| Jamyang Shêpa | |
|---|---|
| Tibetan name | |
| Tibetan: | འཇམ་དབྱངས་བཞད་པ་ |
| Wylie transliteration: | 'jam-dbyangs bzhad-pa |
| Tournadre Phonetic: | Jamyang Zhäpa |
| pronunciation in IPA: | [dʑàmjaŋ ɕɛ̀pa] |
| official transcription (PRC): | Jamyang Xaiba |
| other transcriptions: | Jamyang Shepa, Jamyang Zhepa, Jamyang-zhaypa |
| Chinese name | |
| traditional: | 嘉木樣協巴 |
| simplified: | 嘉木样协巴 |
| Pinyin: | Jiāmùyàng Xiébā |
The Jamyang Shêpas (also Jamyang Zhepa, Jamyang-zhaypa, etc.) are a lineage of tülkus, 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).[1]
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.[2]
The current Jamyang Shêpa is the 6th, Lobsang Jigme Thubten Chökyi Nyima (born 1948). During the Cultural Revolution, he became a layman and married[1] (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.