage. Dwelling in remote encampments and mountain hermitages, often sustained by the simplest provisions, he nourished his disciples with the profound teachings he had received from his own master, Jikmé Gyalwé Nyügu 1765–1842), a direct disciple of Jikmé Lingpa (1729–1798), the revealer of the Longchen Nyingtik (the ‘Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse’).

Having received the Ngöndro (preliminary practices) of the Longchen Nyingtik no fewer than twenty-five times, Dza Paltrül famously distilled their essential meaning into the Künzang Lama’i Shalung (‘Words of My Perfect Teacher’). This quintessential guide to the Buddhist path became one of the principal teachings he transmitted to Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa, shaping the foundation of his spiritual training and deeply influencing the course of his life.

A Student of Ju Mipham Gyatso

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa’s training under Dza Paltrül naturally opened the way for him to receive teachings from the great Nyingma polymath Jü Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912). Although Mipham championed the Rimé, or nonsectarian movement, his prolific writings articulated and revitalized the distinctive philosophical and contemplative perspectives of the Nyingma tradition. Concerned that Nyingma scholarship had become overly influenced by scholastic developments in later traditions, he composed numerous commentaries that reasserted the classical Nyingma interpretation of foundational Indian Buddhist texts.

At the heart of Ju Mipham’s presentation was the view of Dzogchen, which integrates the kyérim (creation) and dzogrim (completion) stages of Vajrayana practice into unelaborated nondual awareness. Through this approach, study and meditation were not treated as separate pursuits but as complementary means of realizing the fundamental nature of mind itself.

Under the guidance of these two masters—Dza Paltrül and Jü Mipham Gyatso—Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa undertook an extensive course of study and contemplative training. He studied the Dzö Dün, the ‘Seven Treasuries’ of Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (1308–1364), as well as the earlier and later cycles of Nyingtik, or ‘Heart Essence’, teachings. In addition to these transmissions, he received direct instructions guiding him in the contemplative practices of Dzogchen.

He also mastered the Triyik Yéshé Lama, the celebrated Dzogchen practice manual composed by Rigdzin Jikmé Lingpa (1730–1798). Applying himself with exceptional diligence, he balanced rigorous study with intensive practice. One example frequently recalled in oral accounts is his recitation of the famous Yéshé Kuchok, a prayer titled the ‘Ultimate Inexpressible Confession’, which he is said to have recited aloud thirty thousand times. This confession practice, drawn from the fourth chapter of the Drimé Shak Gyü (the ‘Immaculate Confession Tantra’), became a central element of his personal discipline.

Through sustained study and contemplation, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa gradually assimilated the pith instructions of the Tantras and of Dzogchen. In time, the understanding he cultivated through years of disciplined practice matured into realization, which he would later share with students who sought his guidance.

A Student of Düdjom Lingpa in Dartsang Kalzang

It is not known precisely when Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa first established a connection with Düdjom Lingpa, nor whether he visited Lama Rung, the hermitage Düdjom Lingpa established in a high valley above the Ser Chu during the 1880s. It is likely, however, that during the decade Düdjom Lingpa resided there—from roughly 1880 to 1890—Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa was engaged in study and practice under Dza Paltrül, Ju Mipham Gyatso, and other Nyingma luminaries active across Kham.

In 1890, Düdjom Lingpa relocated to Dartsang Kalzang, a dharma encampment in the upper Do Chu Valley of Golok, set amid sweeping alpine pastures and snow-covered peaks. During this period, hundreds of students gathered there to receive his teachings. Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa—then likely in his late thirties—was among those who joined a circle of close disciples that included figures such as Chönjuk Lama (1816–c.1904), Pékö Lama Könchok Rabten (c.1870–c.1940), Péma Dégyal (1873–1933), Puktrül Gyurmé Ngédön Wangpo (c.1860–1923), Sögen Trülku Natsok Rangdrol (1869–1935), Tsok Khang (c.1870s–c.1930s), Tsültrim Dorjé (1880–c.1950), and Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé (1872–1952).

