Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé

Having helped establish Düdjom Lingpa at Dartsang Kalzang—his teaching encampment in the upper reaches of the Do Chu Valley—during the final decade and a half of the tertön’s life, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé played a pivotal role in the early dissemination of Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings in Golok, both before and after Düdjom Lingpa’s passing.

A Student of the Katok Lineage

Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé was born into the nomadic Yungshul clan of Golok, in the upper reaches of the Ser Chu Valley, in 1872. From an early age, he was sent for religious training at Shyichen Kharmar Sangngak Tenyé Ling (‘Red Fortress Sanctuary for the Flourishing of Secret Mantra Teachings’), one of the eight principal branch monasteries of Katok Dorjé Den, the historic Nyingma seat in Kham.

At Shyichen Kharmar, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé received the core transmissions of the Katok tradition, including the terma cycles of Rigdzin Düdul Dorjé (1615–1672)––one of the most influential Katok tertöns and a previous incarnation of Düdjom Lingpa––and those of Rigdzin Düdul Dorjé’s prominent disciple Longsal Nyingpo (1625–1692). These teachings, which emphasized both ritual accomplishment and contemplative practice, formed the foundation of Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s early spiritual training and shaped the discipline and orientation he later brought to his relationship with Düdjom Lingpa––Rigdzin Düdul Dorjé’s widely acknowledged reincarnation.

Establishing the Auspicious Circumstances for Dartsang Kalzang

In 1880, in response to prophetic indications, Düdjom Lingpa relocated from the Mar Chu Valley in Golok to a retreat encampment in the Ser Chu Valley, not far from his birthplace of Nubzur. His activity flourished there, and many of his students began displaying signs of meditative accomplishment. Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé joined the Lama Rung community in the Ser Chu Valley in the late 1880s, while still in his teenage years.

Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé soon established a strong connection with Düdjom Lingpa, who later deputed him to the Li Gorge in the upper reaches of the Do Chu Valley where a prominent family––the Lidars––of Dartsang village had designated part of their ancestral land for the establishment of a dharma community. The territory consisted of open pastureland and high alpine meadows around the Li Chu––a small tributary of the Do Chu––which flows northeast through broad marshy flats, fed by snowmelt from surrounding hills, before joining with the Do Chu. Small tributary streams cut shallow channels across the pastures, creating seasonal wetlands where wildflowers—gentians, edelweiss, and alpine asters—bloomed during the brief summers. The area was sparsely populated by nomadic herders who lived in black yak-hair tents that dotted the grasslands in shifting seasonal encampments while maintaining large herds of yak, sheep, goats, and horses.

Daily life followed the rhythms of the high plateau: At dawn, herders drove yak and sheep toward distant grazing slopes, women churned butter from yak milk and prepared tsampa and butter tea while children gathered dried yak dung for fuel. Horses grazed tethered near the tents, ready for travel across the open terrain. In the evening, smoke from dung-fueled hearths drifted across the valley floor. Reaching the area from Lama Rung required a journey of three to six days on foot, or up to a week when traveling with a larger entourage.

According to oral lineage history, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé oversaw the construction of an extensive mani wall at the site, composed of hundreds of stones engraved with the prayers and mantras of the Kalpa Bhadra Sutra (‘Sutra of the Fortunate Eon’). He was supported in the task by local nomads whose mobility and familiarity with the landscape made them natural supporters of itinerant yogins. This undertaking helped establish an auspicious tendrel, or interdependent condition, for the flourishing of Düdjom Lingpa’s future activity there, and many of the herders later became devoted disciples.

In 1890, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé, together with the Katok lineage holder Tashül Tsedrupkyap, invited Düdjom Lingpa to visit and consecrate the mani wall that they had sponsored. At that time, neither a monastery nor a permanent dharma encampment existed at the site. Düdjom Lingpa, then fifty-five, accepted their invitation. After traveling by horseback together with some of his family members and disciples from Lama Rung, in the Ser Chu Valley, Düdjom Lingpa conducted the requested consecration ceremony. Afterwards, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé requested Düdjom Lingpa to adopt the location as a base for the expansion of his activities and teachings throughout the region.

Düdjom Lingpa had been offered abundant food, tea, and alcohol on his arrival in the area, and he interpreted these as favorable signs. He therefore accepted the invitation and named the site Kalpa Zangpo Gompa, or Dodé Kalpa Zangpö Tsalgyi—‘Monastery of the Fortunate Eon’—in reference to the Buddhist sutra of that name that Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé had carved into the stones of the mani wall. Over time, the site came to be known more simply as Dartsang Kalzang , reflecting its proximity to Dartsang village, a collection of flat-roofed, stone and rammed-earth houses encompassed by grazing yaks and horses and traditional yak-hair tents belonging to Golok nomads.

