Within the Drukpa Kagyu, the continuity of the lineage is entrusted above all to the tulku system, with the Gyalwang Drukpa standing at its heart. Each Gyalwang Drukpa is regarded as the reincarnation of the previous holder, forming an unbroken chain of mindstream and responsibility that stretches back to the founder of the tradition. This is not merely a matter of institutional succession, but is understood as the same enlightened intention reappearing in new form to guide disciples and preserve the teachings. In this way, spiritual authority, doctrinal integrity, and the living presence of the lineage are all gathered into the figure of the recognized tulku.

When a great Drukpa master passes away, the community does not see this as an ending, but as the beginning of a search. Senior lamas and close disciples look for signs and indications left by the master, such as predictions or symbolic hints, and they also rely on dreams, visions, or divinations to orient their search. Potential child candidates are then examined carefully, sometimes through tests involving recognition of the former master’s personal objects or associates, and through observation of their character and spontaneous inclinations. Once a candidate is confirmed, the child is formally enthroned and given a thorough education in the Drukpa teachings, rituals, and contemplative practices, so that the inner realization and outer forms of the lineage can ripen again in this new life.

The tulku system in the Drukpa tradition extends beyond the single figure of the Gyalwang Drukpa. Various important incarnate lines are associated with particular monasteries, regions, or functions, such as teaching, preserving specific practice traditions, or overseeing monastic communities. Each tulku thus becomes a custodian of a facet of the lineage’s activity, ensuring that its many streams of practice and scholarship do not dry up. Through these multiple lines of reincarnate masters, the Drukpa heritage of meditation, ritual, and institutional life is transmitted from generation to generation as a living, experiential current rather than a mere historical memory.

From the perspective of the tradition, this mode of transmission is not simply a clever way to maintain continuity, but an expression of compassion itself. The same awakened intention is believed to return again and again, assuming forms suited to the needs of beings and the circumstances of the time. The tulku, recognized and trained within the Drukpa framework, becomes the vessel through which empowerments, instructions, and blessings are carried forward without interruption. In this sense, the Drukpa Lineage is transmitted not only through texts and ceremonies, but through the very lives of those regarded as its reincarnate holders.