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa soon became one of Düdjom Lingpa’s important students and patrons of revelation. He requested Düdjom Lingpa to compose texts from the Chönyi Namkha Long Dzö (‘Treasury of the Vast Expanse of the Sky-Like Nature of Reality’) terma cycle. Colophons also record that he either requested or served as scribe for a number of additional texts within the Düdjom Tersar corpus, including Tsengö Rolpa Chenpö Solchö (‘The Great Offering Supplication to the Fierce and Wild One's Play’); Tsengö Chenpö Kangwa Yizhin Charbeb (‘The Fulfillment Offering to the Great Fierce and Wild One: A Rain of Wish-Fulfillment’); Zabchö Karung Tsengö Chenpö Lérim Godö Künjung, (‘The Activity Sequence of the Profound Dharma, the Great Fierce and Wild Dharma Protectors: The Source of All Needs and Wishes’); Tukjé Chenpö Chalak Jinbeb Jinlab Charbeb (‘The Appendix for Invoking the Descent of Blessings Accessory of the Great Compassionate One: A Rain of Blessing’); Drubtab Yizhin Khorlo (‘The Sadhana, the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel’); and Dégyé Trukkang Gelek Künjung (‘The Turbulence-Reparation Offering to the Eight Classes: The Source of All Virtue and Auspiciousness’).

In addition, colophons indicate that Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa requested Düdjom Lingpa to compose practice texts from the Yéshé Khandro Long Dzö (The ‘Treasury of the Vast Expanse of the Wisdom Dakini’), as well as the Chalak Bumkyé Wang gi Chuwo (The ‘Necessary items for the Flowing River of Vase-Generation Empowerment’), belonging to the Pakchok Tukjé Chenpo ‘Supreme Noble Great Compassionate One’), practice cycle.

Through these requests, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa played a crucial role in the unfolding of the Düdjom Tersar, serving not only as a devoted disciple but also as one of the key figures whose aspirations helped bring forth important revelations and ensure their transmission to future generations.

Journey to the Hidden Land of Pémakö

Düdjom Lingpa’s connection with the hidden land of Pémakö began early in his life. In the late 1830s, when he was only three years old, he is said to have witnessed a flock of cranes passing overhead. In this visionary encounter, the birds instructed him to journey to Guru Rinpoché’s hidden land on Tibet’s southeastern frontier. Over the ensuing decades, as political tensions intensified across eastern Tibet, this prophetic calling took on increasing urgency.

In 1881, the dakini Yéshé Tsogyal appeared to Düdjom Lingpa in a vision and foretold that, eighty years hence—during the 1960s—the Dharma would largely disappear from Tibet. To preserve the teachings, she instructed him to bring his followers to Pémakö as soon as possible. According to the prophecy, they would find refuge amidst Pémakö’s remote subtropical valleys, and the Nyingma tradition would continue to flourish there. Düdjom Lingpa attempted to depart for Pémakö in 1882, but circumstances did not align, and he settled instead at Lama Rung, near his birthplace of Nubzur in the Ser Chu Valley.

In the spring of 1893, the Tibetan Year of the Earth Snake, a radiant ruby-colored ḍakini appeared to Dudjom Lingpa in a vision, warning that conditions in Tibet would further deteriorate. ‘There is a hidden region west of here called Pémakö’, she told him. ‘Go there this year. It is certain many beings will benefit. Do not miss this auspicious circumstance. Place all your attention on reaching the hidden land!’

After corresponding with Ani Nangsal (19th–20th century), the daughter of Trépo Sangngak who ruled the semi-independent Kingdom of Powo as the 24th Kanam Depa, and who had offered to assist him, Düdjom Lingpa again prepared to depart. By this time, however, although only in his late fifties, his health had declined to the point that he could neither walk nor ride a horse. His followers constructed a palanquin to carry him, but once again, circumstances prevented the journey from taking place.