Düdjom Lingpa did not initially remain at Dartsang Kalzang, and he soon returned to his encampment at Lama Rung, traveling on foot and horseback across windswept ridges and high snow-streaked meadows. A few months later, on the eighth day of the first summer month of 1890, Khandro Sangwa Yéshé (‘Secret Wisdom Ḍakinī’) appeared to him in a vision and advised that positive developments would arise if he spent more time at Dartsang Kalzang. As Düdjom Lingpa later recalled, she told him,

‘Sublime individual, return to Dodé Kalpa Zangpö Tsalgyi [Dartsang Kalzang] at the end of the Metal Rabbit Year [1891]. Remain there and events will unfold auspiciously.’

In late autumn of the following year, in accordance with this prophecy, Düdjom Lingpa returned to Dartsang Kalzang and remained there through the winter. On the fifth day of the second lunar month of the Metal Rabbit Year another ḍakinī, Dorjé Garkenma (‘Vajra Dance Mistress’) appeared to him in a vision and sang:

‘Kyé Ho! Fortunate child of the lineage! To abide in this place [Dartsang Kalzang] you must undertake several practices. To assuage the tumultuous sadak [local earth spirits], you must complete one hundred thousand Drolma [Tara] recitations and one hundred thousand repetitions of the Sampa Lhundrupma (‘Prayer that Spontaneously Fulfills All Wishes’). You must also print many prayer flags, raise them aloft, and repeatedly perform the Guru Siddhi and Gutor Zogpa repelling rites [to psychically and physically cleanse the community]. Every year, it is also important to perform a Phurba (Vajrakilaya) practice here to suppress potential disasters. In addition, you must pacify the agitation of the mamos and ḍakinis and be diligent in shakpa (confession) and sojong (purification) rituals: This is imperative. Watch out because the north is like a passageway for enemies! Each year, make as many tsatsas [miniature sun-molded clay stūpas] as you can, filling them with mantras. If you accomplish all of that, things will be virtuous for a while.’

After delivering these instructions, the ḍakinī vanished, leaving Düdjom Lingpa with no doubt that Dartsang Kalzang should become his principal base for the remainder of his life, despite the demanding conditions that Dorjé Garkenma had outlined. Dartsang Kalzang ultimately offered highly favorable conditions for Düdjom Lingpa’s activities. The site provided open pastures capable of accommodating large encampments, a supportive semi-nomadic population, relative seclusion suitable for retreat, and access to multiple regions within Golok and Serta. These features made it an ideal setting for the flourishing of a terma-based teaching community during the final years of Düdjom Lingpa’s life.

During summer months, the valley would fill with clusters of nomad tents and disciples’ encampments, a maze of prayer flags fluttering against the vast sky, horses grazing nearby, and practitioners gathering for empowerments and transmissions. In winter, the landscape grew stark and windswept, reinforcing the sense of remoteness that characterized Düdjom Lingpa’s final years at Dartsang Kalzang—a high, luminous plateau world where nomadic life and tantric practice naturally converged.

Having helped initiate the auspicious development of Dartsang Kalzang, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé remained close to Düdjom Lingpa at the evolving dharma community. Over time, Düdjom Lingpa constructed a stone-and-rammed-earth temple to house printed copies of the Kangyur and Tengyur—the Buddha’s teachings and their commentaries—as well as printed and handwritten copies of his own termas. Although Dartsang Kalzang was nominally a branch of Taktsé Monastery and thus connected to the Katok tradition, it became, in practical terms, the primary center for the dissemination of Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings while also serving as the principal residence for his family. After his passing, two of his sons—Trülku Drimé Özer and Trülku Dorjé Dradul—continued to reside there, ensuring the continuity of the community that Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé had helped bring into being.

Prophesying Three Main Incarnations of Düdjom Lingpa

In December 1903, fifteen years after first visiting the site of Dartsang Kalzang, Düdjom Lingpa passed away there. Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé was among the principal disciples who helped conduct the parinirvaṇa rituals which continued for forty-nine days, extending into February 1904.

During this auspicious period—when Düdjom Lingpa was believed to remain non-materially present to his disciples—several of those attending the ceremonies asked Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé whether he had received any indications regarding the tertön’s future rebirth. With this question in mind, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé experienced a dream of exceptional clarity. According to oral lineage accounts, he later shared the vision with those assembled at Dartsang Kalzang:

‘Last night, I dreamed of a yak-hair tent with an altar inside. On the altar I saw three sacred objects: a statue, a pécha [dharma text], and a stupa, representing enlightened body, speech, and mind. I then witnessed the statue flying through the opening at the top of the tent and traveling west. I therefore predict that Düdjom Lingpa’s body emanation will be reborn somewhere in central Tibet. In my dream, the pécha and the stūpa remained on the altar. I therefore predict that Düdjom Lingpa’s speech emanation and mind emanations will be reborn within Düdjom Lingpa’s extended family and that they will remain in the Golok–Serta region.’

Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s timely prophecy was later understood to have been fulfilled. Düdjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (1904–1987), born in Béyul Pémakö to the southwest of Golok, came to be recognized as Düdjom Lingpa’s body emanation. His speech emanation—Dzongter Kunzang Nyima (1904–1959)—and mind emanation—Sönam Deutsen (1910–1959)—were born as grandsons of Düdjom Lingpa and remained in Golok–Serta, thereby maintaining the continuity of the lineage in its homeland.

Close Connections with Düdjom Lingpa’s Family

After Düdjom Lingpa’s passing in December 1903, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé remained closely connected with the tertön’s family at Dartsang Kalzang and continued to support the flourishing of Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings. During the brief summer months, the meadows around Dartsang Kalzang turned emerald green. Snow remained on higher ridgelines well into spring, and even in midsummer, clouds gathered rapidly over the plateau, bringing sudden hailstorms or sweeping winds. At this altitude, the climate was severe and highly variable. Winter temperatures plunged far below freezing, while even in summer the nights were cold and often frosty. Snowfall could occur in any month, though it frequently melted or sublimated quickly under the intense high-altitude sun. The air was thin and dry, and the sky, when clear, appeared an almost translucent blue—a defining feature of the Golok uplands.

For more than two decades, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé served as a close teacher and spiritual advisor to Düdjom Lingpa’s fifth son, Trülku Drimé Özer, until the latter’s untimely death during a smallpox epidemic that spread through Dartsang Kalzang in 1924, leaving many dead or with disfiguring scars.

Nine years earlier, in 1915, Drimé Özer began revealing termas along the banks of the Mar Chu, at the sacred hill of Chakri Öbar and at Tashi Gomang—sites where his father had revealed termas some fifty years earlier. During this period, he also began to display signs of exceptional spiritual accomplishment. He was observed moving unimpededly through rocks and, on another occasion when sponsors offered him chang, suddenly acted intoxicated and plunged into the river where he swam like a fish—dramatic gestures that inspired faith and turned observers’ minds toward the Vajrayana teachings.

Hearing of these developments, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé praised Drimé Özer, saying, ‘Your activity of holding, preserving, and spreading widely the teachings of your father, Traktung Düdjom Lingpa, is truly extraordinary.’

Over the years, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé also developed a close relationship with Drimé Özer’s elder brother, Düdjom Lingpa’s firstborn son, Dodrubchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima (1865–1926). In 1916, he sponsored the composition and production of Dodrubchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima’s written commentary on the Gyü Sangwa Nyingpo (Skt. Guhyagarbha, ‘Secret Essence Tantra’), the central tantra of the Nyingma Mahayoga tradition. This commentary—Sangnying Chidön Namjé Rinchen Dzödé (‘Precious Treasury of Detailed Explanations on the General Meaning of the Secret Essence’)—has since remained one of the most valued expositions of this foundational text within the Nyingma tradition.

In 1921, a more intimate episode revealed the depth of Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s connection with Drimé Özer. Drimé Özer’s dog, Hali—also known as Haba Kunlo—suddenly fell ill. Drimé Özer led the necessary healing rituals together with his assembled students. That same morning, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé arrived at Dartsang Kalzang, and Drimé Özer requested that he examine the situation and determine what further practices might be required. Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé replied, ‘This is the reason I came this morning, to make a dharma connection with Hali.’

After he did so, the dog gazed into Drimé Özer’s face, brought her two paws together, and, turning toward the west, peacefully passed away. Following this, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé gave an extensive dharma transmission to Drimé Özer and the assembled practitioners. Drimé Özer believed that Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé perceived where Hali would travel to in the postmortem dimension of the Bardo and where she would be reborn. Hoping to secure a favorable rebirth for his beloved canine companion, he offered Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé whatever material possessions he had. He also made offerings to the sword-bearing, bandit-turned-yogin Tertön Sögyal Lérab Lingpa (1856–1926) and to his monastically inclined elder brother, Dodrubchen Jikmé Tenpé Nyima, after which the three highly accomplished lamas performed extensive death ceremonies on Hali’s behalf.

That same year, Drimé Özer also began considering a major project for preserving his father’s teachings. Observing that the foundations for study and practice had sufficiently matured, he resolved to have woodblocks carved for printing all Düdjom Lingpa’s terma cycles, which until then had circulated only as hand-copied manuscripts. He first shared this aspiration with his chödak, Sögen Trülku Natsok Rangdrol (1869–c.1950), and other close disciples. They all pledged their support, and preparations began for carving the requisite woodblocks.

