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Venerable Sarah Thresher + (Venerable Sarah Thresher (Tenzin Yiwong) w … Venerable Sarah Thresher (Tenzin Yiwong) was born in London, England in 1960, and earned her Bachelor's degree in 1982. Shortly afterwards, she met the Buddha's teachings at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, where she took refuge with Lama Thubten Yeshe. Since then, she has studied with many great masters and was ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1986.After working as an editor for Wisdom Publications for nine years, she began teaching in 1992 and since then has taught in countries around the world. More recently, as Resident Teacher of Land of Medicine Buddha, she helped organize the highly successful visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Mountain View, California in 2001. At the request of her teacher, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche, she now travels and teaches full-time throughout the world.Ven. Sarah's experiential way of presenting the Buddhist path stimulates inward reflection and introduces new ways of perceiving that can guite literally revolutionize our lives. The goal is a deepening of wisdom and compassion, a relaxed open heart, a peaceful mind, and a more realistic view of ourselves.Ven. Sarah is currently teaching in Mongolia. ([https://lamrim.com/vensarah/ultimatehealing.html Source Accessed Jan 16, 2025])ealing.html Source Accessed Jan 16, 2025]))
Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi + (Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi is a Buddhist nun … Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi is a Buddhist nun who first became interested in meditation and Buddhism in the early 1970s, and became a student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist teachers in early 1991. Venerable Tenzin took novice ordination in 2004 with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and completed several long meditation retreats over a six year period. Venerable Tenzin teaches Buddhist philosophy and meditation within the FPMT network, and also teaches Cultivating Emotional Balance (a secular program developed by Alan Wallace and Paul Ekman). She is passionate about social justice and interfaith work in addition to her Buddhist practice, and has been teaching in prisons for the last 13 years. ([https://www.compassioninstitute.com/teachers/tenzin-chogkyi/ Source Accessed Oct 29, 2021])in-chogkyi/ Source Accessed Oct 29, 2021]))
Venerable Tenzin Tsepal + (Venerable Tenzin Tsepal was a student of V … Venerable Tenzin Tsepal was a student of Venerable Chodron’s in Seattle from 1995 to 1999 and attended the Life as a Western Buddhist Nun conference in Bodhgaya as a lay supporter. Her interest in ordination surfaced after she completed a three-month Vajrasattva retreat in 1998.She then lived in India for two years while continuing to explore monastic life. In 2001, Ven. Tsepal received sramanerika ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She received bhikshuni ordination at Fu En Si Temple in Taiwan in 2019.While Venerable Tsepal was in India, some Australian friends introduced her to the five-year Buddhist Studies Program at Chenrezig Institute (CI), an FPMT center north of Brisbane, Queensland where she subsequently lived and engaged in intensive residential study from 2002-2015. As the Western Teacher at CI, she tutored weekend teachings and retreats, and taught the Discovering Buddhism courses, but always had her eye on what was happening at the Abbey.In January 2016, Venerable Tsepal returned to the U.S. to participate in Sravasti Abbey’s winter retreat, and subsequently joined the community the following September.Prior to ordaining, Ven. Tsepal completed a degree in Dental Hygiene, and then pursued graduate school in hospital administration at the University of Washington. Not finding happiness in 60 hour work weeks, she was self-employed for 10 years as a Reiki teacher and practitioner.At the Abbey, Venerable Tsepal leads the Guest Care team. She is also compiling and editing the many years of Venerable Chodron’s teachings on monastic training, and leads reviews of philosophical tenets for the community. She helps out with painting and forest work too. ([https://sravastiabbey.org/community-member/venerable-tenzin-tsepal/ Source Accessed May 16, 2023])zin-tsepal/ Source Accessed May 16, 2023]))
Victoria Huckenpahler + (Victoria Huckenpahler is a notable Buddhis … Victoria Huckenpahler is a notable Buddhist translator and author who has made significant contributions to the field of Tibetan Buddhism. She is best known for her work on''The Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury'', published in 1990 and republished in 2006. This important volume tells the extraordinary tales of the greatest teachers of the Kagyu lineage, one of the most widely followed schools of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States.Huckenpahler has also worked on other Buddhist texts, including ''Holy Biographies of the Great Founders of the Glorious Sakya Order'' in 2000. Her expertise extends to various branches of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Drikung Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu, Karma Kagyu, and Shangpa Kagyu traditions.In addition to her work in Buddhist literature, Huckenpahler has authored books on other subjects. She wrote ''Ballerina: A biography of Violette Verdy'', published in 1978, which details the life of the renowned French ballerina. (Biography generated by Perplexity Jan 30, 2025)aphy generated by Perplexity Jan 30, 2025))
