Jamyang Shêpa
The Jamyang Shêpas (also Jamyang Zhepa, Jamyang-zhaypa, etc.) are a lineage of tülkus, said to be reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist teachers. They have traditional been the most prestigious teachers at Labrang Tashikhyil monastery in Amdo, the far eastern part of the Tibetan region (now in the Chinese province of Gansu).
The first Jamyang Shêpa, Ngawang Tsöndrü, was a native of Amdo, and, after studying at Drepung Monastery near Lhasa, was invited by the local Mongol king to return and teach Buddhism there.
There, Ngawang Tsöndrü later founded Labrang Tashikyil, one of the two great monasteries of Amdo. The first Jamyang Shêpa having been educated at Drepung, the lineage has subsequently belonged the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The current Jamyang Shêpa is the 6th, Lobsang Jigme Thubten Chökyi Nyima (born 1948).
During the Cultural Revolution, he became a layman and married (Tibetan Buddhist teachers may be either laypersons or monks, but the Jamyang Shêpas are traditionally monks). He currently lives in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.