Düdjom Lingpa rallied again a decade later, in 1903, shortly before his death. He instructed his disciples to form three groups. The first was to include his family, attendants, and close disciples. To clear obstacles, he composed a liturgy to be recited along the way to open the gates of the hidden land. The first group was to be led by Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa, then in his mid-forties. Yet, as before, Düdjom Lingpa’s deteriorating health made it impossible for him to depart from Dartsang Kalzang. He nevertheless insisted that his disciples undertake the journey without him.

‘Bad times are coming to Tibet. It is time to go to Béyül Pémakö’, he told them. ‘Those of you who are able, go there, and I, though now an old man, will follow you.’ This account is preserved by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, a close attendant of Düdjom Lingpa’s reincarnation, Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé (1904–1987). Other sources record Düdjom Lingpa as similarly saying; ‘Although I am now an old man, I will reach Pémakö before you do.’

Whether Düdjom Lingpa intended to follow his disciples physically or to precede them through rebirth, he clearly designated Guru Rinpoche’s sacred hidden land as the destination to which his followers and lineage holders should travel. As recounted within the tradition, Düdjom Lingpa came to recognize by October 1903 that he would not be able to physically travel to Pémakö and therefore conceived an emanation there while he was still alive and living in Dartsang Kalzang. Although it wasn’t yet known to any of his disciples, Düdjom Lingpa chose as parents a couple whose predecessors had already been his parents during the time he was Rigdzin Düdul Dorjé (1615–1672). The mother he chose was Namgyal Drolma (c.1887–early 1960s), whose family were descendants of Tertön Ratna Lingpa (1403–1478/79) and had settled in Pemakö. The father he chose was Trülku Jampal Norbu Wangyal (c.1870–c.1930), a son of Trépo Sangngak, the 24th Kanam Depa, who ruled over Powo and Pémakö, and was the brother of Ani Nangsal who had sent Düdjom Lingpa a ring and offered to assist him in Pémakö. Thus, even before his death, Düdjom Lingpa had already orchestrated his rebirth in Pémakö as Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé (1904–1987), who was born on 6 June 2024^[1], six months after Düdjom Lingpa’s passing on 27 December 1903.^[2]

In accord with Düdjom Lingpa’s instructions, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa set out for Pémakö from Dartsang Kalzang in the summer of 1903 as the leader of a group of senior disciples that included Pékö Lama Könchok Rabten, Puktrül Gyürmé Ngedön Wangpo, Lama Khédrub Gyatso, and Lama Péma Samphel. A second group of disciples, headed by Méwa Künkhé and including Péma Dégyal and Tsok Khang, departed soon afterward.

On 27 December 1903, several months after Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa’s departure, Düdjom Lingpa passed away. The news reached the pilgrims while they were traveling through the high mountain valleys of Kham after having already crossed the upper reaches of the Dri Chu (Yangtze) and Dza Chu (Mekong) rivers. They learned that, prior to his cremation, Düdjom Lingpa’s body had been placed in meditation posture, facing eastward, within a specially constructed mandala on the roof of the Dartsang Kalzang assembly hall. According to the messenger, Düdjom Lingpa’s head suddenly turned on its own toward the southwest—in the direction of Pémakö. Witnesses took this as a powerful sign confirming that Düdjom Lingpa would definitely be reborn in Pémakö.

Despite the physical loss of their teacher, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa and his companions continued their journey, traveling on foot and horseback through the winter of 1904 and into 1905, when political violence was intensifying throughout eastern Tibet. After reaching Chamdo, in Kham, they crossed the Nak Chu (Salween) and arrived at Riwoché Monastery, in the fertile valley of the Dzi Chu, a tributary to the Dza Chu (Mekong). At Riwoché, they learned that the monastery’s renowned presiding lama, Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné (1856–1922), had left for Pémakö two years earlier and a thousand more of his disciples had followed in 1903.

