Je Khenpo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Je Khenpo formerly called the Dharma Raj by orientalists, is the title given to the senior religious hierarch of Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

. His primary duty is to lead the Dratshang Lhentshog
Dratshang Lhentshog
The Dratshang Lhentshog is the Commission for the Monastic Affairs of Bhutan. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the bureaucracy that oversees the Drukpa Kagyu sect that is the state religion of Bhutan...

(Commission for the Monastic Affairs) of Bhutan, which oversees the Central Monastic Body, and to arbitrate on matters of doctrine, assisted by lopons (learned masters). 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

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

tradition of Himalayan 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...

. Aside from the King of Bhutan, only the Je Khenpo may don a saffron kabney

Kabney

A kabney is a silk scarf worn as a part of the gho, the traditional male costume in Bhutan. It is raw silk, normally 90 x 300 cm with fringes...

History

According to the dual system of government

Dual system of government

The Dual System of Government or Cho-sid-nyi 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...

established by the Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century, the powers of the government of Bhutan are ideally split between the religious branch, headed by the Je Khenpo, and the administrative branch, headed by the Druk Desi

Druk Desi

The Druk Desi ;The original title is Dzongkha: སྡེ་སྲིད་ཕྱག་མཛོད་; Wylie: sde-srid phyag-mdzod. was the title of the secular rulers of Bhutan under the dual system of government between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries...

. The position of Je Khenpo is granted on merit by election, and typically is given to the most respected monk in the Dratshang Lhentshog

Dratshang Lhentshog

The Dratshang Lhentshog is the Commission for the Monastic Affairs of Bhutan. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the bureaucracy that oversees the Drukpa Kagyu sect that is the state religion of Bhutan...

(Commission for the Monastic Affairs). Thus, unlike reincarnation lineages such as the Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

, Shabdrung

Shabdrung

Shabdrung , was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage...

, or Panchen Lama

Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...

, the position of Je Khenpo is never held by a child but always by a seasoned monk.

Historically, the role of the Je Khenpo was quite powerful. The Je Khenpo and Druk Desi

Druk Desi

collaborated to disempower the office of the Shabdrung

Shabdrung

Shabdrung , was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage...

through finding multiple incarnations of various aspects of the Shabdrung; both the Je Khenpo and the Druk Desi wanted to retain the power they had accrued through the dual system of government

Dual system of government

. However, since the establishment of the monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

in 1907, the relative influence of the Je Khenpo has diminished. Nonetheless, the position remains a powerful one and the Je Khenpo is typically viewed as the closest and most powerful advisor to the King of Bhutan.

The 67th Je Khenpo, Ngawang Thinley Lhundup, died at the age of 84 on June 10, 2005. He was noted as a strict disciplinarian who would not compromise any rules in managing the Central Monsatic Body. In addition to his position as Je Khenpo, he was recognized as the trulku of Nyizergang, the seat of the terton

Tertön

A tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or "terma". Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed...

Woogpa Lingpa, in Wangdue Phodrang

Wangdue Phodrang

Wangdue Phodrang District is a dzongkhag of central Bhutan. This is also the name of the dzong which dominates the district, and the name of the small market town outside the gates of the dzong...

province.

The 70th and present Je Khenpo is Trulku Jigme Chhoeda. He is believed to be the reincarnation of Maitreya

Maitreya

Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...

, as well as the mahasiddha

Mahasiddha

Mahasiddha is a term for one who cultivates those teachings that lead to becoming perfect. They are a type of eccentric yogini/yogi in both Sanatan Dharma and Vajrayana Dharma, given by Siddhartha. Mahasiddhi are those practitioners, or tantrikas who have gained sufficient understanding and are so...

Saraha

Saraha , Sarahapa , or Sarahapāda , originally known as Rāhula or Rāhulbhadra, was the first sahajiya and one of the Mahasiddhas, and is considered to be one of the founders of Buddhist Vajrayana, and particularly of the Mahamudra tradition. His dohas are compiled in Dohakośa, the 'Treasury of...

, Hungchen Kara, Kheuchung Lotsawa, and Pema Tsering.

In 2008, the office of the Je Khenpo was codified as part of Bhutan's Constitution

Constitution of Bhutan

The Constitution of Bhutan was enacted July 18, 2008 by the Royal Government. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan...

