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Gendün Rinchen was born in a small cave by the side of the path to Paro Tagtsang, so as a child he was nicknamed "Dragphugpa" (Cave Man).
At a young age he showed great interest in the Buddhist religion and at seven he received novice ordination at Tashichö Dzong in Thimphu and was given the name Gendün Rinchen.
When he was twenty-seven he travelled to Lhodrak Lhalung, center of the tradition of Padma Lingpa in Southern Tibet. There he studied the Thirteen great texts of Mahayana Buddhist Philosophy from Khatok Khen Rinpoche. At the age of twenty-nine he went to Drigung in Central Tibet where he studied classical Tibetan orthography, grammar and poetry; the works of Mipham Rinpoche and Khenpo Shenga and received many tantric teachings including those on the Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti. Afterwards he went to Samye Monastery where he received the empowerments and instructions of the Rinchen Terdzö; the Nyingthig and Longchenpa's Dzödun from Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje.
After returning to Bhutan, he entered a three-year meditation retreat at the Tagsang Palphug hermitage, which was followed by another three year retreat he entered when he was forty at Kungachöling in Paro. From Lopon Sonam Zangpo, a disciple of Drubwang Shakya Shri, he received teachings on the Six Yogas of Naropa, Mahāmudrā, and so on.
For ten years he was the abbot of Tango Monastery where he wrote many commentaries on Buddhist philosophy, sutra and tantra.
In 1990 he was enthroned as the 69th Je Khenpo of Bhutan and subsequently travelled throughout the country giving religious teachings. At the age of 61 he resigned from the post of Je Khanpo and retired to a life of prayer and meditation at Jangchub Ding in Yangchenphug. In 1997, on the ninth day of the third month according to the Bhutanese calendar, he died sitting in a straight meditation posture. It is reported that his body remained sitting thus for more than a week or eleven days during which time his body remained flexible and showed no signs of decay.
His physical remains are now preserved in a gold and silver reliquary stupa in the Shabdrung Chapel of Tashichö Dzong, Thimphu. (Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gend%C3%BCn_Rinchen Wikipedia])
A Tibetan exegete and visionary, renowned as one of the premier treasure revealers (''gter ston'') in the Rnying ma sect of Tibetan Buddhism. 'Jigs med gling pa was born in the central Tibetan region of 'Phyong rgyas (Chongye), and from an early age recalled many of his previous incarnations, including those of the Tibetan king Khri srong lde btsan, the scholars Sgam po pa and Klong chen pa and, in his immediately preceding birth, Chos rje gling pa. After a period of monastic education, in his late twenties, he undertook an intense series of meditation retreats, first at Dpal ri monastery and then at the Chims phu cave complex near Bsam yas. In one of the numerous visions he experienced during this period, he received the klong chen snying thig, or "Heart Sphere of the Great Expanse," from a ḍākinī at the Bodhnāth stūpa in Kathmandu. The revelation of this text is considered a “mind treasure” (''dgongs gter''), composed by Padmasambhava and revealed to the mind of a later disciple. 'Jigs med gling pa kept this revelation secret for seven years before transcribing it. The klong chen snying thig corpus systematized by 'Jigs med gling pa, including numerous explanatory texts, tantric initiations, and ritual cycles, became a seminal component of the rdzogs chen teachings in the Rnying ma sect. While based in central Tibet, 'Jigs med gling pa was also influential in Tibet's eastern regions, serving as spiritual teacher to the royal family of Sde dge and supervising the printing of the collected Rnying ma tantras in twenty-eight volumes. His patrons and disciples included some of the most powerful and prestigious individuals from Khams in eastern Tibet, and his active participation in reviving Rnying ma traditions during a time of persecution earned him a place at the forefront of the burgeoning eclectic or nonsectarian (''ris med'') movement. Numerous subsequent visionaries involved in promulgating the movement identified themselves as 'Jigs med gling pa's reincarnation, including 'Jam dbyang mkhyen brtse dbang po, Mdo mkhyen brtse Ye Shes rdo rje, Dpal sprul Rinpoche, and Dil mgo mkhyen brtse. (Source: "'Jigs med gling pa." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 387–88. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
John P. Keenan is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Middlebury College and vicar of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Scarborough, Maine. He has published translations and studies in Yogacara Buddhism, and has employed Mahayana Buddhist philosophy in works including ''The Meaning of Christ: A Mahayana Theology'' and ''The Letter of James: Everyday Practice for Everyday Christians''. ([https://wisdomexperience.org/content-author/john-keenan/ Source Accessed Jul 22, 2020]) +
An 8th century Indian author that was associated mainly with the Yogācāra school of thought. +
Jñānagarbha (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་སྙིང་པོ་, Wyl. ye shes snying po) was an 8th-century Buddhist philosopher from Nalanda who wrote on Madhyamaka and Yogācāra and is considered part of Bhāviveka's Svātantrika tradition. He was a student of Śrīgupta and the teacher and ordaining master of Śāntarakṣita.