Düdjom Lingpa’s disciples onward progress from Riwoché was slow. Yaks and horses carried their supplies as they crossed snowbound passes, forded turbulent rivers, and traversed precipitous gorges. Dwindling provisions, political violence, and the threat of brigands forced them to seek refuge at nomad encampments and monasteries along the way, where they performed rituals to reverse the adverse conditions and exchanged labor for food and supplies.

In 1907, after finally reaching the semi-independent Kingdom of Powo—the gateway to Pémakö—they encountered further challenges. Local authorities demanded a substantial fee to cross a precarious footbridge spanning the turbulent Po Tsangpo Chu that runs through the heart of Powo and provides access to the forested valley leading southward to the Gawalung La––‘Joyful Valley Pass’––which pilgrims must cross to enter the hidden land. Leaving their horses behind in Powo, the Golokpas strapped their remaining belongings to their backs and began the final stage of their journey, nearly four years after departing from Golok.

The high passes that lead from Powo into Pémakö are impassable in winter, and Pémakö’s dense subtropical forests are completely unlike the open grasslands from which Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa and his companions had come. Landslides, overgrown trails, and heavy rain impeded their progress. Additional challenges in Pémakö included tropical illnesses, tigers, snakes, and blood-sucking leeches. Yet for Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa and Düdjom Lingpa’s other close disciples, the hope of fulfilling their teacher’s instructions—and of reuniting with him in the hidden land—outweighed every hardship they encountered along the way.

Discovering Düdjom Lingpa’s Reincarnation

It was 1907 when Ling Lama Orgyen Chökyi Jorpa and his fellow disciples finally arrived in the Chimdro Valley in northern Pémakö. They discovered that the great teacher and tertön of Riwoché Monastery, Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné, had established a temple there known as Tashi Chöling after his ambitious attempt to open the innermost reaches of Pémakö had been thwarted. Hundreds of followers had accompanied him on the overland journey from Kham, inspired by the same end-time prophecies that permeated Düdjom Lingpa’s visions and driven by famine, disease, and mounting Chinese oppression in their homeland.

Guided by a prophetic text that Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné had unearthed from a cave in Kham, his party journeyed deep into the hidden land and, in 1902, settled in a remote valley known as Mipi, where they built a bamboo and timber temple called Karmo Ling. A thousand additional followers arrived the following year. Yet conditions proved harsh. Food was scarce, and they were repeatedly attacked by Chulikata Mishmi warriors, who ambushed them with aconite-tipped arrows despite the Khampas’ attempts to establish peaceful trade by offering salt, wool, swords, and cooking pots in exchange for local grain and an abatement of Chulikata ambushes. Eventually, Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné withdrew with those who could follow him, crossing precipitous mountains and high-altitude swamps to reach the Chimdro Valley in 1904 or 1905. He remained there until 1909, returning to Riwoché, in Kham, two years after Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa arrived in Chimdro with his fellow Golok pilgrims.

The morning after reaching the narrow, forested valley of Chimdro, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa and his companions visited Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné in his stone and timber dwelling, which was encompassed by pine and magnolia trees. After receiving the lama’s blessings, they requested guidance in locating Düdjom Lingpa’s reincarnation, as they assumed that their teacher had already taken birth somewhere in the Pémakö region.

‘The tulku you are seeking is already in the settlement of Terkong Nang’, he told them, referring to a secluded region within the inner sanctum of the hidden land. ‘He was born to Trülku Jampal Norbu Wangyal, the son of the Kanam Depa, the ruler of Powo, and his mother, Namgyal Drolma is a Bhutanese descendant of Tertön Ratna Lingpa. Go there quickly and offer the tulku all the accumulated knowledge from his previous life.’

Before Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa and his companions departed, Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné composed a poetic long-life prayer in which he named the three-year-old child Jikdral Déchen Dorjé Drakpo Tsal—‘Fearless Vajra of Great Bliss, Fierce Dynamic Power’. He entrusted Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa with a letter, a white scarf, and offerings symbolizing the Buddha’s body, speech, and mind—statues, texts, and ritual objects—to present to the child. Overjoyed, the pilgrims from Golok set out immediately, undertaking a week-long journey through bamboo and rhododendron forests from Chimdro to Terkong Nang.

