Was born in the Tresho region of eastern Tibet and soon was recognized by Tai Situpa Chokyi Gocha and Shamarpa Konchok Yenlak in accordance with the prediction letter.

Received complete Kagyu transmission and gave teachings through out Tibet.

Gave teachings and build monasteries in Mongolia, Bhutan, and Sikkim. Rumtek monastery which located in Sikkim subsequently became the Karmapa's seat in India during the early 1960s.

Like the eighth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje was also a creative author and wrote many commentaries on Sutras and tantras including The Ocean of Definitive Meaning, Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance, and Pointing Out the Dharmakaya.

At age of forty-eight Wangchuk Dorje passed into parinirvana and left his prediction letter about the next incarnation to the sixth Shamarpa, Chokyi Wangchuk.