Victoria R. M. Scott + (Victoria R. M. Scott has an M.A. in Buddhi … Victoria R. M. Scott has an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Yale University. She has freelance edited since 1984, with an emphasis on the history, religion, art, and literature of Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea; she also edits for scholars whose work delves into the history of Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world.A longtime student of Her Eminence Jetsun Kusho and His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, Victoria has edited all the Sapan Fund’s books to date (see Publications). She has also edited volumes published by the Library of Tibetan Classics, Dechen Ling Press, and Awakening Vajra Publications, as well as by Brill, Harvard, Stanford, and other academic presses. She edited ''Hermit of Go Cliffs'' (Wisdom, 2000), by Cyrus Stearns, and assisted with the publication of ''A Saint in Seattle: The Life of the Tibetan Mystic Dezhung Rinpoche'' (Wisdom, 2003), by David P. Jackson. ([https://www.sapanfund.org/pages/about.php Source Accessed Aug 8, 2023])es/about.php Source Accessed Aug 8, 2023]))
Vishnu Sridharan + (Vishnu Sridharan is a graduate student at … Vishnu Sridharan is a graduate student at the University of Southern California in the School of Philosophy. His primary dissertation advisor is John Hawthorne. He also works with Jake Nebel, Gary Watson, Jon Quong, and Greg Keating.His dissertation addresses two families of questions: one at the intersection of epistemology and ethics and one at the intersection of epistemology and the law. His research at the intersection of epistemology and ethics focuses on the relationship between risk and compensation. His research at the intersection of epistemology and the law focuses on the proper functioning of juries. ([https://vishnusridharan.com/academic-philosopher/ Adapted from Source May 17, 2021])sopher/ Adapted from Source May 17, 2021]))
William Theodore de Bary + (William Theodore de Bary (Chinese: 狄培理; pi … William Theodore de Bary (Chinese: 狄培理; pinyin: Dí Péilǐ; August 9, 1919 – July 14, 2017) was an American Sinologist and scholar of East Asian philosophy who was a professor and administrator at Columbia University for nearly 70 years.De Bary graduated from Columbia College in 1941, where he was a student in the first year of Columbia's famed Literature Humanities course. He then briefly took up graduate studies at Harvard University before leaving to serve in American military intelligence in the Pacific Theatre of World War Two. Upon his return, he resumed his studies at Columbia, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1953.In order to create text books for the non-Western version of the Columbia humanities course, he drew together teams of scholars to translate original source material, ''Sources of Chinese Tradition'' (1960), ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', and ''Sources of Indian Tradition''. His extensive publications made the case for the universality of Asian values and a tradition of democratic values in Confucianism. He is recognized as training the graduate students and mentoring the scholars who created the field of Neo-Confucian studies. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wm._Theodore_de_Bary Source Accessed July 18, 2023])re_de_Bary Source Accessed July 18, 2023]))
Xuanzang + (Xuanzang [ɕɥɛ̌n.tsâŋ] (Chinese: 玄奘; fl. c. … Xuanzang [ɕɥɛ̌n.tsâŋ] (Chinese: 玄奘; fl. c. 602 – 664) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator who travelled to India in the seventh century and described the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism during the early Tang dynasty.[1][2]During the journey he visited many sacred Buddhist sites in what are now Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. He was born in what is now Henan province around 602, from boyhood he took to reading religious books, including the Chinese classics and the writings of ancient sages.While residing in the city of Luoyang (in Henan in Central China), Xuanzang was ordained as a ''śrāmaṇera'' (novice monk) at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dynasty, he went to Chengdu in Sichuan, where he was ordained as a bhikṣu (full monk) at the age of twenty. He later travelled throughout China in search of sacred books of Buddhism. At length, he came to Chang'an, then under the peaceful rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang, where Xuanzang developed the desire to visit India. He knew about Faxian's visit to India and, like him, was concerned about the incomplete and misinterpreted nature of the Buddhist texts that had reached China.[3]He became famous for his seventeen-year overland journey to India (including Nalanda), which is recorded in detail in the classic Chinese text ''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions'', which in turn provided the inspiration for the novel ''Journey to the West'' written by Wu Cheng'en during the Ming dynasty, around nine centuries after Xuanzang's death.