While the Golok pilgrims navigated the lower Tsangpo Chu gorge, the three-year-old tulku in Terkong Nang announced to his parents that, ‘Very important guests will soon be visiting us; please prepare rooms and make all necessary arrangements.’

The boy’s parents were not expecting visitors and initially dismissed their son’s request. But he continued to insist, and his parents reconsidered. Their child was not ordinary. He had been born amid remarkable signs on the tenth day of the sixth Tibetan month, Guru Rinpoche’s birthday, in a Dragon Year (June 1904). Perhaps visitors truly were coming. They prepared to receive them.

Soon afterward, the Golok pilgrims—including monks, nuns, and ngakpas—were seen approaching the settlement. As they drew near, the young tulku ran toward them. Speaking in a Golok dialect unfamiliar to inhabitants of Pémakö, he called several of them by name: ‘How are you? Are you well? It took a long time for you to get here!’ His parents were astonished. Any lingering doubts vanished instantly.

With profound devotion, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa, Pékö Lama Könchok Rabten, Puktrul Gyurmé Ngedön Wangpo, and the other highly accomplished disciples presented the letter and offerings that Jédrung Trinlé Jampa Jungné had given them in Chimdro. Overwhelmed with faith, they touched their heads to the tulku’s diminutive feet. He was then formally recognized and enthroned as the body emanation of Düdjom Lingpa and assumed later the name Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé (1904–1987).

A Root Teacher of Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé

Immediately after the enthronement, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa assumed responsibility for overseeing Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé’s education. He first selected Lama Péma Samphel (19th–20th century) to teach the young tulku how to read. Yet Lama Pema Samphel remained so absorbed in his pure vision of the reincarnation of his guru that he neglected to provide instruction. Instead, he delighted in carrying the young Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé on his shoulders, treating him with affectionate devotion. Consequently, the young tulku made little progress in learning to read.

When Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa became aware of the situation, he reprimanded both Lama Péma Samphel and Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé, saying: ‘Without education or realization, retaining the title of trülku and climbing onto a throne will not benefit the teachings or sentient beings. On the contrary, it will do harm.’

After performing divinations to determine the most suitable teacher, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa appointed Lama Khédrub Gyatso (19th–20th century), another disciple of Düdjom Lingpa and an accomplished practitioner of Tröma Nakmo. Unlike Lama Pema Samphel, Lama Khédrub Gyatso was short-tempered and strict. He sat beside his pupil holding a switch, wielding it with varying intensity according to the magnitude of mistakes. With this disciplined approach and little leisure time, he taught Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé to read using the Dzogchen Könchok Chidü, ‘The Dzogchen [section of the] Universal Embodiment of the Precious Ones’.

On one occasion, Lama Khédrub Gyatso warned the young tulku to study diligently, explaining that he would return the following day to administer a test on the assigned material. If he failed, he could expect a severe beating. Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé ignored the warning, pretending to study while instead playing.

The next day, Lama Khédrub Gyatso returned with his switch. The tulku began reciting but struggled noticeably. It was clear the assignment had not been properly studied. As the lama performed the customary prostrations before administering punishment, Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé, overcome with dread, suddenly began reading aloud fluently. Although the abbreviated text contained only the first four words of each mantra, he recited the full versions of the complex mantras which no one had taught him and were not written in the texts that he was reading.

Amazed, Lama Khédrub Gyatso dropped the switch, covered his face with his hands, and wept. Then he said quietly, ‘You don't need to read anymore today. Take a break.’ He later reported the incident to Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa, who exclaimed, ‘These are definite signs of an important tulku. What other explanation can there be?’ Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé later recalled that he was able to read well by the age of five due to the kindness of Lama Khedrub Gyatso.

In 1911, when Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé turned seven, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa reminded him that in his previous life as Düdjom Lingpa, his first son, Dodrubchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima—who had received extensive teachings from Dza Paltrül—had offered an extraordinary public teaching on Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’, at the age of eight.

