About Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Lived 1820 – 1892 (aged 71–72). Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was a monk, writer, tertön and compiler.
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (, 1820–1892), also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement.
Having seen how the Gelug institutions pushed the other traditions into the corners of Tibet's cultural life, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé compiled together the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma, including many near-extinct teachings, thus creating the Rimé movement. Without their collection and printing of rare works, the suppression of Buddhism by the Communists would have been much more final.
Biography Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was born in 1820 on the 5th day of the 6th month of the Iron Dragon year of the 14th Rabjung, in the region of Yaru Khyungchen Drak in The Valley of Taerlung( treasure/spiritual)in Derge to a family named Dilgo of Dilgo village, Kham. His father was Rinchen Namgyal, the secretary of the king of Derge belonging to the Nyö clan, and a descendant of Drikung Changchub Lingpa. His mother Sönam Tso was a daughter of Gerab Nyerchen Göntse of the Sogmotsang family, from a Mongol background.
At twelve, he was recognized by Thartse Khenchen Jampa Kunga Tendzin as the incarnation of Jampa Namkha Chimé, and was given the name Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Kunga Tenpé Gyaltsen Palzangpo. At twenty-one, he received full ordination from Minling Khenchen Rigdzin Zangpo at Mindrolling Monastery. In all, he had more than one hundred and fifty teachers, who were masters from all four major Tibetan Buddhist schools from the regions of Ü and Tsang as well as Kham, including Minling Trichen Gyurme Sangye Kunga, Shechen Gyurme Thutob Namgyal, Sakyapa Dorje Rinchen and the khenpo brothers of Thartse, Ngorpa Thartsé Khenpo Jampa Kunga Tendzin (1776–1862) and Thartsé Pönlop Naljor Jampal Zangpo (b. 1789). Of these, the body incarnation was Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chökyi Wangpo, who was enthroned at Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's main seat at Dzongsar Monastery but died in an accident c. 1909. The activity incarnation Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, who was originally enthroned at Katok Monastery succeeded him. The speech incarnation was the Second Beru Khyentse and the mind incarnation Dilgo Khyentse. Since the early 1960s, Dilgo Khyentse, single-handedly upholding the unique tradition of Khyentse incarnations, propagated Buddhism tirelessly in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and the West.
List of the immediate emanations of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo:
Sku Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chökyi Wangpo (1894?–1908) Jamyang Chökyi Wangchug (1909–1960) Gsung Karma Khyentse'i Ozer (1896–1945) Second Beru Khyentse (Beru or Palpung Khyentse) (1946–) Thugs Sakya Punpo Khyentse (1900–1950) Dilgo Khyentse Rabsal Dawa (1910–1991) Se Phagchog Dorje (1854–1919), a son of Togden Shakya Sri Yon tan Dzogchen Khyentse Guru Tsewang (c. 1897 – c. 1945) Nangchen Khyentse Kunzang Drodul (1897–1946) Phrin las Katok Khyentse Jamyang Chökyi Lodro (1893–1959), later known as Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Name variants Alternate names by which Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was known include: Dorje Zijitsal; Jigme Khyentse Nyugu; Khyentse Wangpo; Kunga Tenpai Gyeltsen Pelzangpo; Osel Dorje Tukchoktsal; Osel Tulpai Dorje; Pema Osel Do-ngag Linpa; Tsangse Gyepai Loden; Tsokye Lama Gyepaibang; Tsuglamawai Nyima Tsokye Shonnui Langtso.
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Important facts
People in Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo?
Tibetan Buddhist (1820–1892)
When was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo born?
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was born in 1820 in Dêgê.
When did Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo die?
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo died in 1892.
What was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's occupation?
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was a monk, writer, tertön and compiler.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
· DBpedia: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. https://biography.guide/jamyang-khyentse-wangpo/
MLA: "Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jamyang-khyentse-wangpo/.
Chicago: "Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jamyang-khyentse-wangpo/.
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