Lineage of Terchen Barway Dorje

Terchen Barway Dorje (1st Bardor Rinpoche, 1836-1918) was a rebirth of Nupchen Sangye Yeshe who, in the 8th and 9th centuries, was one of the foremost among Guru Rinpoche's twenty-five main disciples and the prime minister to King Trisong Detsen. But that was not the only one of Terchen Barway Dorje's significant previous lives.

Barom Darma Wangchuk (1127-1199), the founder of the Barom Kagyu, was one of the successive rebirths of Nupchen Sangue Yeshe, and therefore one of the previous lives of Terchen Barway Dorje (hence Barway Dorje's connection with the Barom Kagyu lineage). After that life, he took rebirth as the dharma lord Sonam Zangpo who was the lineage holder of Kyodrak Monastery, still a very important monastery in Eastern Tibet. After that, he took rebirth in Surmang as the great holder of the Surmang Kagyu, Shartse Trinley Rapgye.

After successive lives as the Shartse Rinpoches of Surmang, in 1836, he was born as Terchen Barway Dorje. Then he was reborn as the 2nd Bardor Rinpoche twice (his first life as the 2nd Bardor Rinpoche was very short). His contemporary incarnations are the 3rd Bardor Tulku Rinpoche who lives and teaches in the U.S., the founder of Kunzang Palchen Ling, and the 3rd Bardor Tulku Rinpoche who resides at Raktrul Monastery in Tibet.