His Eminence the VI Gongkar Dorje Dhenpa Rinpoche
Tenzin Jampal Lungtok Namgyal · Supreme Head of the Dzongpa lineage of the Sakya tradition
His Eminence the VI Gongkar Dorje Dhenpa Rinpoche, Tenzin Jampal Lungtok Namgyal, is the Supreme Head of the Dzongpa lineage of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in 1977 in Arunachal Pradesh, in northeastern India near the Tibetan border, his life and teaching are dedicated to the preservation of the Dzongpa tradition and the benefit of beings.
Recognition as a tulku
His predecessor, the V Dorjedenpa Tulku, passed away prematurely in Tibet in 1959 during the Lhasa uprising. The monks of the Dzongpa lineage repeatedly asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama whether their master had reincarnated. After careful examination, His Holiness instructed them to direct the search toward northeastern India, near the Tibetan border.
In 1989, Rinpoche was found in Arunachal Pradesh and recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who performed the hair-cutting ceremony and gave him the name Tenzin Jampal Lungtok. Later, His Eminence the late Chogye Trichen Rinpoche extended his name to Tenzin Jampal Lungtok Namgyal.
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama officially recognized Rinpoche as the reincarnation of the V Dorjedenpa Tulku in 1989.
Training
His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasized the importance of Rinpoche receiving deep and thorough training. Thus, he entered Sakya College in Dehradun as its youngest student, under the guidance of the late Khenpo Migmar Tsering, and graduated with distinction in 1999.
In addition to mastering the thirteen great shastras of the Nalanda tradition as taught within the Sakya tradition, Rinpoche received the Compendium of Tantras, the Compendium of Sadhanas, the complete Lamdré, and numerous empowerments, transmissions, and tantric instructions from His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trichen and other great masters of the lineage.
Re-establishment of Gongkar Choede
In 2003, Rinpoche re-established Gongkar Choede Monastery in Dehradun, India, continuing in exile the principal seat of the lineage, originally founded in Tibet in 1464. The monastery was inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and on that same occasion Rinpoche was enthroned as the Head Lama of the lineage by His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trichen.
At the monastery, Rinpoche completed numerous meditation retreats and mastered the tantric rituals of the lineage, fully assuming responsibility for its preservation.
The two highest spiritual authorities who have blessed Rinpoche's path.
International activity
Since 2005, Rinpoche has travelled internationally to offer Buddhist teachings in various parts of the world. He established the Sakya Dzongpa Vajrayana Community in Taipei, where he gives regular teachings, and since then practice communities linked to the lineage have formed in India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, and Hong Kong.
At the request of local Buddhists in Arunachal Pradesh, his homeland, Rinpoche has undertaken the project of establishing Gongkar Dorje Den there, as a larger base from which the Dzongpa tradition may fully revive.
His guidance for Dzongpa Europa
The Dzongpa Cultural Association and the Dzongpa Europa project develop under Rinpoche's inspiration and spiritual direction, with the wish to create suitable conditions for his teachings and those of the Dzongpa lineage to be received, studied, and practiced in Europe.