‘As the incarnation of the father of Dodrubchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima’, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa explained, ‘it would not be acceptable or auspicious to do less than your son in your previous life.’ He insisted that Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé should give this teaching at the age of seven or no later than seven and a half.

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa advised the young Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé to begin preparing immediately, since he would soon be requested to teach the first four chapters. Lama Könchok Rabten, who was also one of Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé’s primary tutors, specifically trained him for the task over a six–month period.

When Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé reached seven and a half years of age, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa assembled the Terkong Nang community for the appointed event. After chanting the Tashi Gyépa (the ‘Increasing Auspiciousness’ prayer), the Tsikdün Soldeb (the ‘Seven-Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche’), and lineage invocations, the assembled disciples offered a mandala in request of the announced teachings. From a large throne, Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé confidently taught the first four chapters of the Bodhicaryavatara.

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa was delighted. He handed the young tulku a conch shell and instructed him to go outside and blow it once in each of the four directions. Being unskilled, the sounds were uneven. The notes toward the north and east faltered, while those toward the south were strong, and those toward the west especially resonant.

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa interpreted the omen. Activities undertaken in the north and east—within Tibet—would not bring extensive benefit, though this would be compensated by the appearance of speech and mind emanations of Düdjom Lingpa in those regions. By contrast, activity in the south—in southern Pémakö, India, and Bhutan—would bring great benefit. Most striking of all, the powerful sound toward the west indicated that Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé’s activity in western lands would be even more far-reaching.

Delighted by this auspicious sign, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa then began, in an unbroken stream, to transmit to Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé all the teachings, empowerments, and lineage transmissions he had received in Kham and Golok from Dza Paltrül, Jü Mipham Gyatso, and Düdjom Lingpa. In this way, he became one of the root teachers of the incarnation of his own root guru.

He also conferred upon Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé the empowerments, transmissions, and instructions of Karma Lingpa (1326–1386), the fourteenth-century tertön who revealed the Shitro Gongpa Rangdrol (‘Self-Liberation through the Realization of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities’) cycle and its teachings on the six intermediate states between birth, death, and rebirth, as presented in the Bardo Tödrol Chenmo, widely known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa further transmitted the empowerments and lineage instructions of Longsal Nyingpo (1625–1692), whose teachings, together with those of Rigdzin Düddul Dorjé (1615–1672), form a core component of the Katok tradition in Kham. He reminded the young tulku that in a former life, Düdjom Lingpa had been Rigdzin Düddul Dorjé. That master’s teacher, Jatsön Nyingpo (1585–1656), had entrusted him with the task of converting the aboriginal tribes of Pémakö to the Buddha’s teachings. Rigdzin Düddul Dorjé journeyed into the wilderness of Pémakö via the Kingdom of Powo, revealing a terma at Powo Dungchü Lhakhang that provided guidance to Pémakö’s sacred sites. This néyik, or visionary pilgrimage guide, together with its end-time prophecies, later inspired Düdjom Lingpa himself to continue opening the hidden land. Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa pointed out that this was why Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé had been born in Béyül Pémakö.

As Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé progressed in his studies, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa gave him detailed instruction in the Dom Sum Namngé (‘Ascertainment of the Three Vows’) compiled by Ngari Panchen Pema Wangyal (1487–1542). He also provided extensive teachings on the foundational practices (ngöndro) of the Longchen Nyingtik revealed by Rigdzin Jikmé Lingpa (1730–1798).

After completing the Longchen Nyingtik accumulations, Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé was instructed to begin the sater (‘earth treasure’) ngöndro of Düdjom Lingpa’s Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik (‘Profound Heart Essence of the Dakinis’), followed by the foundational practices of Düdjom Lingpa’s Tröma Nakmo Chö, including full-body prostrations to open body, speech, and mind to the transmission.

