Wangchok Dorje - Tsewang Drakpa

Wangchok Dorje, who was also known as Tsewang Drakpa (Renowned Longevity). He was an emanation of Manjushri and is described here as “the magical display of King Jah,” (also known as the Dharma king Vajra Prophesy), who was the recipient of the Eighteen Mahayoga Tantras.
Wangchok Dorje was still very young when he spontaneously recognized the nature of mind all by himself. Before he passed away, he had chanted hundreds of thousands of Manjushri mantras. Due to the power of his training, he developed an incredibly sharp mind and his insight left people speechless. But, when asked for clarification, he would say, “Don’t ask me for mind teachings! I didn’t get up on the roof by climbing one stair at a time. I’m the type who got there in one leap. Even if I were to describe the state that I train in, you wouldn’t be able to grasp it. I’m not the kind of person who can guide you to the nature of mind.”
In terms of his realization and where he was on the path and bhumis, I have been told that Wangchok Dorje was on an even higher level than his father, Chokgyur Lingpa. In fact, he was supposed to reveal all, those termas that hadn’t been yet been revealed and then insure their propagation. From his childhood on, he could see the magical script of the dakinis as if it was right in front of his eyes; he could transcribe it and any connected teachings at will.
People found him incredibly handsome; some even said he had the features of a god and that they had never seen anyone so beautiful. He was quite tall, very strong and had a noble bearing. His hair was very unusual; it had never been cut and was braided and wrapped around his head. It shone with a dark blue luster and when he washed it, it never tangled, even if he didn’t comb it. This is known as the ‘magnetizing tiara’, which means that his hair had never once been cut in his life and that a dakini was said to dwell in every strand.
Being the son and lineage-holder of Chokgyur Lingpa, Wangchok Dorje was supposed to have sons to carry on the lineage, but his life was cut short at the age of 24. Prior to that, they say he had many lovers, but since he was an accomplished yogi who had reversed the flow of the white essence, he never fathered a single child.
When Wangchok Dorje went to visit Paltrul Rinpoche he arrived with great pomp and circumstance, with a large following in tow. However, while staying there he became inspired upon hearing Paltrul’s teachings. Paltrul Rinpoche would often speak about being a child of the mountains, wearing the mountain mist as one’s garments, and behaving like the great practitioners of the Kagyu lineage. Paltrul Rinpoche told Wangchok Dorje to follow their example, “To practice the true Dharma one should always take the lower seat and wear secondhand clothing. It is never said that one should put oneself above others while dressing up in brocade.” Wangchok Dorje thought to himself, “That’s fine with me!” He dismissed his entourage, shed all his brocade garments and began to wear a simple felt cloak instead. He also gave up women, took the vows of a novice monk from Paltrul Rinpoche and shaved off all his hair. But once his hair was cut off, he couldn’t see the dakini script any longer. In order to transcribe the sign script, the syllables have to hover in your vision, but now they had become blurred, darted about and grew smaller and smaller. Soon he was no longer able to decode or write down any termas. He remained at Paltrul’s encampment for several years, but his splendor faded and he became just like any ordinary person. When he returned home he walked on foot with a staff in one hand, like a mendicant beggar, and had only a single yak as a pack animal. By then, he had become quite wan and frail. They walked all the way back to Dzongsar monastery from Golok in the northern part of Kham, where Paltrul’s encampment was. But as they were approaching the monastery he fell ill. He died a few days later in Jamyang Khyentse’s mountain retreat, the famous Fortress of the Gathering Place of the Sugatas.
When the news of Wangchok Dorje’s death was brought to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo he expressed great displeasure, “Damn! It was Padmasambhava’s prophecy that this son of the Chokgyur Lingpa’s was to spread the Chokling termas from the Chinese border in the East all the way to Mount Kailash in the West benefiting beings like the unfurling of an immense sheet of white cloth. Now everything is messed up!” And, expressing despair in typical Khampa fashion, he thumped his chest with his fists. “The auspicious coincidence didn’t last,” he said with a very morose expression. “He was supposed to be the one to uphold the remaining termas.”

--extract from Blazing Splendor, the momoirs of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Extracted from "The Life of Chokgyur Lingpa" as told by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

Chokgyur Lingpa had a daughter and one son with his dakini, Degah. The son, who was named Wangchok Dorje and also known as Tsewang Drakpa, was the incarnation of King Jah. At the age of 16 he wrote many amazingly profound songs and commentaries. An extremely learned teacher, everyone wanted him to become a tantric layman rather than a monk for the sake of the bloodline. He said, however, that he preferred to be a good practitioner. Traveling to Derge, he met Paltrul Rinpoche in the province of Golok. He told Paltrul Rinpoche that he wanted to be a monk, so Paltrul Rinpoche ordained him. Jamyang Khyentse cried like a small boy when he learned of this and said: “Something really went wrong today.” Wangchok Dorje returned to Dzongsar Monastery with a shaved head and said, “I wish to become a renunciant and wander everywhere, having no fixed abode.” He always dressed in a sheepskin coat. Jamyang Khyentse told him, “Don’t talk like that! Return to Neten Monastery and stay in retreat, but first give me your hair.” Wangchok Dorje gave Jamyang Khyentse his hair and then went to Neten where he supervised the expansion of the monastery. They still keep his hair. Each of Wangchok Dorje’s hairs is said to contain 100,000 dakinis, Jamyang Khyentse himself wrote a note about this. Remaining at Neten for many years, Wangchok Dorje died at 27, leaving no descendants.

Translated by Tulku Jigmey Khyentse and Erik Pema Kunsang, 1983