Tulku Jigme Chhoeda (born 22 August 1955) became the 70th Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot of The Central Monastic Body) of Bhutan in 1996, and became the longest-serving holder of the office. [1]
His Holiness Tulku Jigme Chhoeda | |
|---|---|
 Je Khenpo in 2010, wearing saffron. | |
| In office Je Khenpo | |
| Assumed office 1996 – present | |
| Preceded by | Geshey Genduen Rinchen |
| In office Dorji Lopen | |
| In office 1995–1996 | |
| Title | 70th Je Khenpo |
| Personal | |
| Born | 22 August 1955 |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Parents |
|
His Holiness Trulku Jigme Choedra (རྗེ་མཁན་པོ།) was born to Yab(ཡབ།) Rinzin Dorji and Yum(ཡུམ།) Kuenzang Choden in Lhuentse at Drubtse Goenpa, Kurtoe, on the fifth day of the Bhutanese lunar month seven in the Wood Sheep year of 1955. [2]
Lhuentse on 22 August 1955, Jigme Chhoeda was recognized as the reincarnation of Geshey Pema Tshering, the learned sage of Tharpaling in Bumthang.
Jigme Chhoeda joined Druk Sanga Chhoeling Monastery in Darjeeling, India, at the age of eight. He was ordained as a monk with commitment from Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche and then studied under Khenpo Sonam Darge and Khenpo Noryang. Later, he studied under Dudjom Rinpoche in India. [3]
At the age of 15, he returned to Bhutan and studied at the Tango Drupdey in Thimphu under the 68th Je-Khenpo Ngawang Tenzin Dhondup. He received the complete initiations and teachings of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition and Dzogchen (the highest realization). He mastered the Mahamudra practices, the meditation of Naro Choedrug (the six circles of Ro-Nyom Kordrug). Tulku also studied language and literature and the 13 different philosophical texts under the 69th Je-Khenpo Geshey Genduen Rinchen.
Jigme Chhoeda completed Losum Choesum three times, a meditation retreat of 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days. During the ten-year retreat, he took up sacred practice of Vajrayana, which includes La-drup, Demchog, Tandin, Dorji Phagmo, Sengdongma, Mithrugpa, Chenrezig and Dzogchen meditations [2] .
Tulku was appointed as the head of Tango Monastery and taught language and Buddhist philosophy. In 1986, he was appointed as the Drapoi Lopen of the Central Monastic Body, and resigned in 1990. In 1995 Fourth Dragon King Jigme Singye Wangchuck appointed him as the Dorji Lopen. On the tenth day of the Bhutanese lunar month three, 1996, His Holiness was enthroned as the 70th Je khenpo of Bhutan [2] .
Bhutan : 
The Royal Saffron Scarf (19 March 1996).
Order of the Dragon King, First Class (18 December 2018). [4] 
Bhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. Some of the structures provide evidence that the region has been settled as early as 2000 BC. According to a legend it was ruled by a Cooch-Behar king, Sangaldip, around the 7th century BC, but not much is known prior to the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the Drukpa Kagyupa school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in Bhutan today. The country's political history is intimately tied to its religious history and relations among the various monastic schools and monasteries.
Ngawang Namgyal and known colloquially as The Bearded Lama, was a Tibetan Buddhist lama and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state. In addition to unifying the various warring fiefdoms for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinct Bhutanese cultural identity separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived.
The Je Khenpo, formerly called the Dharma Raja by orientalists, is the title given to the senior religious hierarch of Bhutan. His primary duty is to lead the Dratshang Lhentshog of Bhutan, which oversees the Central Monastic Body, and to arbitrate on matters of doctrine, assisted by Five Lopen Rinpoches . The Je Khenpo is also responsible for many important liturgical and religious duties across the country. The sitting Je Khenpo is also formally the leader of the southern branch of the Drukpa Kagyu sect, which is part of the Kagyu tradition of Himalayan Buddhism. Aside from the King of Bhutan, only the Je Khenpo may don a saffron kabney.