[4] During Xuanzang's travels, he studied with many famous Buddhist masters, especially at the famous center of Buddhist learning at Nalanda. When he returned, he brought with him some 657 Sanskrit texts. With the emperor's support, he set up a large translation bureau in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), drawing students and collaborators from all over East Asia. He is credited with the translation of some 1,330 fascicles of scriptures into Chinese. His strongest personal interest in Buddhism was in the field of Yogācāra (瑜伽行派), or Consciousness-only (唯識).The force of his own study, translation and commentary of the texts of these traditions initiated the development of the Faxiang school (法相宗) in East Asia. Although the school itself did not thrive for a long time, its theories regarding perception, consciousness, karma, rebirth, etc., found their way into the doctrines of other more successful schools. Xuanzang's closest and most eminent student was Kuiji (窺基) who became recognized as the first patriarch of the Faxiang school. Xuanzang's logic, as described by Kuiji, was often misunderstood by scholars of Chinese Buddhism because they lack the necessary background in Indian logic.[32] Another important disciple was the Korean monk Woncheuk.Xuanzang was known for his extensive but careful translations of Indian Buddhist texts to Chinese, which have enabled subsequent recoveries of lost Indian Buddhist texts from the translated Chinese copies. He is credited with writing or compiling the ''Cheng Weishi Lun'' as a commentary on these texts. His translation of the Heart Sutra became and remains the standard in all East Asian Buddhist sects; as well, this translation of the Heart Sutra was generally admired within the traditional Chinese gentry and is still widely respected as numerous renowned past and present Chinese calligraphers have penned its texts as their artworks.[33] He also founded the short-lived but influential Faxiang school of Buddhism. Additionally, he was known for recording the events of the reign of the northern Indian emperor, Harsha. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang Source Accessed Feb 5, 2020])====notes====1. Wriggins, Sally (27 November 2003). The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang (1 ed.). Washington DC: Westview press (Penguin). ISBN 978-0813365992. 2. Upinder Singh (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education. p. 563. ISBN 9788131716779. 3. Wriggins, Sally (27 November 2003). The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang. New York: Westview (Penguin). ISBN 978-0813365992. 4. Cao Shibang (2006). "Fact versus Fiction: From Record of the Western Regions to Journey to the West". In Wang Chichhung (ed.). Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang's Western Pilgrimage. p. 62. Retrieved 2 February 2014. 32. See Eli Franco, "Xuanzang's proof of idealism." Horin 11 (2004): 199-212. 33. "Heart Sutra Buddhism". Vincent's Calligraphy. Retrieved 16 March 2017. "Heart Sutra Buddhism". Vincent's Calligraphy. Retrieved 16 March 2017.)
Yeo Puay Huei + (Yeo Puay Huei is the director of Kasih Hos … Yeo Puay Huei is the director of Kasih Hospice and founding member of Losang Dragpa Buddhist Society (an affiliate of FPMT) in Malaysia. She is a long-time student of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and has edited a number of Dharma books both for Lama Thubten Zopa and Geshe Tenzin Zopa.r Lama Thubten Zopa and Geshe Tenzin Zopa.)
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche + (Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (born 1975) is a T … Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (born 1975) is a Tibetan teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He has authored two best-selling books and oversees the Tergar Meditation Community, an international network of Buddhist meditation centers.As the head of the Tergar Meditation Community, Mingyur Rinpoche supports groups of students in more than thirty countries, leading workshops around the world for new and returning students every year. [https://tergar.org/about/mingyur-rinpoche/ Learn more at https://tergar.org/]Mingyur Rinpoche was born in Nepal in 1975, the youngest of four brothers. His mother is Sönam Chödrön, a descendant of the two Tibetan kings Songtsen Gampo and Trisong Deutsen. His brothers are Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and his nephews are Phakchok Rinpoche and the reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, known popularly as Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche. From the age of nine, his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, taught him meditation, passing on to him the most essential instructions of the Dzogchen and Mahamudra traditions.At the age of eleven, Mingyur Rinpoche began studies at Sherab Ling Monastery in northern India, the seat of Tai Situ Rinpoche. Two years later, Mingyur Rinpoche began a traditional three-year retreat at Sherab Ling. At age twenty, Mingyur Rinpoche became the functioning abbot of Sherab Ling. At twenty-three, he received full monastic ordination. During this time, Mingyur Rinpoche received important Dzogchen transmissions from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. At the age of nineteen, he enrolled at Dzongsar Institute, where, under the tutelage of the renowned Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk, he studied the primary topics of the Buddhist academic tradition, including Middle Way philosophy and Buddhist logic.In 2007, Mingyur Rinpoche completed the construction of Tergar Monastery in Bodhgaya, India, which will serve large numbers of people attending Buddhist events at this sacred pilgrimage site, serve as an annual site for month-long Karma Kagyu scholastic debates, and serve as an international study institute for the Sangha and laity. The institute will also have a medical clinic for local people.Mingyur Rinpoche has overseen the Kathmandu Tergar Osel Ling Monastery, founded by his father, since 2010. He also opened a shedra (monastic college) at the monastery.In June 2011, Mingyur Rinpoche left his monastery in Bodhgaya to begin a period of extended retreat. Rinpoche left in the middle of the night, taking nothing with him, but leaving a farewell letter. He spent four years as a wandering yogi... After continuing with his retreat for four years, he later returned to his position as abbot. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongey_Mingyur_Rinpoche Source Accessed June 27, 2022])r_Rinpoche Source Accessed June 27, 2022]))