In his mostly Svātantrika interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy, Jñānagarbha incorporated aspects of Yogācāra philosophy and Dharmakirti's epistemology and therefore can be seen as a harmonizer of the various Buddhist philosophical systems like his student Śāntarakṣita.
He is mostly known for his work "Distinguishing the Two Truths" (Skt. ''Satyadvayavibhaṅga'', Wyl. ''Bden gnyis rnam ‘byed''). This work mostly sought to critique the views of Dharmapāla of Nalanda and his followers. A meditation text named "The Path for the Practice of Yoga" (''Yoga-bhavana-marga'' or ''-patha'') is also attributed to him by Tibetan sources. He also may have written a commentary to the ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra'', a major sūtra of the Yogācāra school. However, it is possible that the author of this text was actually a different writer also named Jñānagarbha.
Jñānagarbha's ''Satyadvayavibhaṅga'' analyzes the Madhyamaka "two truths" doctrine of conventional truth and ultimate truth. He defends the role of conceptual thinking and reasoning against those who would eliminate all conceptual thinking and theorizing (i.e., Candrakīrti). However, like other Madhyamikas, the goal of his project is a form of awareness which is free from all concepts, though one which, according to Jñānagarbha, is reachable through conceptual thought. Jñānagarbha held that even though language and reasoning is based on a cause and effect ontology which is ultimately empty and unreal, it can still lead toward the ultimate truth, through a logical analysis which realizes the untenable assumptions of reason and causality itself. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B1%C4%81nagarbha Source Accessed Jan 17, 2020])
Jñānagupta. (C. Shenajueduo; J. Janakutta; K . Sanagulta 闍那崛多) (523-600). Indian monk from Gandhāra, who arrived in China around 559 and became a prolific translator of Indian materials into Chinese; some thirty-five of his translations are still extant and preserved in the Chinese canon (Dazangjing ). He is perhaps best known for his retranslation of the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'' ("Lotus Sūtra"), which included portions of the scripture that did not appear in Kumārajīva's pioneering translation made two centuries before, especially the important "Chapter on Devadatta." He also translated the ''Adhyāśayasañcodana'', the ''Vimalakīrtinirdeśa'', the ''Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra'' (a possible translation of the ''Mahāvastu''), and several dhāraṇī sūtras. (Source: "Jñānagupta." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 396. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
There are multiple authors associated with this name, that were active in the 12th century who transmitted Tantric lineages that spread to Tibet. These include one from Kashmir ([https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P7148 BDRC: P7148]) and one from Nepal ([https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P4CZ15139 BDRC: P4CZ15139]). Some have also suggested that the author of the ''Tathāgatahṛdayālaṃkāra'', a commentary on the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'', was Chinese due to the colophon, which refers to the author as Rgya'i mkhan po. However, this could either refer to India (Rgya mkhar) or China (Rgya nag). Nevertheless, this is the only non-Tantric work attributed to an author by the name of Jñānavajra. +