Articles related to Bhutan include:
Zhabdrung was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), the founder of the Bhutanese state, or one of his successive reincarnations.
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is the title of a tulku lineage of Tibetan Buddhist lamas. They originate with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, one of the most illustrious lamas of recent history, known for his central role in the rimé or non-sectarian movement in 19th Century Tibet. Jigme Namgyel is the present Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. He is the second or third incarnation, depending on whether Lodro Thaye is counted.
The 7th Dzogchen Ponlop is an abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, founder and spiritual director of Nalandabodhi, founder of Nītārtha Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies, a leading Tibetan Buddhist scholar, and a meditation master. He is one of the highest tülkus in the Nyingma lineage and an accomplished Karma Kagyu lineage holder.
The official religion in Bhutan is Buddhism, which is practiced by between 73-85% of the population.
Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche. He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of important Tulku lineage, and a renowned Tertön. Per lineage, he was a direct incarnation of both Padmasambhava and Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904). He was a Nyingma householder, yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his disciple Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, he was revered as "His Holiness" and as a "Master of Masters".
Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche was a Tibetan Dzogchen master and a reclusive ngagpa yogi, known for his great realization and strict discipline. Chatral Sangye Dorje was a disciple of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang and was widely regarded as one of the most highly realized Dzogchen yogis. In addition to his relationship with Khenpo Ngagchung, Chatral Sangye Dorje also studied with some of the last century's most renowned masters, including Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, and the famed Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo. Chatral Sangye Dorje was one of the primary lineage holders of the Longchen Nyingthig, and in particular the lineage that descends through Jigme Lingpa's heart son Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu and then on to Patrul Rinpoche.
Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa was a Tibetan Buddhist tertön and a teacher of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.
Rinpung Dzong, sometimes referred to as Paro Dzong, is a large dzong - Buddhist monastery and fortress - of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school in Paro District, Bhutan. It houses the district Monastic Body as well as government administrative offices of Paro Dzongkhag. It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.
Chagri Dorjeden Monastery, also called Cheri Monastery, is a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan established in 1620 by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the founder of the Bhutanese state.
Princess AshiSonam Dechen Wangchuck is a princess of Bhutan. She is the daughter of the fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and his wife, Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. She is half-sister of the fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
The Khamtrul tulku lineage is part of the Dongyud Palden section of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Gangteng Monastery, generally known as Gangtey Gonpa or Gangtey Monastery, is an important monastery of Nyingmapa school of Buddhism, the main seat of the Pema Lingpa tradition. located in the Wangdue Phodrang District in central Bhutan. The Monastery, also known by the Gangten village that surrounds it, is in the Phobjikha Valley where winter visitors – the black-necked cranes – visit central Bhutan to roost, circling the monastery three times on arrival and repeating this circling when returning to Tibet. The Monastery's history traces to the early 17th century and back to the prophecies made by the well-known Terton Pema Lingpa in the late 15th century.
The Tango Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) to the north of the capital city of Thimphu in Bhutan, near Cheri Mountain. It was founded by Phajo Drugom Zhigpo in the 13th century and built in its present form by Tenzin Rabgye, the 4th Temporal Ruler in 1688. In 1616, the Tibetan lama Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated in its cave. The self-emanated form of the wrathful Hayagriva is deified in the monastery. It belongs to the Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism in Bhutan.
Nalanda Buddhist Institute (NBI), also known locally as Daley Goenpa or Dalida, is a Buddhist monastic school (shedra) in the western part of the Punakha District (Dzongkhag) in Bhutan. It is below Talo Monastery and above Walakha, about a 25-minute drive from the main highway to Punakha. The name Nalanda means "insatiable giving".
The Dual System of Government is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribution of power between institutions varied over time and location. The Tibetan term Cho-sid-nyi literally means "both Dharma and temporal," but may also be translated as "dual system of religion and politics."
Geshey Gendün Rinchen was the 69th Je Khenpo of Bhutan.