Zaya Pandita + (Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijamts (1599–1662) w … Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijamts (1599–1662) was a Buddhist missionary priest and scholar of Oirat origin who is the most prominent Oirat Buddhist scholar. Among his accomplishments is the invention of the Clear Script.Zaya Pandita was the fifth son of Babakhan, a minor Khoshut prince. After Babakhan converted to Tibetan Buddhism in the early 17th century, he, like many other Oirat princes, wished for one of his sons to enter the Buddhist clergy. In pursuit of his wish, Babakhan chose Zaya to become a śrāmaṇera ("novice monk"). In 1615, Zaya journeyed to Lhasa where he would study and practice Buddhism, including study under the guidance of the Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama.In 1638, Zaya Pandita left Tibet at the direction of the Panchen Lama to conduct missionary work among the Mongols. One year later in 1640, he assisted Erdeni Batur, Khun Taiyishi of the Choros (Oirats) tribe, in assembling a pan-Mongol conference between the Oirat and the Khalkha Mongols. The purpose of the conference was to encourage the formation of a united Mongolian front against potential external enemies, such as the Kazakhs, Manchus, and Russians and to settle all internal matters peacefully. The conference produced a code, which provided protection from foreign aggression to both the Oirat and the Khalkha and guaranteed the free movement of people throughout Mongol land.When not engaged in diplomacy between the Oirat and the Khalkha, Zaya Pandita spread Tibetan Buddhism to the Oirats, the Khalkha and even the Kalmyk people in far away Russia. In furtherance of his missionary work, Zaya Pandita composed a new alphabet, based on the traditional Mongolian alphabet, called "Clear script" (''todo bichig'') to transcribe the Oirat language as it is pronounced. By doing so, Zaya Pandita eliminated the ambiguities of the traditional Mongolian alphabet.From the time Zaya Pandita developed the Clear Script in 1648 until his death in 1662, he translated approximately 186 Buddhist texts from Tibetan language to the Oirat language while still serving the religious needs of the Oirat tribes in Dzungaria.The todo bichig script is still used by Oirats in Xinjiang with slight revisions, and is taught alongside standard classical written Mongolian in that region. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaya_Pandita Source Accessed Oct 6, 2023])According to Fredrick Liland, "The Oirat scholar Zaya Pandita (1599-1662) according to his biography made a new translation of the BCA. Zaya Pandita was influential in spreading the Buddhist faith also among the Kalmyks, a Mongolian people who migrated to the shore of the Caspian Sea in the 17th Century. He is said to have translated a large number of texts into the Oirat/Kalmyk language, so it is quite likely that the BCA was among these. The translation of Zaya Pandita has however not been found. (Source: Liland, Fredrik. "Later Editions and Translations." In "The Transmission of the Bodhicaryāvatāra: The History, Diffusion, and Influence of a Mahāyāna Buddhist Text," 49–58. MA thesis, University of Oslo, 2009.)–58. MA thesis, University of Oslo, 2009.))
Zhönu Senge + (Zhönu Senge is counted as the second of th … Zhönu Senge is counted as the second of the “Nine Incomparable Lions,” patriarchs of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. He was born into a prominent Drukpa family – his paternal uncle was Darma Sengge Sanggye Won, the first of the Nine Incomparable Lions and the student of Tsangpa Gyare, who founded the Drukap tradition. He served as the third abbot of Ralung Monastery.ed as the third abbot of Ralung Monastery.)
Peter Zieme + (Zieme Peter (19.04.1942, Berlin), an exper … Zieme Peter (19.04.1942, Berlin), an expert in Turkic studies, Buddhology and Old Uyghur literature. In 1965 [he] graduated from Humboldt University of Berlin; from 1965 to 1969 [he] was a PhD student at the same University. After defending a PhD thesis (Linguistic and literature research of Turkic Manichean texts found in Turfan), he started his career as an academic researcher at the Institute of Oriental Research of the German Democratic Republic in 1969. In 1984 he received the Habilitation degree at the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic for the dissertation Die Stabreim Texte der Uiguren von Turfan und Dunhuang: Studien zur alttürkischen Dichtung.From 1993, [he became] a member of The Turfanforschung (Turfan Studies) at the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Honored professor of Free University of Berlin (1994); member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (1999); honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2000); honorary member of Turkish Language Society (Türk Dil Kurumu, 2012); [and a] member of the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences (2019). Professor Zieme’s contribution to Old Uyghur studies could not be overestimated. Being an author of 14 books and more than 200 articles, the chief editor of multiple works dedicated to Central Asian literature and paleography, he continues to conduct research of Old Uyghur Turfan texts. ([http://www.orientalstudies.ru/eng/index.php?option=com_personalities&Itemid=74&person=700 Adapted from Source Mar 15, 2021])&person=700 Adapted from Source Mar 15, 2021]))
