The Northern Treasures (Tibetan: བྱང་གཏེར་, Jangter, Wylie: byang gter) tradition centers around the terma revelations of Rigdzin Gödem Ngödrup Gyaltsen (1337-1409). The main seat and source of this tradition is the monastery of Tupten Dorje Drak, built in 1632 by the third Rigdzin Chenmo Ngak gi Wangpo. The reincarnations of Rigdzin Gödem, known as the Rigdzin Chenmos, continue to lead the Jangter tradition, as well as Dorje Drak.
A monastery called Do Dorje Drak exists in Dartsedo (Kanding, in Eastern Kham), as one of the Rigdzin Chenmos was born into the Chagla Kings’ family of Dartsedo. While there are a few Changter monasteries in the Golok area, most are situated in Western Tibet, the provinces of Tsang and Tö or Ngari, and the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Ladakh.
Among Rigdzin Gödem’s many important terma revelations are the Kagyé Rangjung Rangshar and the Dzogpachenpo Kunzang Gongpa Zangthal. The Le’u Dünma, the ‘Prayer in Seven Chapters’ to Guru Rinpoche, is extremely popular in the Nyingma world. Many of the termas were discovered in Zangzang Lhadrak in Tsang, Western Tibet. It is believed that this area was considered “northern” and perhaps lay to the north of Samyé, leading to the tradition’s name.