It wasn’t long before he was recognised as the reincarnation of another great lama, Trichen Ngawang Chokden. He was then ordained by the Panchen Lama, Palden Yeshe himself and started receiving initiations from him at the age of 10. Among the teachings he received at this time were the teachings and initiations of some of the highest and most complex texts of Heruka and Guhyasamaja.

He later entered Sera Je to further his studies, and went on to aquire a Geshe Lharampa degree. Before entering Gyumed Tantric College, he was given full ordination by Palden Yeshe. He took up residence in Shidey Samten Ling in Lhasa and became a teacher for Changkya Rolpei Dorje’s reincarnation. At age 49, Tritul Tenpa Rabgye gave ten cycles of essential transmission and teachings on the Lamrim to thousands of monks when requested by Sera Je to do so.

Tritul Tenpa Rabgye had a very huge influence on many Gelug Lamas, mainly due to his amazing collection of works. As he was an ardent practitioner of Dorje Shugden, so too became many Gelug Lamas who were influenced by him, especially those of Sera Monastery.

His student, Rinchen Wangyal, authored some of the earliest Dorje Shugden initiations and life entrustment rituals that are still available today. Lobsang Trinley Namgya, who later became a Tsenshab to the 10th and 11th Dalai Lamas is also counted among his disciples. Tritul Tenpa Rabgye also requested for one of the first few extensive rituals on Dorje Shugden to be written which was done by Dragri Gyatso Thaye.

To understand more about Tritul Tenpa Rabgye, we must look at his works. He has four volumes of teachings. The four volumes of collected works was made available when they were published in 1985 by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archive, Dharamsala. The first volume of works primarily consists of liturgies of many tutelary deities.

The second volume of work is more of a collection of answers to the questions that were presented by his many students that covers a variety of subjects. It also contains many short propitiations to various Dharma protectors, both enlightened and worldly.

The third volume discusses more advanced subjects such as the method for developing bodhicitta, as transmitted in the Wheel of Sharp Weapons (Dharmarakshita). The fourth and final volume of works contains even more propitiations, rituals and liturgies for many different yidams and protectors, including a sadhana for the 13-Deity Mandala of Red Yamantaka.

From here, we can see that Tritul Tenpa Rabgye was a very learned scholar and accomplished practitioner, and that he actively promoted and practiced Dorje Shugden. His time predates that of the 13th Dalai Lama, which means that Dorje Shugden’s practice was already strong and firm back then. This refutes the claims of many ill-researched modern day scholars who assert that Dorje Shugden was a little known practice that was popularized only by Pabongkha. They also wrongly accuse of him of making up details about the nature of Dorje Shugden.

On the contrary, Trichen Tenpa Rabgye is known to have written propitiations and prayers (included within his collected words) to several protectors, including Dorje Shugden and Setrap. In both cases, the protectors are referred to as emanations of enlightened beings, with Dorje Shugden associated as an emanation of Vajrapani, a view commonly held by many masters of the time. He also makes references in a praise to the fact that Dorje Shugden abides in the Dharmakaya, strongly indicative of the fact that he is fully enlightened for only Buddhas reside in this sphere.

In combination with works from other Lamas, Trichen Tenpa’s short though important writings on Dorje Shugden form a part of a very significant cannon of work about this Protector and his true nature as an enlightened Buddha. It is clear that many high Lamas back in the day could see the true nature of Dorje Shugden and that he was practised widely by lamas of the highest calibres of the Gelug tradition. It was commonly reputed that those who propitiate him only excelled in their spiritual growth.

The Dragri line of incarnations was significant enough for Trijang Dorje Chang, who is Heruka himself, to take an interest in them. Revealing the origins of this ancient lineage, Trijang Rinpoche wrote that the incarnations were some of the most profound Indian masters including Arhat Kanakavatsa (a direct disciple of Shakyamuni), King Chandrabhadra, and Pamting Ngawang Chugje and Gonpo Sonam Coden of Tibet. However, lacking in a formal recognition system, these incarnations did not carry the Dragri name.

More recently, the line of incarnations to carry the Dragri name began with Dragri Gyatso Thaye who was born in the first half of the 18th century. He was followed by Lobsang Chojor and Lobsang Thubten Namgyal, both born in the 19th century, and then by Lobsang Nyengyu Lungrig Gyatso who was born in the 20th century.

The traditional seat of the Dragri line was at Dragri hermitage located not far from Sera Monastery where Gyatso Thaye and many of his disciples such as Retreng Tritul Tenpa Rabgye studied. The hermitage, with formal buildings and structures, was founded by Gyatso Thaye. The location however, has always had a spiritual significance from as far back as the 7th century, when Buddhism first came to Tibet.

The hermitage was located close to Pabongka Monastery and Chuzang Hermitage. In fact, Gyatso Thaye was once the abbot of Pabongka Monastery, thus earning him the name Pabongka Gyatso Thaye. Dragri Rinpoche was also abbot of Garu Nunnery, taking charge in 1792 and continuing to take charge over successive lifetimes.

Gyatso Thaye’s incarnations were also famed for other aspects of Dharma practice and teachings. Lobsang Chojor, the incarnation immediately after Gyatso Thaye, became a lineage holder of the Solitary Hero Yamantaka practice from the Gelugpa lineage. The third incarnation of the Dragri line, Lobsang Thubten Namgyal, became one of Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo Rinpoche’s teachers.

By Gyatso Thaye’s time, there already existed notes and complete rituals written by Morchen Kunga Lhundrup and Drukpa Kunley propitiating Dorje Shugden. However, Gyatso Thaye was requested by his student Retreng Tritul Tenpa Rabgye to compose an extensive kangsol invoking Dorje Shugden’s blessings.

Thus Gyatso Thaye composed the Treasury of the Four Activities: Complete with Offerings, Praises, Fulfilment and Requests to the Dharmapala Dorje Shugden Tsel which was published in the Dorje Shugden sebum. This ritual was to become the first official extensive Gelug kangsol of Dorje Shugden in the Gelugpa lineage, calling upon him to protect the Gelug lineage and doctrine. Before this text, practitioners would refer to compositions written by older masters such as Morchen Dorje Chang, Dreuley and the Sakya Throne Holders who had been the first to officially propitiate him.

It is important to know that this kangsol was composed by Gyatso Thaye as early on as the 18th century, long before Pabongka Rinpoche. This completely counters the modern critics who claim that Dorje Shugden’s practices only came into prominence because Pabongka Rinpoche promoted it aggressively in the 20th Century.