C.W. "Sandy" Huntington + ([C. W. "Sandy"] Huntington was known forem … [C. W. "Sandy"] Huntington was known foremost for his work in Mahayana Buddhist thought, in particular the Madhyamaka philosophy of India and Tibet. More recently, he published a novel, Maya (Wisdom Publications 2015), set in India in the 1970s, and wrote an article, “The Triumph of Narcissism: Theravāda Buddhist Meditation in the Marketplace,” critiquing certain psychotherapeutic models of teaching and understanding vipassanā meditation found in the West today.* Until his death, Huntington served as a professor of religious studies at Hartwick College, in Oneonta, New York, where he won both the Margaret L. Bunn Award for Excellence in Teaching (2004) and the Teacher/Scholar Award (2019). Before teaching at Hartwick, Huntington worked at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, as well as Denison College and Antioch University’s Buddhist Studies in India program, based in Bodh Gaya.As a doctoral student, Huntington was guided at the University of Michigan by Luis Gómez, himself a beloved and prolific scholar of Indian Buddhist thought. During this time, Huntington traveled to India to study Sanskrit and Tibetan with the great masters of the day, returning many times over his career. On one such visit, he translated Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra with Geshé Namgyal Wangchen, later published as The Emptiness of Emptiness (Hawaii University Press 1989), a pioneering text in Buddhist philosophy. Huntington went on to work closely with fellow scholars on topics of hermeneutics and methodology in the study of Buddhist philosophy, asking scholars to look not only at what the texts mean, but what presuppositions and attitudes were influencing their own interpretations and understandings. ([https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/buddhist-scholar-cw-sandy-huntington-dies-aged-71 Source Accessed May 26, 2021])ies-aged-71 Source Accessed May 26, 2021]))
Isidro Gordi + ([Isidro Gordi] was born in Mollet del Vall … [Isidro Gordi] was born in Mollet del Vallés (Barcelona) in 1954. A pacifist from a very young age, he was one of the first conscientious objectors in Spain, which is why he suffered exile from 1973 to 1977. During this time he traveled throughout Europe, landing for a long period of time in Greece, whose culture and customs captivated him and aroused his “appetite for the East”. He returned to Spain thanks to the pardon granted after Franco's death.Nostalgic for the Greek islands, in 1979, he settled in Menorca where his first encounter with a Tibetan Master, Lama Orgyen, an expert in Buddhist rituals, took place with whom he took refuge. From those days he became a student of Tibetan Buddhism, a tireless seeker of the teaching that will already be an integral part of his life. Together with his wife, Marta Moll, became one of the pioneers of Buddhism in Spain, deploying its dissemination work through Ediciones Amara , a publishing house specializing in Buddhist philosophy.In Menorca, in 1980, he created the Dharma Institute under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, a resident of England and abbot at the time of the Manjushri Institute. His wish was to establish a study center where the Buddhist Dharma could be made known with rigor and seriousness. Determined to have the best means to do so, Isidro invites Venerable Geshe Tamding Gyatso as Master resident in Menorca(1927-2002) exiled at that time in India. After a long legal process, Geshe Tamding Gyatso arrived on the island in 1987. That endearing old man would not only become the Master of the Heart of Isidro and Marta, but also almost a grandfather to his children Shanti and Amara who practically saw him daily. During twelve very intense years Isidro received the nectar of the Dharma from the mouth of Geshe Tamding Gyatso , who was one of the most learned Geshes of the famous Ganden monastery. ([https://escuelalaicadebudismoymeditacion.es/index.php/quienes-somos/isidro-gordi Source Accessed Mar 19, 2021])sidro-gordi Source Accessed Mar 19, 2021]))
Prabhubhai Bhikhabhai Patel + ([Prabhubhai Bhikhabhai Patel] belonged to … [Prabhubhai Bhikhabhai Patel] belonged to a peasant family of Kunabi caste and was born at Sarpor-Pardi of the district of Surat in 1906. He had one sister and five brothers, he himself being the fourth. His father was Sri Bhikhabhai and mother Srimati Benabai. His education began at the village school of Satem andthence he was sent with his nephew Sri Govindaji Bhulabhai Patel, now a Homeopathic Physician atNavasari, to the Central Boarding School of Supa. It was a village middle school. After his reading up to Matriculation came the call of Mahatma Gandhi for triple boycott of schools and colleges, Government Law Courts and foreign cloths. This was in 1919. Having given up school he joined a National School at Surat and from that time till his death he used to put on ''khaddar'' [homespun cotton cloth of India].After two years in 1921 he went