Zhi Chen Choetrul Choeney Rangshar (Tib. གཞི་ཆེན་པོ་མཆོག་སྤྲུལ་ཆོས་ཉིད་), popularly known as Tang Rinpoche, was born on the 13th day of the 9th month in the year 1963 of the Bhutanese Calender. Stories say that his birth was marked with an auspicious sign, such as thunder in a clear blue sky, indicating a noble birth. He naturally possessed great compassion and kindness. He also effortlessly learnt to read, write, and perform rituals, which was believed to be a unique sign.
Many masters consider Tang Rinpoche to be the emanation of Kharchen Pelgi Wangchuk – one of the 25 disciples of Padmasambhava. He is also known as the emanation of Jangsey Ela Thokgyur, a great warrior and mahasiddha from the time of the Kind of Ling (Gesar Gyalpo) and the emanation of the great awareness holder Pawo Lerab Tsal, and the immediate reincarnation of the great Khenchen – Yarphel Rinpoche.
Since his early childhood, Ripoche has shown extraordinary qualities of a Boddhisattva: calmness, compassion and wisdom. He followed extensive Buddhist training and has received teachings from more than seventy masters on Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. In particular, he received intensive training in Sutras, Tantras and Ati Yoga from his root master – His Holiness Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Jungney, who established the biggest Buddhist Institute in the World, known as Lharung Sera Monastery. While giving public teachings to an essembly of thousands people in Mgo Log, His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok compared Choetrul Rinpoche (Tang Rinpoche) and Minthang Tulku Dorje Tenzung (Tib. སྨིན་ཐང་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་རྡོ་རྗེ་བརྟན་ཟུང་) to be like his right and left eyes. In this way, he publicly proclaimed them as his supreme disciples. Tang Rinpoche also received the transmission of the hearing lineage of Ati Yoga (Dzogpachenpo) from a famous meditation master – Dzogchen Khenpo Munsel, and numerous teachings on meditation practices from tertons Khamthang Terchen, Khenchen Serab Seljay, and other masters from the Himalayan region.
In 1995, due to his former aspirations, Tang Rinpoche made a pilgrimage to India and visited many holy places. The supreme protector Beru Rinpoche requested that Tang Rinpoche should go as his representative to the southern lands (Bhutan) and prophesied that this would bring immense benefit to sentient beings. Subsequently, Tang Rinpoche set off for Bhutan in 1996. When he returned home in Tibet in 1999 with a group of Bhutanese disciples, His Holiness Jigme Phuntok Rinpoche requested that Tang Rinpoche should stay in Bhutan and prophesied that he would spread the teachings in the south regions and other countries. Some years later, in 2008, His Majesty the 5th King of Bhutan granted Tang Rinpoche Bhutanese Citizenship.
In 2012, Kyabje Tang Rinpoche established the Choedeypung Monastery in Chumey, Bumthang, with over 100 monks living and practising there. It has become Rinpoche’s main seat. There are also many other branch monasteries and retreat centres founded by Rinpoche in Bhutan. Rinpoche personally takes responsibility to provide monks yogis staying at retreat centres with food, clothing, accomodation, and education.