After passing the traditional battery of tests, such as recognizing the personal effects of his predecessor, Jamyang Dondrub was installed as the rebirth of Dorje Namgyal and began his formal studies. He was to spend the next twenty years studying Buddhist thought and practicing meditation under the guidance of such luminary lamas as Drime Abhan Tulku, Adzom Gyalse Gyurme Dorje, Polu Khengan and Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro.
Unfortunately, the freedom and leisure enjoyed in youth was not to last. In 1956, people across Kham rose up to resist the predations of the Chinese Communists, who’d been encroaching on eastern Tibet for some years. After many months and repeated threats on his personal safety, Rinpoche decided to flee, leaving Garje with a small group of family and followers for the relative safety of southern Tibet.
In Powo and Kongpo, Rinpoche found a temporary home and a base from which to launch a pilgrimage to the holy sites of central Tibet. Despite the turbulence of the times, over the next few years Rinpoche’s activities assumed a new dimension as he discovered long-lost pilgrimage sites in Kongpo and sponsored extensive ceremonies for the good of the Buddhist teachings and beings.
As time went by and the situation deteriorated, it became clear that the refugees from Kham would need to seek a more secure refuge. Guided by prophetic dreams, Rinpoche and six students sought and found a way into the hidden valleys of Pemako, a natural fortress cut off from the rest of Tibet by thick jungle, high mountains and the rushing waters of the Tsangpo River. Not long after Rinpoche’s return to Kongpo in 1959, fighting engulfed southern Tibet. Yet Rinpoche and scores of followers were able to escape the dangers by following the newly uncovered route into the heart of Pemako. Rinpoche remained there for nearly two years, tending to the constant stream of refugees from eastern and central Tibet.
