Masters · Nyingma · Dudjom Tersar · Bhutan
Dungzin Garab Rinpoche: The Dudjom Lineage in Bhutan
From a treasure-revealer in nineteenth-century Amdo, to the head of the Nyingma in exile, to a yogi born in eastern Bhutan who leads tens of thousands of Chöd practitioners: the Dudjom lineage has become one of the great living traditions of Bhutanese Buddhism. Its holder in Bhutan sponsored a Project 108 chorten — and wrote that it was not for his own merit.
Updated 1 October 2026 · 5 min read
Dudjom Lingpa
The lineage begins with Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1903), a treasure-revealer from Amdo in north-eastern Tibet who had little formal monastic training and yet revealed a vast body of teachings. They became the Dudjom Tersar, the “new treasures” of Dudjom, practised today across the Himalaya and far beyond.
Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche
His reincarnation, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (1904–1987), was born in Pemakö and became one of the most important Tibetan masters of the twentieth century — a scholar, poet and treasure-revealer who in the early 1960s was appointed the first head of the Nyingma school in exile. He settled first in Kalimpong, taught across Asia and the West, and died in France in 1987. His family’s ties to Bhutan run deep: his son Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931–2011) raised his children in Bhutan and was the chief architect of the National Memorial Chorten in Thimphu, built in 1974. Thinley Norbu was cremated in Paro in 2012 before some fifteen thousand people.
Dungzin Garab Rinpoche
His Holiness Dudjom Dungzin Garab Dorje Rinpoche was born in 1965 at Drikha Ösel Chöling in Trashigang, eastern Bhutan, the son of Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and a grandson of Dudjom Rinpoche. His official biography notes that his mother’s family also descends from Pema Lingpa. His elder brother is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.
He was educated in Bhutan and India and received the transmissions of the lineage from Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. In 1988 he was enthroned at his father’s seat, Gelong Gonpa; in 1989 he founded Rangjung Ösel Chöling monastery, and in 1993 a nunnery, Thegchok Künzang Chödrön. He is a ngakpa — a lay yogi of the tantric tradition rather than a monk.
He is best known for reviving Tröma, the Dudjom tradition of Chöd practice. His official biography records 46 Tröma groups in Bhutan with more than 30,000 practitioners, and he leads a World Peace Dudjom Tröma gathering at Bodh Gaya. He founded the Bhutanese Buddhist Youth Association, and his Rangjung Phendey Foundation supports hundreds of monks and nuns.
A note on the Dudjom Yangsis
After Dudjom Rinpoche’s death, more than one child was recognised as his reincarnation — among them Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa (1990–2022), born in Kham, and Dudjom Tenzin Yeshe Dorje, born in 1990 to a Bhutanese family, whose roles include a lay practice centre in Paro. Searchers often confuse them; they are different masters.
In Bhutan, 2026
When His Majesty announced Project 108, Dungzin Garab Rinpoche sponsored one of the 108 Jangchub Chortens. In his letter he wrote that the offering was not made to accumulate merit for himself, but as an expression of gratitude to His Majesty for his service to the nation and the vision of the Gelephu Mindfulness City. The monasteries under his guidance and the Druk Throema Tshogpa together added Nu 9,571,727. The full list of masters is in Project 108 Masters.