Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (b. 1594, d. 1651) was the founder of Bhutan. In addition to unifying the country for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinctly Bhutanese cultural identity, separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived. The Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung) is the most important tulku lineage in Bhutan, equivalent in many ways to the Dalai Lama lineage of Tibet. ... Events February 27 - Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims. ... // Events January 1 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. ... Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographic isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. ...

Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal descended from a powerful religious family in central Tibet. His grandfather was driven out of Tibet by the rival Gelugpa sect under the control of the Dalai Lama, and chose to settle in the Paro valley in western Bhutan, the valley having a close association with his persecuted branch of Tibetan Buddhism, the Kagyupa. The Geluk (dge lugs) School was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), Tibets best known religious reformer and arguably its greatest philosopher. ... Sonam Gyatso (1543 - 1588) was the first officially recognized Dalai Lama by the Mongolians, who gave this teacher the Mongolian name of the Lama (teacher) that has knowledge vast as an ocean (Dalai). ... location of Paro dzongkhag within Bhutan. ... Tibetan Buddhism - formerly (and incorrectly) also called Lamaism, after their religious gurus known as lamas - is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... The Kagyu (bka brgyud) school (known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school) of Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) traces its origins to the teachings of the Indian mystics Tilopa (988-1089 CE) and Naropa (1016-1100 CE), whose lineage was transmitted in Tibet by the great translator Marpa...

In 1627, the first European visitors to Bhutan (the Portuguese Jesuits Esteva Cacella and João Cabral) found the Shabdrung to be a compassionate and intelligent host, of high energy and fond of art and writing. In keeping with his position as a high lama he was also meditative and had just completed a three year silent retreat. He was proud to have the Jesuits as guests of his court and was reluctant to grant them permission to leave and offered to support their proselytizing efforts with manpower and church-building funds, (but they pressed on to Tibet in search of the apostate church said to be isolated in the heart of central Asia). Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Lama can refer to: the Tibetan word for religious teacher (like the Sanskrit term guru) see Tibetan Buddhism. ... Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng; older spelling Thibet) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In 1634, in the Battle of Five Lamas Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him and was the first to unite Bhutan into a single country. Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement...

The Shabdrung also established the distinctive dual system of government by which control of the country was shared between a spiritual leader (the Je Khempo) and an administrative leader (the Desi Druk), a policy which exists in modified form to this day. The Je Khenpo is the title given to the highest ranking religious official of Bhutan. ...

The Shabdrung ruled the country from the dzong at Punakha until his death in 1651. To avoid political chaos in the wake of his death, his closest advisors hid the news of his death for 54 years. During this time he was said to be ruling the country while in seclusion, a not unreasonable explanation given the extended silent retreats he was known to take during his life, although the length of the retreat must have seemed more and more incredible as the decades wore on. Dzong architecture is a distinctive type of fortress architecture found in the former and present Buddhist kingdoms of the Himalayas, most notably Bhutan. ... Location of Punakha dzongkhag within Bhutan Punakha (སྤུ་ན་ཁ་) is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. ... // Events January 1 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. ...

The Shabdrung's body lies preserved in a sacred inner chamber in Punakha Dzong and has been under perpetual watch since his death in the 17th century, the task of watching over him being one of the most sacred duties in the kingdom.

See the article under Shabdrung for more information on his subsequent reincarnations. The Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung) is the most important tulku lineage in Bhutan, equivalent in many ways to the Dalai Lama lineage of Tibet. ...