to the Gujarat Vidyapith, the National University founded by Mahatma Gandhi, and plunged deep in Congress ideology. There he came under the influence of such leaders and thinkers as Principal A. T. Gidwani, Acharya J. B. Kripalani, Kaka Kalelkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, andProf. Dharmananda Kausambi. The last-named teacher impressed upon him the glory of the ancient lore ofIndia.Prabhubhai then come to Visva-bharati, Santiniketan with some other students from that part of the country. Indeed, it was owing to his personal influence that at that time a good number of Gujarati students came to Santiniketan and joined the different departments of Visva-bharati. In due time Prabhubhai was admitted to the Yidya-bhavana, the Research Department of the institution of which I was then the Principal. I had there the good fortune of teaching students coming not only from the different parts of the country, but also from such distant lands as Japan and Germany.As a student Prabhubhai endeared himself to all his teachers and inmates of the Asrama including our revered Gurudeva, Rabindranath. He was very intelligent and promising. In the Vidya-bhavana he was one of those students who studied under my personal guidance and I felt fortunate and proud to have him as a pupil. His subject of study here was Buddhism with special reference to its Tibetan and Chinese sources.Here in Yisva-bharati he lived for more than seven years and made it almost his permanent home. Once again come the call from Mahatma Gandhi, and Prabhubhai left his studies for the time being in order to serve his motherland and courted arrest and was imprisoned. This proved too much for him, for after two years of jail life he came out a total wreck in health. His robust constitution broke down and he developed hemiplagia from a little strain in his spine. Best of India's doctors, physicians, surgeons and specialists in nature-cure could do no better than giving some temporary relief. He removed to the house of his nephew Dr. G. B. Patel, already referred to, at Navasari. He was now a complete invalid, crippled and confined to his wheel-chair and bed, but his mind was clear till the end which came on the 30th December, 1942. He was taken to his village home where he breathed his last after an agony of red sores and now lies buried in his family land. He remained unmarried after the divorce from his wife with whom he was married at a very tender age according to the social custom prevailing there at the time. (Vidhushekhara Bhattacharya, foreword to ''Cittavisuddhiprakarana of Aryadeva'', vi–vii)tavisuddhiprakarana of Aryadeva'', vi–vii))
Jue Liang + ([https://religiousstudies.as.virginia.edu/grad-students/profile/jl4nf See UVa Grad Student Page] [https://virginia.academia.edu/JueLiang Academia.edu for Jue Liang])
Gene Smith + ([https://www.tbrc.org/#!footer/about/genes … [https://www.tbrc.org/#!footer/about/genesmith Founder of TBRC, now BDRC]*[https://84000.co/obituary-of-e-gene-smith/ Obituary on 84000]*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/01/AR2011010102390.html Obituary in Washington Post]*[http://digitaldharma.com/home Documentary film about his life and work: Digital Dharma]''[https://www.tbrc.org/#!footer/about/genesmith Biography from BDRC]:'' E. Gene Smith (BDRC Founder and Senior Research Scholar) was born in Ogden, Utah in 1936. He studied at a variety of institutions of higher education in the United States: Adelphi College, Hobart College, University of Utah, and the University of Washington in Seattle.In 1959, the Rockefeller Foundation, seeing the opportunity to promote Tibetan studies, funded the establishment of nine centers of excellence worldwide, one of which was at the University of Washington.Under the auspices of the Rockefeller grant to the Far Eastern and Russian Institute, nine Tibetans were brought to Seattle for teaching and research, including the Ven. Deshung Rinpoche Kunga Tenpai Nyima, the tutor to the Sakya Phuntsho Phodrang. Smith had the good fortune to study Tibetan culture as well as Buddhism with Deshung Rinpoche and the rest of the Tibetan teachers in Seattle from 1960 to 1964. He lived with the Sakya family for five years. He spent the summer of 1962 travelling to the other Rockefeller centers in Europe to meet with the Tibetan savants there.In 1964 he completed his Ph.D. qualifying exams and travelled to Leiden for advanced studies in Sanskrit and Pali. In 1965 he went to India under a Foreign Area Fellowship Program (Ford Foundation) grant to study with living exponents of all of the Tibetan Buddhist and Bonpo traditions.He began his studies with Geshe Lobsang Lungtok (Ganden Changtse), Drukpa Thoosay Rinpoche and Khenpo Noryang, and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He decided to remain in India to continue serious study of Tibetan Buddhism and culture. He travelled extensively in the borderlands of India and Nepal. In 1968 he joined the Library of Congress New Delhi Field Office. He then began a project which was to last over the next two and a half decades: the reprinting of the Tibetan books which had been brought by the exile community or were with members of the Tibetan-speaking communities in Sikkim, Bhutan, India, and Nepal.He became field director of the Library of Congress Field Office in India in 1980 and served there until 1985 when he was transferred to Indonesia. He stayed in Jakarta running the Southeast Asian programs until 1994 when he was assigned to the LC Middle Eastern Office in Cairo.In February 1997 he took early retirement from the U.S. Library of Congress to become a consultant to the Trace Foundation for the establishment of the Himalayan and Inner Asian Resources (HIAR) library.In December 1999 he and a group of friends established the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center in Cambridge.He passed away on December 16, 2010. (Source Accessed on June 30, 2020), 2010. (Source Accessed on June 30, 2020))
