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Dong Qichang (Chinese: 董其昌; pinyin: Dǒng Qíchāng; Wade–Giles: Tung Ch'i-ch'ang; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, politician, and art theorist of the later period of the Ming dynasty.
'''Life as a scholar and calligrapher:'''<br>
Dong Qichang was a native of Hua Ting (located in modern-day Shanghai), the son of a teacher and somewhat precocious as a child. At 12 he passed the prefectural Civil service entrance examination and won a coveted spot at the prefectural Government school. He first took the imperial civil service exam at seventeen, but placed second to a cousin because his calligraphy was clumsy. This led him to train until he became a noted calligrapher. Once this occurred he rose up the ranks of the imperial service passing the highest level at the age of 35. He rose to an official position with the Ministry of Rites.[1]
'''Landscape with Calligraphy, Tokyo National Museum:''''<br>
His positions in the bureaucracy were not without controversy. In 1605 he was giving the exam when the candidates demonstrated against him causing his temporary retirement. In other cases he insulted and beat women who came to his home with grievances. That led to his house being burned down by an angry mob. He also had the tense relations with the eunuchs common to the scholar bureaucracy. Dong's tomb in Songjiang District was vandalized during the Cultural Revolution, and his body dressed in official Ming court robes, was desecrated by Red Guards.
'''Painter:''''<br>
His work favored expression over formal likeness. He also avoided anything he deemed to be slick or sentimental. This led him to create landscapes with intentionally distorted spatial features. Still his work was in no way abstract as it took elements from earlier Yuan masters. His views on expression had importance to later "individualist" painters.
'''Art theory:''''<br>
In his art theoretical writings, Dong developed the theory that Chinese painting could be divided into two schools, the northern school characterized by fine lines and colors and the southern school noted for its quick calligraphic strokes. These names are misleading as they refer to Northern and Southern schools of Chan Buddhism thought rather than geographic areas. Hence a Northern painter could be geographically from the south and a Southern painter geographically from the north. In any event he strongly favored the Southern school and dismissed the Northern school as superficial or merely decorative.
His ideal of Southern school painting was one where the artist forms a new style of individualistic painting by building on and transforming the style of traditional masters. This was to correspond with sudden enlightenment, as favored by Southern Chan Buddhism. He was a great admirer of Mi Fu and Ni Zan. By relating to the ancient masters' style, artists are to create a place for themselves within the tradition, not by mere imitation, but by extending and even surpassing the art of the past. Dong's theories, combining veneration of past masters with a creative forward looking spark, would be very influential on Qing dynasty artists as well as collectors, "especially some of the newly rich collectors of Sungchiang, Huichou in Southern Anhui, Yangchou, and other places where wealth was concentrated in this period". Together with other early self-appointed arbiters of taste known as the Nine Friends, he helped determine which painters were to be considered collectible (or not). As Cahill points out, such men were the forerunners of today's art historians. His classifications were quite perceptive and he is credited with being "the first art historian to do more than list and grade artists." ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Qichang Source Accessed July 14, 2023])
*since 2016 - Master’s degree programme in Tibetology and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna
*2013 - 2016 - Bachelor’s degree programme Languages and Cultures of South Asia and Tibet, University of Vienna
*2005 - 2008 - Secondary School LEWIT, Merano, Italy
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Dorje Nyingcha is Associate Professor at the Center for Studies of Ethnic Minorities in Northwest China at Lanzhou University. He began studying Tibetan literature at Northwest Minzu University in Lanzhou where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995. He received his doctorate in South Asian Studies at Harvard University. His research focuses on biographies and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual history, particularly pre-fourteenth-century intellectual history. His dissertation was on Garungpa Lhai Gyaltsen (1319-1402/3), a student of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292-1361) who became an important scholar and defender of the Jonang tradition in the fourteenth century. (Sheehy and Mathes, ''The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet, 381) +
Dorje Yudon was a Tibetan aristocrat who fled the Communist take over of Tibet to settle in the United States. A member of two prominent Lhasa families, she moved across the Tibetan and Indian border several times and had relationships with several key players in the political events of mid-twentieth century Tibet. +
Gyurme Dorje (1950 – 5 February 2020) was a Scottish Tibetologist and writer. He was born in Edinburgh, where he studied classics (Latin and Greek) at George Watson's College and developed an early interest in Buddhist philosophy. He held a PhD in Tibetan Literature (SOAS) and an MA in Sanskrit with Oriental Studies (Edinburgh). In the 1970s he spent a decade living in Tibetan communities in India and Nepal where he received extensive teachings from Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. In 1971 Dudjom Rinpoche encouraged him to begin translating his recently completed ''History of the Nyingma Schoo''l (རྙིང་མའི་སྟན་པའི་ཆོས་འབྱུང་) and in 1980 his ''Fundamentals of the Nyingma School'' (བསྟན་པའི་རྣམ་གཞག) - together this was an undertaking that was to take twenty years, only reaching completion in 1991. In the 1980s Gyurme returned to the UK and in 1987 completed his 3 volume doctoral dissertation on the ''Guhyagarbhatantra'' and Longchenpa's commentary on this text at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.