Late Indian Yogācāra philosopher and logician of the school of Dharmakīrti at Vikramaśīla monastery, born between 975 and 1000. Within the Yogācāra, he held the so-called “aspectarian” (sākāra) position regarding the nature of cognition, taking a position opposed to that of Ratnākaraśānti. He is credited as the author of twelve treatises, including an important work on apoha, the ''Apohaprakaraṇa''. In his works on logic, he upholds the interpretation of Dharmakīrti by Prajñākaragupta against the interpretation by Dharmottara. (Source: "Jñānaśrīmitra." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 398. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
K
The mythical second king of Shambhala, who is reported to have written the ''Vimalaprabhā'', an important commentary on the ''Kālacakra Tantra''. He is considered to be an emanation of Avalokiteśvara and subsequently the Dalai Lamas are considered to be emanations of this king. +
[https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/kalu-rinpoche/12180 A new biography is available on Treasury of Lives (February, 2021)]
An important modern meditation master and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. Recognized as an incarnation (sprul sku) of the Karma Bka' brgyud master 'Jam mgon kong sprul, Kalu Rinpoche was ordained at the age of thirteen by the eleventh Situ Rinpoche. Kalu Rinpoche began serious meditation study at an early age, undertaking his first three-year retreat at the age of sixteen. He also received the transmission of the teachings of the Shangs pa sect of Bka' brgyud. He later served as the meditation teacher at Dpal spungs monastery. Following the Chinese invasion, Kalu Rinpoche left Tibet in 1962 and first stayed at a small monastery outside of Darjeeling, India. He later settled in Sonada, West Bengal, where he built a three-year retreat center, teaching there before traveling internationally for ten years (1971–1981). In 1971, he traveled to France and the United States, at the request of the Dalai Lama and the Karma pa, in order to educate Westerners in Buddhism. During those ten years, Kalu Rinpoche founded many meditation and dharma centers in Canada, the United States, and Europe, with his main meditation school in Vancouver, Canada. Kalu Rinpoche led his first three-year retreat for Western students of Tibetan Buddhism in France in 1976. His full name is Kar ma rang 'byung kun khyab phrin las. (Source: "Kalu Rinpoche." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 410. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
For a recent publication about the life of Kyabje Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, which contains accounts written by others about him, his writings—including his autobiography, songs, poems, essays, letters, and his own guru yoga—and translations of oral teachings, see ''Lord of the Siddhas: The Life, Teachings, Paranirvana and Legacy of Kyabje Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche'', 2019. https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Lord-of-the-Siddhas-p/9780692160442.htm
For information about the 2nd Kalu Rinpoche, Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, see, https://paldenshangpa.org/his-eminence-the-2nd-kalu-rinpoche/
Kamalagupta was a noted Kashmīri paṇḍita active in the tenth and eleventh centuries. According to Jean Naudou (''Buddhists of Kashmir'', 1980), he was among many Kashmīri paṇḍitas, "including Śraddhākaravarman, Padmākaragupta, Ratnavajra, Buddhaśrīśānta and Buddhapāla, who came to Tibet at the invitation of Ye-śes ’od : that is the start of a period of continuous exchangs [''sic''] between Kaśmīr and Mṅa-ris . . ." (163).
Kamalagupta and Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055) translated the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' in Tibet in the eleventh century (D121). An earlier translation of this text (D120) was made in the ninth century by Jinamitra, Jñānagarbha, and Devacandra.
