According to the ninth Dordrak Rigdzin Chenpo, the first Dordrak Gyalsay Rinpoche is identified with the great Nyingma master Zurchen Chöying Rangdrol (1604–1669). Born into the Zur family, he was regarded as an incarnation of earlier accomplished teachers and was formally recognized at the age of nine by Rigdzin Ngagi Wangpo as a destined spiritual guide who would benefit both beings and the continuity of the Nyingma teachings.

Zurchen Chöying Rangdrol received transmissions from numerous Nyingma lineages, with particular emphasis on the Northern Treasures tradition revealed by Rigdzin Gödemchen. Beginning intensive study of the Guhyagarbha Tantra during his youth, he became qualified to teach it by the age of twenty. His reputation as a learned and accomplished master gradually spread throughout Tibet.

He trained many influential disciples, including Lhodrak Peling Sungtrul Tsultrim Dorje, and was widely honored as the root teacher of the Fifth Dalai Lama, who relied on him especially for instructions in the Great Perfection (Dzogchen). In his later years, Zurchen Chöying Rangdrol retired to Gungtang, where he continued to teach students from Tibet, China, and Mongolia until his passing in 1669.

• The fifth Dordrak Gyalsay Rinpoche

• The Sixth Dordrak Gyalsay Rinpoche