The Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen (b. 1963), is the head of the Drukpa Lineage school, which is one of the independent Sarma

Sarma (Tibetan Buddhism)

Sarma In Tibetan Buddhism, the Sarma schools include the three newest of the four main schools, comprising:*Kagyu*Sakya*Kadam/Gelukand their sub-branches.The Nyingma school is the sole Ngagyur or "old translation," school....

 (new) schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

. Some consider it the Northern (Tib. Chang, Wylie

Wylie transliteration

The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...

: Byang-'Brug) Drukpa.

The Drukpa lineage was founded in 1206 after Drogon Tsangpa Gyare

Tsangpa Gyare

The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...

, (Drogon - 'Protector of Beings'; Tsang - 'born in the land of Tsang'; Gya - 'from the noble clan of Chinese (Gya) origin'; Re - 'a cotton-clad yogi') after he saw nine dragons fly into the sky from the ground at Namdruk. He is known as the First Gyalwang Drukpa and is recognized as the indisputable emanation of Naropa

Naropa

thumb|right|NaropaNāropā was an Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism...

 (1016–1100).

Jigme Pema Wangchen is the twelfth and present incarnation of the Gyalwang Drukpa

Gyalwang Drukpa

The Gyalwang Drukpa or Drukchen are a line of re-incarnate lamas or tulku who are the head of the Drukpa school, one of the independent Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

. He was born while his parents were on pilgrimage in Tso Pema, (Rewalsar) Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, a sacred place of Padmasambhava, during the festival and a major ceremony of lama dances and a holy feast celebrating Guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

 Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...

's birthday, in 1963. His father, Zhichen Bairochana, is a Dzogchen

Dzogchen

According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...

 Master, these days commonly called Bairo Rinpoche

Rinpoche

Rinpoche or Rinboqê is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one," and is used to address or describe Tibetan lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. This honor is generally bestowed on reincarnated lamas, or Tulkus, by default...

. His mother, Kelsang Yudron, commonly known as Mayumla, came from Lhodrak, in southern Tibet.

"My name, Jigme Pema Wangchen was given by the holy Master Dudjom Yeshe Dorje with his traditional congratulations and divine blessings. Ever since then, I am blessed and entirely protected by him and Guru Padmasambhava forever."

He was taken as a reincarnation of the 11th Gyalwang Drukpa at the age of four, to Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling Monastery, in Darjeeling, which is his main monastery.

The monastic centres of the Drukpa lineage are:

• Namdruk, Ralung and Sangag Choeling in Tibet
• Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling in Darjeeling, India
• Hemis Monastery
  Hemis Monastery
  Hemis Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Drukpa Lineage, located in Hemis, Ladakh . Situated 45 km from Leh, the monastery was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal...
  
   in Ladakh
• Druk Amitabha Mountain, which is now being built in Kathmandu, Nepal.

He became a vegetarian at a young age.

In 2010 he was awarded the Bharat Jyoti Award of the India International Friendship Society

India International Friendship Society

The India International Friendship Society is a prominent – though not the only – voluntary organisation seeking to strengthen the ties between India and the international Indian diaspora in the hopes of utilising their potential for the benefit of the country, and at the same to build bridges of...

.

Humanitarian Projects of the present Gyalwang Drukpa

His Holiness is the founder of The Druk White Lotus School

The Druk White Lotus School

The Druk White Lotus School is located in Shey, Ladakh, in northern India.The school was started at the request of the people of Ladakh who wanted a school that would help maintain their rich cultural traditions, based on Tibetan Buddhism, while equipping their children for a life in the 21st...

 in Ladakh

Ladakh

Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and is the Abbot of Hemis Monastery, the most important monastery in Ladakh, where he was installed in 1981 at age 17.

External links

• Homepage of His Holiness.
• The Drukpa Trust supports and promotes the activities of His Holiness in the United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  .
• The Gyalwang Drukpa's Humanitarian Projects website.
• The Druk White Lotus School, of which the Gyalwang Drukpa is founder.
• drukpa.tv, live and archive video