Kamalagupta often collaborated with Rinchen Zangpo, and they translated many books from Sanskrit to Tibetan together. ([https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Wangpabzhun/P8276 Source Accessed Aug 19, 2020]) +
One of the most important Madhyamaka authors of late Indian Buddhism, a major representative of the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka synthesis, and a participant in the famous Bsam yas Debate. According to Tibetan doxographies, he was a proponent of the Yogācāra-Svātantrika-Madhyamaka. Although little is known about his life, according to Tibetan sources he was a monk and teacher at Nālandā. Tibetan sources also count him as one of three (together with Śāntarakṣita and Jñãnagarbha) “Eastern Svātantrikas” (rang rgyud shar gsum), suggesting that he was from Bengal. He was clearly a direct disciple of Śāntarakṣita, composing important commentaries on his teacher’s two major works, the ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'' and the ''Tattvasaṃgraha''. The latter commentary, which is extant in Sanskrit, is an important source for both Hindu and Buddhist philosophical positions in the eighth century. (Source: "Kamalaśīla." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 411. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Karl Brunnhölzl is one of the most prolific translators of Tibetan texts into English and has worked on all of the Five Treatises of Maitreya. He was originally trained as a physician. He took Buddhist refuge vows in 1984 and, in 1990, completed a five-year training in higher Buddhist philosophy at Kamalashila Institute, Germany, receiving the traditional Kagyü title of "Dharma tutor" (Tib. ''skyor dpon''). Since 1988, he received his Buddhist and Tibetan language training mainly at Marpa Institute for Translators in Kathmandu, Nepal (director: [[Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso]] Rinpoche), and also studied Tibetology, Buddhology, and Sanskrit at Hamburg University, Germany. Since 1989, Karl served as a translator, interpreter, and Buddhist teacher mainly in Europe, India, and Nepal. Since 1999, he has acted as one of the main translators and teachers at Nitartha Institute (director: [[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche]]) in the USA, Canada, and Germany. In addition, he regularly taught at Gampo Abbey's Vidyadhara Institute from 2000–2007. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, such as ''The Center of the Sunlit Sky'', ''Straight from the Heart'', ''In Praise of Dharmadhātu'', and ''Luminous Heart'' (all Snow Lion Publications). He has also completed several ground-breaking translations in the Tsadra Foundation series, including a three-volume work on the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra''. He has also completed the work ''[[Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong]]'' in the Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde series, and of course, ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', a translation of the ''Gyü Lama''. In 2019 his translation of the ''Mahāyānasaṃgraha'' with Indian and Tibetan commentaries was published and won the [https://khyentsefoundation.org/2019-outstanding-translation/ Khyentse Foundation Prize For Outstanding Buddhist Translation]. +
An important master of the Dakpo Kagyu tradition. He was a student of the Seventh Karmapa and a teacher to the Eighth Karmapa and the Second Pawo Rinpoche. An immanent scholar, he wrote works on both sūtra and tantra, as well as an acclaimed commentary on the three cycles of ''doha'' of the famed Indian master Saraha. +
Khenpo Chöying Dorje was born a student of the Khyentse lineage. His teacher was late Khenchen Kunga Wangchuk and he is a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Khenpo joined Dzongsar Institute in 1992 and was granted many degrees over the years: in 1998 he was granted the Shastra Degree in Buddhism (equivalent to Bachelor’s Degree) and in 2001 the Archaya title (MA). He received his Khenpo title in 2002 and his Khenpo Degree (PhD) in 2004. Khenpo served as assistant principal of the shedra from 2008 to 2012, and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche appointed him head principal of Dzongsar Institute for the 2013 to 2016 term. Khenpo Chöying Dorje is known not only for his scholarship but also for his kind and compassionate heart. He teaches in America, Asia, Australia and Europe and always strives to make the teachings understandable and practically applicable. +
Khenpo Gangshar Wangpo (Tib. མཁན་པོ་གང་ཤར་དབང་པོ་, Wyl. mkhan po gang shar dbang po) (b. 1925) - a renowned master of the 'crazy wisdom' approach, who was connected with Shechen Monastery. He was the root teacher of both [[Chögyam Trungpa]] and [[Thrangu Rinpoche]], and also one of [[Dezhung Rinpoche]]'s teachers. For a while it was thought that he died in prison between 1958 and 196, but it has also been reported that he in fact survived 22 years of imprisonment, and passed away in 1980/1, before any of his former students could contact him. His writings include: ''A Song to Introduce the Unmistaken View of the Great Perfection'', ''Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet: Instructions to Guide You on the Profound Path'', and ''Vomiting Gold''. ([https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Gangshar Source Accessed July 28, 2020]) +
Khenchen Namdrol Tsering (Tib. མཁན་ཆེན་རྣམ་གྲོལ་ཚེ་རིང་, Wyl. mkhan chen rnam grol tshe ring) (b. 1953) is one of the leading khenpos in the Nyingma tradition and is universally acknowledged as an expert on the Guhyagarbha Tantra and its various commentaries. As a khenchen, he is one of three most senior khenpos of Namdroling Monastery and is also one of the foremost disciples of Khenpo Jikme Phuntsok. He oversees Rigpa Shedra East in Pharping, Nepal. +
Zhenpen Chökyi Nangwa, a disciple of Orgyen Tendzin Norbu, was the nineteenth abbot of Dzogchen's Śrī Siṃha college, the founder and first abbot of Dzongsar's Khamshe monastic college, and the teacher of countless Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu lamas. He and his disciples are said to have established nearly one hundred study centers, emphasizing the study of thirteen Indian root texts. +
72nd abbot of Drepung Gomang Monastery, Geshe Ngawang Nyima was born on 18th July, 1907 in Davatai, Buryatia (today's Republic of Buryatia under Russian Federation). His parents, father Tsedup Dorje and mother Tsekyima, were devoted Buddhists. It is said that on the day of his birth, Geshe Lharamba Minyak Lobsang Yonten from Drepung Loseling visited the house of his parents. Later, Lobsang Yonten became the abbot of Loseling College.
