Item: Teacher (Lama) - Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso

Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso (1902-1963), the 69th Abbot of Ngor Evam Choden Monastery, Khangsar Labrang. He is also widely known as Drugpa Khenpo. This composition was painted by Tarig Rinpoche Jamyang Damcho Nyima in the 1970s. Images of Drugpa Khenpo are believed to be a protection from any harm caused by Dorje Shugden.

Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso believed that he was the re-incarnation of Sakya Tridzin Wangdu Nyingpo. He is also famous for being a staunch opponent to the practice of Dorje Shugden and well known for physically removing any images of the deity from Sakya Temples and others. At the time of visiting Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, in Gangtok, Sikkim, in 1959, Khyentse Rinpoche informed Drugpa Khenpo that his spiritual duty was to return to Tibet and safeguard the religious teachings. Khyentse Rinpoche further informed him that he, Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso, was one of four special individuals important for the continuation of spiritual practice and culture in Tibet.

Yontan Gyatso remained in Tibet after 1959 and passed away in the Kham area in the early 1960s. The Karma Kamtsang teacher, the 4th Karma Thinlepa (b.1931) is the nephew of Drugpa Khenpo and spent much of his youth with his eccentric uncle.

Jeff Watt 3-2003

(See the article - The 'Bhutan Abbot" of Ngor: Stubborn Idealist with a Grudge against Shugs-ldan, by David Jackson).