From 1991 to 1996 Gyurme held research fellowships at London University, where he worked with Alak Zenkar Rinpoche on translating (with corrections) the content of the Great Sanskrit Tibetan Chinese Dictionary to create the three volume ''Encyclopaedic Tibetan-English Dictionary''. From 2007 until his death he worked on many translation projects, primarily as a Tsadra Foundation grantee. He has written, edited, translated and contributed to numerous important books on Tibetan religion and culture including ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History'' (2 vols.) (Wisdom, 1991), ''Tibetan Medical Paintings'' ( 2 vols.) (Serindia, 1992), ''The Tibet Handbook'' (Footprint, 1996), the first complete translation of the ''Tibetan Book of the Dead'', and ''A Handbook of Tibetan Culture'' (Shambhala, 1994). ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyurme_Dorje Source Accessed Jul 14, 2020])
Dorji Wangchuk was born in 1967 in East Bhutan. After the completion of his ten year training (1987–1997) in the Tibetan monastic seminary of Ngagyur Nyingma Institute at Bylakuppe, Mysore, South India, he studied classical Indology and Tibetology, with a focus on Buddhism, at the University of Hamburg, where he received his MA (2002) and PhD (2005) degrees. Currently he is professor for Tibetology at the Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg. His special field of interest lies in the intellectual history of Tibetan Buddhism and in the Tibetan Buddhist literature. (Source: [http://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/indtib/Personen.html Hamburg University]) +
Douglas Duckworth, Ph.D. (Virginia, 2005) is Professor at Temple University and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Religion. His papers have appeared in numerous journals and books, including the ''Blackwell Companion to Buddhist Philosophy'', ''Sophia'', ''Philosophy East & West'', the ''Journal for the American Academy of Religion'', ''Asian Philosophy'', and the ''Journal of Contemporary Buddhism''. Duckworth is the author of ''Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition'' (SUNY 2008) and ''Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings'' (Shambhala 2011). He also introduced and translated ''Distinguishing the Views and Philosophies: Illuminating Emptiness in a Twentieth-Century Tibetan Buddhist Classic'' by Bötrül (SUNY 2011). He is a co-author of ''Dignāga’s Investigation of the Percept: A Philosophical Legacy in India and Tibet'' (Oxford 2016) and co-editor of ''Buddhist Responses to Religious Diversity: Theravāda and Tibetan Perspectives'' (Equinox 2020). He also is the co-editor, with Jonathan Gold, of ''Readings of Śāntideva’s Guide to Bodhisattva Practice (Bodhicaryāvatāra)'' (CUP 2019). His latest works include ''Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy of Mind and Nature'' (OUP 2019) and a translation of an overview of the Wisdom Chapter of the ''Way of the Bodhisattva'' by Künzang Sönam, entitled ''The Profound Reality of Interdependence'' (OUP 2019). Doctor Duckworth received the first '''Distinguished Research Grant in Tibetan Buddhist Studies''' from Tsadra Foundation for 2020-2023. In 2025, ''The Great Hūṃ: A Commentary on Śāntideva's Way of the Bodhisattva'' was published with Wisdom Publications. +
Douglas L. Berger is Professor of Comparative Philosophy at Leiden University in the Netherlands. His primary areas of research and teaching are classical Brāhmiṇical and Indian Buddhist thought, Classical Chinese philosophy, and cross-cultural
philosophical hermeneutics. He is the author of ''Encounters of Mind: Luminosity and Personhood in Indian and Chinese Thought'' (SUNY Press, 2015), ''"The Veil of Māyā:" Schopenhauer’s System and Early Indian Thought'' (Global Academic Publications, 2004), and coeditor, with JeeLoo Liu, of ''Nothingness in Asian Philosophy'' (Routledge, 2014). He has authored dozens of essays and book chapters on the areas of his research and is chief editor of the University of Hawai'i Press book series "Dimensions of Asian Spirituality." He has also served as the president of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (2014–2016). (Source: [https://research.tsadra.org/index.php/Ethics_without_Self,_Dharma_without_Atman Ethics without Self, Dharma without Atman]) +