Around this time, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s attendant, a monk named Péma Samten, mentioned that he had relatives near Dergé, home to Tibet’s most renowned printing house, founded in 1729. He explained that they would be able to properly engrave the woodblocks and, although the work could not be completed that same year, they would assume responsibility for producing multiple sets of prints by the following year.

By creating the supportive conditions for printing Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings, Drimé Özer hoped to ensure the flourishing of both his father’s and his own termas. Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé played a decisive role in helping bring this vision to fruition, strengthening the transmission of Düdjom Lingpa’s teachings at a critical moment in their early history.

Prophetic Insights and Death

As a highly accomplished practitioner, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s mind was regarded as exceptionally lucid and perceptive. In the early 1920s, he visited the Khangsar Tsang family in Chakmo, in the Golok region. There, in the home of Khangsar Ngolo and Jechung Za Tashikyi, he encountered a young boy who had been born in 1916. Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé immediately identified the child as an embodiment of Longchen Drimé Özer (1308–1364), one of the most revered masters of the early Nyingma tradition who had also emanated as Düdjom Lingpa’s son, Trülku Drimé Özer.

Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé further prophesied that the boy would dispel the darkness of ignorance in the minds of future disciples and accordingly gave him the name Münsel, ‘Eliminator of Darkness’. In time, the child became known as Khenpo Münsel (1916–1993), later recognized as one of the most influential Nyingma teachers of the twentieth century. He went on to become a close disciple of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang (1879–1941), from whom he received the Mengak Nyengyü Chenmo, the ‘Secret Oral Instructions’ of the Longchen Nyingtik, the lineage of teachings that Rigdzin Jikmé Lingpa (1730–1798) established following his successive visionary encounters with Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer.

Little is known about Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé’s activities during the final years of his life when, from 1917 until the 1940s, the Golok region was repeatedly invaded by Hui Muslim warlords––most notably Ma Qi (1869–1931) and his son Ma Bufang (1903–1975)––who devastated local nomad communities and attempted to collect taxes and exploit Golok’s mineral resources, including gold deposits on the slopes of Amyné Machen. Prior to this period, Tertön Sögyal Lérab Lingpa had established an intimate spiritual connection with Ma Qi’s daughter––Khandro Pumo Trinley Chödrön––that helped to mitigate the impact of the Ma Family Army’s incursions into Golok and resulted in a son named Rigdzin Namgyal (1891–1950s), who went on to carry forward his father’s terma traditions.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Ma Qi’s son, Ma Bufang, launched seven military expeditions into the Golok region, slaughtering large numbers of Golok warriors and destroying many Tibetan Buddhist temples. (As the Tungan Governor of Xinghai Province from 1949, Ma Bufang allied with the Tenth Panchen Lama, Chökyi Gyaltsen (1938–1989) who sought to lead a military force to Lhasa to overthrow his rival––the then twelve-year old Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzing Gyatso.) During this volatile period, Déwé Dorjé Sera Khandro (1892–1940)––a prominent tertön in Düdjom Lingpa’s lineage––established further protection from Ma Family warlord power by cultivating religious patronage and ritual exchanges that spared certain encampments, monasteries, and communities in Golok from attack, looting, and taxation, and ensured advance warning of Ma Family cavalry movements. Tertön Sögyal Lérab Lingpa and Déwé Dorjé’s visionary charisma did not halt predatory campaigns or protect all Golok tribes, but the Hui warlords––adherents of Sufi Khufiyya Islam––operated selectively and situationally in accord with overlapping networks of patronage and charismatic religious influence across cultural boundaries.

Golok warriors were not passive during the Ma Family’s campaigns. As one Chinese Muslim observed at the time, ‘The Golokpas are devils incarnate. They strangle their captives with rawhides, behead, drown, cut throats, and slice bodies into small pieces . . . they shoot, stone to death, burn and blind their victims.’

During this tempestuous time, Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé lived largely in the Ser Chu Valley and passed away there in 1952, at the age of eighty. He left behind a legacy shaped by his close relationship with Düdjom Lingpa’s extended family, his prophetic insight, and his steady support for the early transmission and preservation of Düdjom Lingpa’s lineage during a particularly turbulent and unstable period of Chinese and Tibetan history.

Establishing the tendrel

By creating a simple mani wall and inviting Düdjom Lingpa to what would become Dartsang Kalzang––Düdjom Lingpa’s primary base during the final decade of his life––Yungshul Sungchok Dorjé established the tendrel for the further flourishing of Düdjom Lingpa’s terma teachings into the twentieth century.

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