Khenchen Dazer + (he was from Rahor, a branch of Dzogchen mo … he was from Rahor, a branch of Dzogchen monastery founded by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche in Gyalrong near Dergé. He was a student of Pöpa Tulku. He escaped from Tibet together with his former classmate Rahor Khenpo Tupten and went together with him to Sikkim via Bhutan.He taught at Namdroling in South India, where he also compiled a collection of prayers and liturgies used in Nyingma rituals, and eventually returned to Tibet, where he taught at the Shri Singha Shedra at Dzogchen Monastery. ([https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Daw%C3%A9_%C3%96zer Source Accessed on January 24, 2024])'''Read more: ''':Marilyn Silverstone, 'Five Nyingmapa Lamas in Sikkim', Kailash: A Journal of Himalayan Studies, 1973, vol. 1.1:Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems, Padma Publishing, 2005, p. 480'''Writings:'''*དོན་རྣམ་འགྲེལ་པ་ལུང་རིགས་དོ་ཤལ་, don rnam 'grel pa lung rigs do shal (Necklace of Scripture and Reasoning: A Commentary on Mipham Rinpoche's Sword of Wisdom for Thoroughly Ascertaining Reality, ཤེས་རབ་རལ་གྲི་དོན་རྣམ་ངེས) (composed in 1982): https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:MW1KG4451*ཆོས་སྤྱོད་བསྡུས་པ་ཕན་བདེའི་དགའ་སྟོན་, chos spyod bsdus pa phan bde'i dga' ston (editor)yod bsdus pa phan bde'i dga' ston (editor))
Āryadeva + (Āryadeva (3rd century), a disciple of Nāgā … Āryadeva (3rd century), a disciple of Nāgārjuna, is a central figure in the development of early Indian Madhyamaka philosophy. Āryadeva’s Hundred Verses Treatise (Bai lun) was one of the three basic texts of the Chinese Madhyamaka school founded by the central Asian monk Kumārajīva (b. 344–d. 413), which accordingly was called the Sanlun (Jpn. Sanron), or “three-treatise” school. According to the biography that Kumārajīva translated into Chinese, Āryadeva was born into a South Indian Brahmin family, became Nāgārjuna’s disciple, was renowned for his skill in debate, and was murdered by a student of a defeated teacher. Candrakīrti (b. c. 570–d. 650), in his commentary on Āryadeva’s major work, the Four Hundred Verses (Catuḥśataka), reports that Āryadeva was born on the island of Sinhala (Sri Lanka) as a king’s son, renounced his royal status, became a monk, and traveled to South India, where he studied with Nāgārjuna. Some scholars suggest that Āryadeva is the elder deva mentioned in the Mahāvaṃsa and Dīpavaṃsa chronicles of early Sri Lankan religious history. Āryadeva did not write commentaries on Nāgārjuna’s works but, rather, wrote autonomous treatises that defended Madhyamaka beliefs against its Buddhist and non-Buddhist critics. He devotes the first eight chapters to explaining ethical behavior and such practices as generosity, which form the basis for the bodhisattva’s accumulation of merit (puṇya). The latter eight chapters refute wrong views about the independent existence of external phenomena and the self, defending the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness and the dependently arisen nature of all things. The Catuḥśataka presents the path to the attainment of buddhahood as structured around these two requisites of merit and knowledge (jñāna). As an introduction to the practices of a bodhisattva, the Catuḥśataka prepares the ground for Śāntideva’s later (c. 8th-century) and more extensive treatment in Introduction to the Practices of a Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryāvatāra). Apart from some fragments of the Catuḥśataka, none of the works the Chinese and Tibetan canons attributed to Āryadeva survive in Sanskrit. [https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0065.xml From Oxford Bibliogrpahies ][https://www.academia.edu/39006061/%C4%80ryadeva_full_version_ See Tillemans article on Āryadeva] appearing in the forthcoming 2022 Routledge Handbook of Indian Buddhist Philosophy (McClintock, Edelglass, and Pierre-Julien Harter).ock, Edelglass, and Pierre-Julien Harter).)
Śavaripa + (Śavaripa was a hunter. In order to convinc … Śavaripa was a hunter. In order to convince him to abandon his wrong livelihood, the bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteśvara took the form of a hunter himself and killed one hundred deer (which he magically created) with a single arrow. When Śavaripa asked to learn this skill, the bodhisattva told him that he must first give up eating meat. Avalokiteśvara eventually taught Śavaripa how to meditate on love and compassion, granting Śavaripa and his wife a vision of hell, where they saw themselves burning for the sin of killing animals. When Śavaripa asked how they could be saved from this fate, the bodhisattva taught him about the law of karma and that through protecting rather than taking life, he could achieve liberation. Śavaripa meditated fortwelve years and entered the bodhisattva path, awaiting the advent of Maitreya. (Source: Lopez Jr., Donald S. ''Seeing the Sacred in Samsara: An Illustrated Guide to the Eighty-Four Mahāsiddhas''. Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2019: p. 53.)der: Shambhala Publications, 2019: p. 53.))