Geshe Ngawang Nyima entered the door to Dharma in Shulutuiskii Datsan (Aginskii Datsan) and received vows of Barma Ravjung and novice vows there. Until the age of nine he learnt to read and write in Mongolian and Tibetan languages. Then he memorized various prayers and started to study Buddhist logic. At that time Russia was in the process of Communist revolution and he had to study communist theory at his Monastery.
In 1923 he left Buryatia secretly for Tibet and the next year he arrived Lhasa, through Ulaanbaatar. In Lhasa he entered Drepung Gomang Monastic College, and continued his Buddhist studies. Drepung was traditionally the biggest monastery in Tibet and was established in 1416 by Jamyang Choije Tashi Palden, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa. he lived in Drepung until 1958.
Despite many difficulties, such as lack of financial means and not being able to return home to arrange more support due to the political situations, he studied very hard for sixteen years. Often he would have nothing except the clothes he wore and could not even afford offerings to his altar. In 1938 he received the degree of Geshe Rabjim and came to be known among other Geshes for his erudition in classical Buddhist scriptures. He started receiving students to study under his guidance. Geshe Ngawang Nyima received oral transmissions of Kangyur and collected writings of Je Tsongkhapa, his spiritual sons, and many other eminent masters such as the ones from Kangsar Dorjechang. Agwan Nima spent years in meditation, and went on pilgrimage to India for three times.
In 1960, at the request of the Dalai Lama of Tibet, he took a teacher's post at Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India. He worked there for seven years. While at Sanskrit University, he wrote in Tibetan a book on Buddhist history, titled "Choijung Lungrig Dronme". He also published a collection of biographies of over two hundred scholars and yogis from India, Tibet and Mongolia.
In 1967, again following the request of the fourteenth the Dalai Lama, he went to Laiden, Holland to become a teacher at an Institute. He stayed there for six years writing five volumes on Buddhist philosophy until his retirement from the institute in 1972. Then he traveled to Switzerland where he wrote eight more volumes on Buddhist philosophy.
In 1977 he was elected as Abbot of Drepung Gomag Monastic College by the monastic community and in 1978 by the order of the Dalai Lama he became the abbot. He stayed in this position until 1980. At the age of 73 years handed down his position and went to Switzerland for vacasion during which he wrote his autobiography. A year later, he came back to India where many students studied under his guidance. He taught there until the age of 81. In 1990, his health condition became unwell . For three days he was bedridden and then after several days in meditative equipoise of Clear Light, on November 24th, he left this world. ([https://www.drepunggomang.org/monastery-s-abbots Source Accessed October 21, 2019])
Zen Master Bon Soeng, Jeff Kitzes, began practicing Zen in 1975 and became a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1979. He received inka, or permission to teach in 1992 and was given dharma transmission by Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2001. Zen Master Bon Soeng is also a licensed psychotherapist in private practice integrating Zen, Buddhism, and Western Psychotherapy. He has served as the guiding teacher of Empty Gate Zen Center in Berkeley, California since 1992. ([https://www.kwanumzenonline.org/blog/bon-soeng Source Accessed July 17, 2020]) +