. Under Article 3 Section 4, the King appoints the Je Khenpo as the spiritual leader of Bhutan on the recommendation of the Five Lopons. In turn, the Je Khenpo appoints, on the recommendation of the Dratshang Lhentshog

Dratshang Lhentshog

(Commission for the Monastic Affairs), monks with the nine qualities of a spiritual master and accomplished in ked-dzog (stages of development and completion in Vajrayana

Vajrayana

Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...

practice) as the Five Lopons.

17th century

Number	Name	Tenure
1	Pekar Jungney	? – 1672
2	Sonam Ozer	1672 – 1689
3	Pekar Lhündrup	1689 – 1697
4	Damchö Pekar	1697 – 1707

18th century

Number	Name	Tenure
5	Zödpa Thinley	1707 – 1724
6	Ngawang Lhündrup	1724 – 1730
7	Ngawang Thinley	1730 – 1738
8	Tenzin Norbu	1738 – 1744
9	Shakya Rinchen	1744 – 1755
10	Tenzin Chögyal	1755 – 1762
11	Ngawang Thinley	1762 – 1769
12	Kunga Jamtsho	1769 – 1771
13	Yönten Thaye	1771 – 1775
14	Tenzin Namgyal	1775 – 1781
15	Kunzang Gyaltsen	1781 – 1784
16	Sherab Singye	1784 – 1791
17	Jamgön Yeshi Dorji	1791 – 1797
18	Jamyang Gyaltshen	1797 – 1803

19th century

Number	Name	Tenure
19	Ngawang Chögyal	1803 – 1807
20	Yeshey Gyaltshen	1807 – 1811
21	Jampyel Drakpa	1811 – 1816
22	Jigme Gyaltsen	1816 – 1826
23	Jampyel Drakpa	1826 – 1831
24	Shakya Gyaltsen	1831 – 1836
25	Sherab Gyaltsen	1836 – 1839
26	Yönten Jamtsho	1839 – 1840
27	Pema Zangpo	1840 – 1847
28	Rinchen Zangpo	1847 – 1848
29	Pema Zangpo	1848 – 1850
30	Jampyel Jamtsho	1850 – 1851
31	Yönten Gyaltsen	1851 – 1858
32	Tshultrim Gyaltsen	1858 – 1860
33	Künga Peljor	1860 – 1861
34	Shedrup Ozer	1861 – 1865
35	Shakya Gyaltsen	1865 – 1869
36	Yönten Pelzang	1869 – 1873
37	Künga Singye	1873 – 1875
38	Shakya Gyaltsen	1875 – 1875
39	Lodrö Gyaltsen	1875 – 1878
40	Pekar Ozer	1878 – 1881
41	Ngawang Dönden	1881 – 1886
42	Thinley Gyaltsen	1886 – 1888
43	Tenzin Lhündrup	1888 – 1889
44	Thinley Gyaltsen	1889 – 1891
45	Thinley Jamtsho	1891 – 1894
46	Damchö Gyaltsen	1894 – 1899
47	Sherab Lhündrup	1899 – 1901

20th century

Number	Name	Tenure
48	Jamyang Rinchhen	1901 – 1903
49	Rigzin Nyingpo	1903 – 1907
50	Jampyel Shenyen	1907 – 1909
51	Jampai Tobzang	1909 – 1912
52	Pelden Singye	1912 – 1915
53	Yeshey Ngödrup	1915 – 1917
54	Yeshey Dawa	1917 – 1918
55	Pelden Singye	1918 – 1918
56	Mipham Wangpo	1919 – 1922
57	Ngawang Gyaltsen	1922 – 1927
58	Sidzhe Namgyal	1927 – 1931
59	Chökyi Wangchuk	1931 – 1940
60	Ngawang Thinley	1940 – 1946
61	Samten Jamtsho	1946 – 1955
62	Yönten Tsündu	1955 – 1956
63	Thinley Lhündrup	1956 – 1961
64	Samten Pelzang	1961 – 1965
65	Yeshey Singye	1965 – 1968
66	Yönten Tarchen	1968 – 1971
67	Nyizer Thinley Lhendrup	1971 – ?
68	Tenzin Dundrup	? – 1990
69	Gedun Rinchen	1990 – 1996
70	Trulku Jigme Chhoedra	1996 – present

21st century