The Treasury of Lives

The Dzongsar Khyentse incarnation line is the primary incarnation line that originated with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. It is based at Dzongsar Monastery in Kham.



Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

b.1820 - d.1892

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was one of the most prominent lamas of the nineteenth century of any tradition. He is said to have received teachings from over one hundred and fifty lamas of all traditions, including, possibly, Bon, and served as teacher to most of the lamas of Kham in the second half of the nineteenth century. From his seat at Dzongsar Monastery in Derge, a branch of Ngor, he traveled twice to Tibet, and endlessly traversed Kham teaching and performing religious rituals. He famously worked closely with Jamgon Kongtrul and Chokgyur Lingpa, at the center of a religious revival the effects of which are still being felt. He was involved with the creation of Jamgon Kongtrul’s “Five Treasuries” and assisted Chokgyur Lingpa with the production of most of his treasures, authorizing and providing the organization of the revelations. He was a treasure revealer in his own right, included by Jamgon Kongtrul as the last in a list of “five kingly treasure revealers.”

Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro was one of the most influential religious teachers in Kham in the first half of the twentieth century. One of multiple reincarnations of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, he served as head of Dzongsar Monastery, which he enlarged, founding the monastic college, Khamshe, in 1918. Chokyi Lodro fled Kham in 1955 during the Communist takeover of Tibet, settling in Sikkim, where he passed away in 1959.