Douglas Burns, M.D. was an American psychiatrist who intensely studied and practiced Buddhism in Thailand. He was last seen in Bangkok in 1975 before leaving on a trip to southern Thailand. He was presumed dead, but mystery surrounds his disappearance. ([https://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php/Douglas_Burns Source Accessed April 6, 2019]) +
D.E. Osto (a.k.a. 'Douglas Osto', 'Dr D', or 'Dee' to friends; pronouns: they/them) is a member of the Philosophy Programme in the School of Humanities, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. D specializes in Indian Mahayana Buddhism, South Asian religions and philosophies, contemporary Buddhist and Hindu practice. ([https://massey.academia.edu/DouglasOsto Source Accessed June 1, 2021]) +
Dylan Esler is a scholar and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. He holds a PhD in Languages and Literature from the Université catholique de Louvain and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He currently works at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) of the Ruhr-University Bochum and is also affiliated with the Oriental Institute of Louvain (CIOL). His research interest focuses on early rNying-ma expositions of rDzogs-chen and Tantra. ([https://rub.academia.edu/DylanEsler Academia.edu Source Accessed Nov 19, 2020]) +
Dr. Lodrö Phuntsok is the doctor in chief of the Tibetan hospital of Dzongsar, and a very active influence in the preservation of the medical and cultural heritage of Tibet.
Lodrö Phuntsok began his studies of Tibetan medicine at the age of 16. He also studied Tibetan Buddhism, grammar, poetry, astrology, art, woodcraft, and sculpture. He has published books on Buddhism and medicine, and has written extensively about the history of Dzongsar monastery and the lives of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. Since 1983, he has been promoting community service projects such as environmental protection, medical care for the poor, and cultural preservation, and has introduced classes in traditional Tibetan handicrafts at Dzongsar shedra. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Doctor_Lodr%C3%B6_Puntsok Rigpa Wiki]) +
Melanie is a psychotherapist, lecturer and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and has been empowered by Lama Yeshe Rinpoche to teach. She has worked and taught in a variety of fields with individuals and groups for the past 40 years. These include meditation, dream work, death and dying, bereavement, inner child work, relationships, karma and reincarnation, inner peace, discovering your true potential and many others.
Melanie gives weekly Buddhist lectures on Monday mornings and Tuesday evenings on many different dharma topics from how to clear our psychological karmic imprints to the deeper Vajrayana Buddhist teachings.
([https://randburg.kagyu.org.za/dr-melanie-polatinsky Source Accessed August 22, 2025]) +
Dr. Nida Chenagtsang is a traditional Tibetan physician and lineage holder of the Yuthok Nyingthig, the unique spiritual healing tradition of Tibetan Medicine. Born in Amdo, in North Eastern Tibet, he began his early medical studies at the local Tibetan Medicine hospital. Later he was awarded scholarship to enter the Lhasa Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his medical education in 1996 with practical training at the Tibetan Medicine hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka.
Alongside his medical education, Dr. Nida trained in Vajrayana with teachers from every school of Tibetan Buddhism, especially in the Longchen Nyingthig of the Nyingma school from his root teacher Ani Ngawang Gyaltsen and in the Dudjom Tersar lineage from Chönyid Rinpoche and Sremo Dechen Yudron. He received complete teachings in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, from his teachers Khenpo Tsultrim Gyaltsen and Khenchen Troru Tsenam, and was requested to continue the lineage by Jamyang Rinpoche of the Rebkong ngakpa/ma (non-monastic yogi and yogini) tradition.
A well-known poet in his youth, Dr. Nida later published many articles and books on Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine) and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition both in the Tibetan and English languages which have been translated into several languages. He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained high acclaim in the East and West for his revival of little known traditional Tibetan external healing therapies.
