Phajo Drugom Zhigpo

Phajo drugom Shigpo (Tibetan: ཕ་ཇོ་འབྲུག་སྒོམ་ཞིག་པོ, Wylie: pha jo 'brug sgom zhig po) [1184−1251 / 1208−1275] was a Tibetan Buddhist particularly important in the early spread of the Drukpa school to Bhutan where he is revered as an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. His descendants played a significant role in the history of Bhutan. The Sacred Sites associated with Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.

Just before he died, the founder of the Drukpa school, Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje told his nephew and Regent, Onre Darma Senge (1177–1237), "A Khampa son from Kham is coming. But he won't meet me. You look after him. Send him to the southern valley that has been visited and blessed by Orgyen Padma Jungne. He will be of great service to the Buddha Dharma."

Phajo Drugom Zhigpo was born, probably in 1184, at Yangtse Babchu (ryang tse 'bab chu), Tashigang in the Do-Kham region of East Tibet the youngest of three sons of the merchant Dabzang (zla-bzang), who belonged to a branch of the Gya (rgya) clan, and his wife Achi Palmo Kyid (a lce dpal mo skyid). His was originally named Dondrub Gyaltsen. Phajo's Tibetan hagiography and Drukpa Kagyu religious histories from Bhutan relate various auspicious and miraculous signs accompanying his conception, gestation, and birth, and record that he was an obstinate and precocious child.

At the age of seven he began his studies under a local Nyingma priest who taught him reading and writing. At the age of 12, he went to study with a Nyingma master named Tharpalingpa who gave him the complete set of lay devotees vows and the name Tarpa Gyaltsen. From this teacher he received and received instructions on generating the great thought of enlightenment, teachings on the Maha, Anu and Ati levels of Tantra, Dzogchen and in particular empowerment and teachings on "all the Cycles of Mahākāruṇika"(The Great Compassionate One a name of Avalokiteśvara). He also received all the cycles and empowerments of the Eight Commandments (bka brgyad).

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