Namgyal Drolma

Namgyal Drolma was the mother of Dudjom Rinpoche. Her family members were descendants of the fifteen-century tertön Ratna Lingpa.

According to Dudjom Rinpoche, his father Khengen Tulku and his mother Namgyal Drolma met in the following way:

Khengen Tulku, although not a monk, wasn’t married. He was living at his monastery of Khang Kheng and performing beneficial activities. Once again, a dakini, and also Lama Chabdo Phagpa Lha, told him to go to the Terkong Nang area, where he would meet a karmically connected dakini, establish a monastery, ad have a very special son who would benefit the dharma and sentient beings greatly. Following their instructions, Khengen Tulku eventually arrived there and found the area populated by about thirteen large families and fifteen or sixteen retinue families. Among the large families was one that had emigrated from eastern Bhutan and was descended from the great Nyingma tertön Ratna Lingpa. Khengen Tulku asked that family to host him, and with great joy and respect they agreed. This family had a young sixteen-year-old daughter named Namgyal Drolma. He slept with her that night and many beautiful signs and indications came. In the early morning he told the daughter’s parents, “I want to stay in this area ad build a monastery near the mountain, but I will need our help. I would also like your daughter to be my wife.” The parents joyously agreed. They sought out a perfect location for the monastery and found a beautiful site about three miles from the village. In that area, however, there were no stones, and everyone said, “If the temple is not built of stone, it won’t last long.” The lama prayed to the Three Roots and especially to Guru Padmasambhava, performed many ganachakras and made many offerings to the local land deities. He had auspicious dreams that night. Early in the morning, he told his students and dharma patrons, “Today I am going to reveal a treasury of stones, but I will need the assistance of a man named “Stone””. Everyone was trying to think of some one with that name. Someone remembered a very good craftsman from Puwo named Dorje Dragpa, and there was general agreement that he must be the man. They located this man, and then all of them accompanied the teacher to the selected location where they did fire puja Jinsek and dharmapala offerings. Khengen Tulku said to Dorje Dragpa, “Dig in the dirt.” Dorje Dragpa struck with his pick, and when he did, many stones of different sizes emerged looking like they had been prepared by a mason. With them, they were able to complete the construction of the monastery”.

According to Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok, "Namgyal Drolma was well-known as a Dakini in human form.

Family

Among the children of Namgyal Drolma and Khengen Tulku are:

• Dudjom Rinpoche
• Tulku Palden

Namgyal Drolma gave birth to her first son, Dudjom Rinpoche, amidst innumerable auspicious signs. After three years, many of the senior students of Dudjom Lingpa arrived in Pemakö, led by Gyurme Ngedön Wangpo, and recognized her son as the unmistaken immediate reincarnation of the their master Dudjom Lingpa.

Namgyal Drolma gave birth to a second son named Tulku Palden, who was the reincarnation of another great master named Gyalwa Phakpa Lha. Namgyal Drolma recalled a prophetic dream she had, saying, “In my dream I found two conches with the most beautiful color and shape, perfect in every way, only one was slightly bigger than the other. As I tried to blow each conch, the sound of the larger went in all directions, yet as I blew the second one, the sound did not go very far.”

According to Tulku Orgyen Phuntsok: "Clearly, the first conch represented Dudjom Rinpoche, whose englithened activities have reached in all directions, and the second one symbolized Tulku Palden, who did live long enough to complete his Dharma activities."

Final years

Her relicary stupa is located in Deden Tashi Chöling, the temple built by Togden Kunzang Longrol in the southern part of Pemakö, India.

According to Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche , "From the union of my sister Chimey Wangmo and Dasho Urgyen Wangchuk, Lhanzey Wangmo was born. Before Lhanzey Wangmo’s birth, Dudjom Rinpoche recognized her as the reincarnation of his mother, Namgyal Drolma".

Internal Links

• Dudjom Rinpoche Family Lineage