Dr. Nida is the Medical Director and principal teacher of Sorig Khang International and the Sowa Rigpa Institute: School of Traditional Tibetan Medicine; Co-Founder of the International Ngakmang Institute, established to preserve and maintain the Rebkong ngakpa non-monastic yogi/ini culture within modern Tibetan society; and Co-Founder of Pure Land Farms: Center for Tibetan Medicine, Meditation and Rejuvenation in Los Angeles, California.
In addition to his work as a physician, he trains students in Sowa Rigpa and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition in over forty countries around the world. ([https://www.drnida.com/ Source Accessed Sep 9, 2024])
Drakar Lobzang Palden Tendzin Nyendrak (Brag dkar blo bzang dpal ldan bstan 'dzin snyan grags 1866–1928) of Trehor Kardzé wrote a refutation of Mipam Rinpoche's commentary on the ninth chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. He was also a disciple of the Longchen Nyingtik master Ragang Chöpa, and a teacher of Amdo Geshe Jampal Rolwé Lodrö. ([https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Drakkar_Lobzang_Palden Adapted from Source Oct 4, 2022]) +
bdrc P7770 +
Martina Draszczyk holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies and Tibetology. Her doctoral thesis at the Department for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies of the University of Vienna dealt with the integration of the notion of buddha-nature in meditation practice. She trained in Buddhist philosophy and meditation with both Tibetan Buddhist and Theravāda teachers and acted as an interpreter for Tibetan masters for many years. In her research projects she focuses on Tibetan Madhyamaka, Mahāmudrā, and buddha-nature theories mainly in the context of the Bka’ brgyud tradition. She also teaches in Buddhist centers in Europe as well as in the field of secular mindfulness. ([https://conference.tsadra.org/past-event/2019-vienna-symposium/ Source Accessed Jul 21, 2020]) +
Khenpo Drayab Lodrö Gyaltsen (Tib. བྲག་གཡབ་བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་, Wyl. brag g.yab blo gros rgyal mtshan) (d. early 1960s?) - He came from Drayab Sakya Monastery. His main teachers were Öntö Khyenrab Chökyi Özer, Gapa Khenpo Jamgyal and Gatön Ngawang Lekpa and Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. He was the fifth khenpo at Dzongsar Shedra, from ca. 1939-1943.
He taught just like Öntö Khyenrab Chökyi Özer, who, it is said, taught exactly like Khenpo Shenga. He spent many years in prison, were he was tortured, but he taught his fellow inmates whenever he had an opportunity.
<h5>Writings</h5>
He composed a commentary on the ninth chapter of the ''Bodhicharyavatara''. He also wrote a commentary to Sakya Pandita's ''Treasury of Valid Reasoning'', which has not survived. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Drayab_Lodr%C3%B6 Rigpa Wiki]) +
Rase Konchog Gyatso was born in 1968 in the village below the monastery of Drikung Thil in Tibet. Dagpo (or Gampo) Chenga is the 8th reincarnation of the heart son of Gampopa (1079-1153).
From his young age Dagpo Chenga revealed a virtuous personality as well as a sharp mind. He studied at Drikung Buddhist College and at the Tibetan College in Lhasa. Dagpo Chenga also attended the Medical and Astrological College. He studied the Ten Aspects of Knowledge, as well as natural sciences, social sciences, and history and became very erudite in many fields of knowledge. Already as a young student he began writing papers on many subjects of Tibetan history and Tibetan Buddhism under his name Rase Konchog Gyatso. Among his books is also a seven-volume publication entitled A Faithful Speech that shows how to develop, improve and spread the Dharma tradition of the Drikung Kagyu in the future. Dagpo Chenga is considered one of the most learned lamas of the Drikung tradition. ([https://www.garchen.de/index.php/en/spiritual-guidance/visiting-teachers Source Accessed Oct 6, 2022])
His Eminence Dagpo Chenga Rinpoche was recognized as the 8th incarnation of Dagpo Chenga (the heart-disciple of Gampopa (1079 – 1153)) and carries the Tulku-name Konchok Tenzin Thrinle Lhündrup. Many of his books were published under the name Rase Konchok Gyatso.