Upon completing these foundational practices, Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé received six months of training in the Six Bardos. He was then guided in the practice of Kordé Rushen, involving imaginal identification and purification of the six realms of existence—from hell realms to divine abodes—thus clearing subconscious karmic imprints.

For more than twenty years, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa bestowed upon Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé the empowerments, transmissions, and oral instructions he had received directly from Düdjom Lingpa at Dartsang Kalzang. Like pouring water into a vase, he filled the mind of the incarnation of his own teacher with the lineage blessings of Düdjom Lingpa, along with the pith instructions of Dza Paltrül and Ju Mipham Namgyal’s vision for the continued propagation of the Nyingma tradition.

In doing so, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa also forged a living connection between Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé and the great polymath Ju Mipham Namgyal, who passed away in 1912 while Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé was still a young child and whom he never was able to meet in person.

Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé’s rigorous scholarly and yogic training in Pémakö under Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa’s guidance prepared him for his later role as the elected head of the Nyingma tradition following the Tibetan diaspora in 1959, when the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet reached even the remote region of Pémakö, ushering in decades of religious suppression and cultural upheaval.

Passing away amidst remarkable signs

Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa remained in Béyül Pémakö, offering profound and extensive teachings to Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé—the body emanation of his former teacher—throughout his teenage years. In the 1920s, or early 1930s, Ling Lama Chökyi Jorpa passed away amidst remarkable signs, leaving behind physical manifestations of spiritual realization in the form of ringsel—small, vitrified formations sometimes discovered among the ashes following cremation. Within Buddhist tradition, these relics—cremation pearls which may resemble beads, crystals, or pearl-like objects that arise through the interaction of bone minerals and intense funereal heat—are regarded as signs of advanced contemplative accomplishment and spiritual attainment.^[3]

Notes

↑ Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé was born on the tenth day of the sixth month of the Wood Dragon Year, 1904, which is also the birthday of Guru Rinpoche. Some calculations give 10 June 1904 as falling on a Sunday.
↑ The dates calculation is as follows: Düdjom Lingpa’s death Tibetan Date: 8^th day of the 11^th month Western Date: 27 December 1903 Düdjom Jigdrel Yéshé Dorje’s birth Tibetan Date: 10^th day of the 6^th month Western Date: 6 or 10 June 1904 Düdjom Jigdrel Yéshé Dorje was probably conceived three months before Düdjom Lingpa passed away, maybe in the first days of October 1903. When, until his passing on 27 December 1903 Düdjom Lingpa used to say to his disciples ‘Go to Pemakö, and I will already be there when you will arrive’, he was implying that he was about or had had already conceived an emanation in Pémakö, and that this emanation would already been born by the time his students would reach Pémakö.
↑ The small, pearl-like relics found in cremation ashes are traditionally regarded as signs of spiritual accomplishment, while modern scientific explanations attribute them to mineral crystallization and vitrification of bone at high cremation temperatures.

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[1] Düdjom Jikdral Yéshé Dorjé was born on the tenth day of the sixth month of the Wood Dragon Year, 1904, which is also the birthday of Guru Rinpoche. Some calculations give 10 June 1904 as falling on a Sunday.

[2] The dates calculation is as follows: Düdjom Lingpa’s death Tibetan Date: 8^th day of the 11^th month Western Date: 27 December 1903 Düdjom Jigdrel Yéshé Dorje’s birth Tibetan Date: 10^th day of the 6^th month Western Date: 6 or 10 June 1904 Düdjom Jigdrel Yéshé Dorje was probably conceived three months before Düdjom Lingpa passed away, maybe in the first days of October 1903. When, until his passing on 27 December 1903 Düdjom Lingpa used to say to his disciples ‘Go to Pemakö, and I will already be there when you will arrive’, he was implying that he was about or had had already conceived an emanation in Pémakö, and that this emanation would already been born by the time his students would reach Pémakö.

[3] The small, pearl-like relics found in cremation ashes are traditionally regarded as signs of spiritual accomplishment, while modern scientific explanations attribute them to mineral crystallization and vitrification of bone at high cremation temperatures.

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