The Tana Yelpa Lineage and a Biography of Tana Dungsey Tulku Pema Rinpoche

Tana Monastery is one of the oldest and largest monastic orders in Tibet. The original Tana Monastery was built in the 12th century by Drogon Sangey Yelpa Yeshe Tsekpa who was the main disciple of Lord Phakmo Drupa, one of the three main disciples of Gampopa, the root guru of King Gesar of Ling’s family and ministers and the root guru of Tana Monastery. Tana Monastery is the primary seat of Yelpa Kagyu, one of the eight junior Kagyu sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tana Monastery is also known to be the monastery of King Gesar of Ling,   an enlightened warrior king of Tibet whose great deeds live on to this day in the lives and imaginations of Tibetans. Many of Gesar’s most valuable possessions, including his armor, sword and bow still exist at Tana Monastery and are among the most revered treasures of Tibet.

The practice of the Yelpa Kagyu lineage is primarily the Six Yogas of Naropa which uses both method and wisdom to attain liberation in accord with the generation and completion stages of Mahamudra. The Yelpa Kagyu Lineage has been continuously transmitted from Sangey Yelpa, its founder, to the present lineage holder, Tana Dungsey Rinpoche.

Tana Dungsey Tulku Pema Rinpoche

The Venerable Tana Dungsey Tulku Pema Rinpoche is the present Abbot and lineage holder of Tana Monastery in India. He was born in the Hung Kara Saint lineage. Hung Kara, its founder, was one of the teachers of Guru Rinpoche. Not long after Tana Dungsey Tulku Pema Rinpoche was born, the late 16th Karmapa recognized him as a tulku and gave him the name Karma Ngawang Chokyi Wangchuk Palsangpo.

Tana Dungsey Rinpoche studied reading and writing of Buddhist texts in his early childhood. Later he studied Buddhist philosophy at Karma Shri Nalanda Institute in Rumtek and Nyagyur Nyingma Institute, Namdroling and finished his three-year meditation retreat in 2014 at the TingZin Gephel Ling retreat centre in Sherabling, India, under the guidance of Tai Situpa Rinpoche.

During the cultural revolution (circa 1959), Tana Monastery was completely destroyed. Tana Dungsey Rinpoche’s late father, Tana Rinpoche, fled to India. After some years, Tana Rinpoche received land in Kollegal, South India, which was given to him by the Indian Government. He constructed a monastery and re-established the spiritual tradition of the Tana Monastery of Tibet and helped thousands of people in the refugee community regardless of who they were or where they came from.

Tana Rinpoche also visited the United States and Germany to teach and benefited many people to deepen their spiritual path. In January of 2000 Tana Rinpoche passed away in a New Delhi Hospital after a long period of illness. During his cremation, there were various relics generated from the ashes, which are a sign of high spiritual accomplishment.

After the passing of Tana Rinpoche, his son Tana Dungsey Rinpoche took the responsibility as the head of the Tana Lineage and oversees the monastery in India, the Tana Dharma Society Centre in Malaysia, a dharma center in Nepal and activities in the United States that continue the Tana Yelpa lineage.

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