His Eminence Dagpo Chenga Rinpoche was born in 1968 in the village below the monastery of Drikung Thel in Tibet. At young age, he revealed a virtuous personality as well as a sharp mind. In 1981, Drubwang Pachung Rinpoche (1901-1988) advised him to become a monk, gave him important teachings, and instructed him to study and practice The Four Dharmas of Gampopa and the Six Yogas of Naropa. Since then he studied under many great teachers.
His Eminence Dagpo Chenga Rinpoche studied at Drikung Buddhist College and at the Tibetan College in Lhasa. He also attended the Medical and Astrological College. He studied the Ten Aspects of Knowledge, as well as natural sciences, social sciences, and history. He became a scholar proficient in all fields and is recognized as one of the most erudite master in the Drikung Kagyü lineage.
Already as a young student, His Eminence Dagpo Chenga Rinpoche began writing papers on many subjects of Tibetan history and Tibetan Buddhism under the name Rase Konchok Gyatso. Among his books are The History of the Yangrigar Monastery, The Main Seat of Pagdru Kagyü, The Benefit of Being Vegetarian, and A Faithful Speech, which shows how to develop, improve and spread the Drikung Kagyü Dharma traditions in the future. He also wrote a book entitled The Mothers in the Land of Snows, about famous women in the history of Tibet.
In 2004 a great thangka painting master, Penpa Tsering’s famous disciple, Amdo Jampa, painted a series of sophisticated thangkas portraying the Drikung Kagyü lineage holders, as well as The Fivefold Path of Mahāmudrā thangka, The Twenty-Five Main Disciples of Milarepa, and The Eight Types of Incarnations of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon. All the drawings were made in accordance with Dagpo Chenga's meticulous commentary on the iconography.
His most important publication is The History of Drikung ('bri gung chos' byung), which was published in 2004. In 2007, he published The Ornament of Gongchig, a praise of the famous Gongchig teachings of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon (1143-1217) bestowed upon his disciple Chenga Sherab Jungne (1187-1241), as well as a refutation of criticisms brought forward against the Gongchig. In addition, he authored several short texts on Lord Jigten Sumgon, Achi Chokyi Dolma, Angon Rinpoche, the history of Drikung Thel Monastery, and an introduction to the Drikung sky burial ground (Durto Tenchag), and a booklet on the holy places in the Drikung area.
Rase Konchok Gyatso also published some texts on Buddhist studies, among them are the commentaries on the Fivefold Path of Mahāmudrā and the Essence of the Three Vows (sdom pa gsum). He compiled the daily rituals of Drikung in two volumes and authored many articles about special Drikung teachings, including a Phowa text of the Drikung tradition called The Color of the Rainbow.
To rescue the most important works on the Drikung Kagyü lineage, for nearly a decade, Rase Konchok Gyatso has collaborated with His Eminence Drikung Angon Rinpocche and some monks from the Drikung Thel Monastery, gathering, combining and editing. The Great Treasury of Drikung Kagyü has now reached 150 volumes. Under the organization of Balok Rinpoche, Drikung Kagyü Marpa Translation Center is currently translating these sacred articles into Chinese and English.
At the request of His Holiness Chungtsang Rinpoche, Rase Konchok Gyatso is currently composing A Comprehensive Explanation of the Thirteen Major Subjects (gzhung chen bcu gsum) covering the thirteen major root texts of the Buddhist philosophy such as Vinaya, the bodhisattva trainings, Maitreya's five treatises, Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and so on.
His Eminence Dagpo Chenga’s writings are same as his oral teachings, namely, very precise, direct, and clear. They stand out with very profound view and excellent knowledge. He continues to exert tireless effort writing texts in order to benefit Buddhism in general and the Drikung Kagyü lineage in particular. ([https://www.ratnashri.se/Drikung_teachers.htm Source Accessed May 16, 2025])
Anne Holland (Pema Chonyi Drolma), Tibetan Buddhist priest, translator, meditation guide and teacher.
Chönyi Drolma completed six years of retreat under the direction of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and Lama Tharchin Rinpoché in 2012 at Pema Osel Ling. She translated the autobiography of Traktung Dudjom Lingpa into English, published as [[A Clear Mirror]], as well as the secret biography of [[Yeshe Tsogyal]] as [[The Life and Visions of Yeshe Tsogyal]]. She currently lives in Montreal where she continues to translate and take her lamas’ instructions to heart.
[http://www.jnanasukha.org/news-blog/translation-secret-biography Source Accessed 16 March, 2016] +
