| Gyalwang Pagsam Wangpo | |
| Native Name Lang: | bo |
| Religion: | Tibetan Buddhist |
| School: | Drukpa Lineage |
| Lineage: | Gyalwang Drukpa |
| Ethnicity: | Tibetan |
| Birth Date: | 1593 |
| Birth Place: | Chonggye, Tsang, southern Tibet |
| Death Date: | 1653 |
| 5th Gyalwang Drukpa | |
| Period: | 1597-1653 |
| Teacher: | Lhatsewa Ngawang Zangpo (lha rtse ba ngag dbang bzang po) (1546-1615) |
| Reincarnation Of: | Kunkhyen Pema Karpo (1527-1592 CE) |
| Students: | Taktsang Repa, Dungkar Mipam Lodrö (1577-1636), Künga Lhündrup (1616-1675) Mipam Püntsok Shérap |
Pagsam Wangpo (dpag bsam dbang po) (1593-1653 CE), a key figure in the history of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, was born at Chonggye (phyong rgyas), in the Tsang province of Tibet a natural son of the prince of Chonggye, Ngawang Sonam Dragpa. He was an elder cousin of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682).[1]
Pagsam Wangpo was considered to be an immediate re-incarnation of Kunkhyen Pema Karpo (1527-1592 CE). In 1597 he was enthroned as the 5th Gyalwang Drukpa hierarch of the Northern branch of the Drukpa Lineage at Tashi Thongmon monastery, resulting in a lengthy dispute with a rival candidate enthroned at Ralung Monastery.
Following a traditional paternal-uncle to nephew model of spiritual and temporal succession common in Tibet during that period known as khuwon (khu dbon),[2] the Gya (rgya), also known as the Druk, family descended from Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211) and his nephew Darma Senge (1177-1237)[3] held both the main spiritual succession of the Central Drukpa (bar 'bruk) tradition as well as the temporal control of Ralung Monastery and its extensive estates for over 400 years.[4] In English sources, this particular line of spiritual and temporal succession is often referred to as the hereditary lineage of the "prince-abbots" of Ralung.
The 13th hierarch of this Ralung succession, Kunga Penjor (1428-1476)[5] declared himself to be the reincarnation of the founder Tsangpa Gyare, thus becoming the 2nd Gyalwang Drukpa as well as the hereditary hierarch of Ralung.[6] However, following his death, the Gya family had no male heir to assume the position of his reincarnation. Some of his students therefore looked outside of Gya clan in order to continue this incarnation line. Chödrak Gyatso, 7th Karmapa Lama (1454-1506) recognized Jamyang Chökyi Drakpa, a son of his patrons, the powerful Ja clan, as the Third Gyalwang Drukpa.;[7] Then following his death in 1523, a boy from the Kongpo region was recognized as his reincarnation and became the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, Kunkhyen ("the omniscient") Padma Karpo, the greatest scholar in the history of the Drukpa school.
Meanwhile, Ngawang Chögyal [8] the nephew of Drukpa Kunley and son of Kunga Paljor's brother Nangso Rinchen Zangpo (nang so rin chen bzang po)[9] (also known as Lhawang), succeeded Kunga Paljor as the 14th hereditary prince-abbot of Ralung. He was succeeded by his elder son Ngawang Drakpa (1506-1530);[10] who in turn was succeeded by his younger brother Ngagi Wangchuck (1517-1554);[11] who was succeeded by his son Mipham Chögyal (1543-1606).[12]
The Central Drukpa school thus became effectively split into two, one group following the incarnation line of the Gyalwang Drukpas and another following the old hereditary Drukpa lineage of the prince abbots of Ralung monastery.
Following the death of the Kunkhyen Pema Karpo in 1592, two candidates were claimed as his reincarnation: Pagsam Wangpo (b. 1593), the natural son of the prince of Chongye, and Ngawang Namgyal (b.1594), the son of Mipham Chögyal, 17th prince-abbot of Ralung. The arbitrage between the parties of the two candidates was long and complex, involving most of the principal religious and political dignitaries of Tibet at that time. Lhatsewa Ngawang Zangpo (lha rtse ba ngag dbang bzang po, 1546-1615), an influential follower of Gyalwang Drukpa Padma Karpo, and most of the monks of Tashi Thongmon and Druk Sangag Chöling monasteries, favoured Lhatsewa's nephew, Pagsam Wangpo; while the Gya clan of Ralung Monastery, the traditional seat of the Drukpa school, and their supporters laid claim on behalf of Ngawang Namgyal. The long dispute ultimately led to a decision by the strongman of Tibet, Karma Phuntsok Namgyal, who chose the Chonggye candidate Pagsam Wangpo. This cemented the split of the central branch of the Drukpa school into Northern and Southern branches, and the flight of the opposing candidate to the south of the Himalayas where he established an independent Drukpa state now known as Bhutan.[13] [14] [15] [16]
The principal teachers of Pagsam Wangpo were:
Among the many disciples of Pagsam Wangpo notable were:
Tibetan Namthar:
Note: Namthar contain accounts of the external life and interior realizations of great masters of the Tibetan tradition written in a reverential or hagiographical tone.