Śaṃkarasvāmin + (Śaṃkarasvāmin. (T. Bde byed bdag po; C. Sh … Śaṃkarasvāmin. (T. Bde byed bdag po; C. Shangjieluozhu; J. Shökarashu; K. Sanggallaju 商羯羅主) (c. sixth Century CE). Sanskrit proper name of an Indian philosopher and logician, who was a student of the Indian logician Dignāga. Śaṃkarasvāmin is credited with the authorship of the ''Nyāyapraveśa'', or "Primer on Logic," which became an important work in many Asian schools. Some have argued, based on the Tibetan tradition, that the ''Nyāyapraveśa'' was actually written by Śaṃkarasvāmin's teacher Dignāga, and that the recension translated into Chinese is a version that Śaṃkarasvāmin later edited. The ''Nyāyapraveśa'' provides an introduction to the logical system of Dignāga, covering such subjects as valid and invalid methods of proof, methods of refutation, perception, erroneous perception, inference, and erroneous inference. Although Śaṃkarasvāmin's work was not as extensive, detailed, or original Dignāga's, it proved to be popular within the tradition, as attested by its extensive commentarial literature, including exegeses by non-Buddhists. Large parts of the work survive in the original Sanskrit. (Source: "Śaṃkarasvāmin." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 755. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Śraddhākaravarman + (Śraddhākaravarman was a Kashmiri paṇḍita w … Śraddhākaravarman was a Kashmiri paṇḍita who was a student of Ratnakaraśānti (late 10th century – early 11th century) and teacher of Rinchen Zangpo. According to Jean Naudou, Śraddhākaravarman, with Padmākaravarman, was "one of the most productive Indian translators of his generation." Furthermore, describing his collaborations with Rinchen Zangpo, he writes, "The Kaśmīri origin of one of the two most fruitful collaborators of the ''Lo-chen'' [i.e. Rinchen Zangpo] is specified on several occasions: Śraddhākaravarman, introduced to the system of Buddhajñāna by Śāntipāda, taught it to Rin-chen bzaṅ-po at the same time as Padmākaravarman. He had also received from Vāgīśvara instructions about the propitiation of Tārā according to the method of Ravigupta, and he transmitted it to Tathāgatarakṣita. He is the author of a certain number of very short texts, of which the longest is ''Yogānattaratantrārthāvatārasaṃgraha'' (''Rg''. LXXII, 9) (24 p.)." (Jean Naudou, ''Buddhists of Kaśmīr'' [Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1980], 191–92). The most important of Śraddhākaravarman's translations, according to Naudou, were carried out in cooperation with Rinchen Zangpo.ed out in cooperation with Rinchen Zangpo.)
Śīlabhadra + (Śīlabhadra (traditional Chinese: 戒賢; ; pin … Śīlabhadra (traditional Chinese: 戒賢; ; pinyin: Jièxián) (529–645) was a Buddhist monk and philosopher. He is best known as being an abbot of Nālandā monastery in India, as being an expert on Yogācāra teachings, and for being the personal tutor of the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang. Another notable student of his was Prabhakāramitra. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C4%ABlabhadra Source Accessed Jan 5, 2026])4%ABlabhadra Source Accessed Jan 5, 2026]))
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu + (Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) is a … Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) is an American Buddhist monk of the Kammatthana (Thai Forest) Tradition. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1971 with a degree in European Intellectual History, he traveled to Thailand, where he studied meditation under Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, himself a student of the late Ajaan Lee. He ordained in 1976 and lived at Wat Dhammasathit, where he remained following his teacher's death in 1986. In 1991 he traveled to the hills of San Diego County, USA, where he helped Ajaan Suwat Suvaco establish Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Mettavanaram). He was made abbot of the Monastery in 1993. ([https://www.dhammatalks.org/index.html Source Accessed Aug 7, 2020])g/index.html Source Accessed Aug 7, 2020]))

Muksang Karma Tsepal + (A student of the First Gyatrul, Dongak Tenzin; the Third Karma Kuchen; and Dongak Chökyi Nyima.)

Apang Terton Choying Dorje + ('''Apang Terchen Orgyen Trinlé Lingpa (189 … '''Apang Terchen Orgyen Trinlé Lingpa (1895-1945)'''Choktrul Lozang Tendzin of Trehor studied with the lord Kunga Palden and the Chömaster Dharma Seng-gé, and Apang Terchen in turn studied with Lozang Tendzin.Apang Terchen, also known as Orgyen Trinlé Lingpa, was renowned as the rebirth ofRigdzin Gödem. He was reputed to have been conceived in the following way: TraktungDudjom Lingpa focused his enlightened intent while resting in the basic spaceof timeless awareness, whereupon Apang Terchen's mother experienced an intensesurge of delight. This caused all ordinary concepts based on confusion to be arrestedin her mind for a short time, and it was then that Apang Terchen was conceived in herwomb.2 From that moment on, his mother constantly had dreams that were amazingomens. For example, she found herself among groups of dakinis enjoying the splendorof ganachakras, or being bathed by many dakas and dakinis, or dwelling in pavilionsof light, illuminating the entire world with her radiance.The child was born one morning at dawn, in the area of Serta in eastern Tibet, hismother having experienced no discomfort. Her dwelling was filled with [2.188a] andsurrounded by light, as though the sun were shining brightly. There were also pavilionsof light, and a fragrance pervaded the entire area, although no one could tellwhere it came from. Everyone saw numerous amazing signs on the child's body, suchas a tuft of vulture feathers adorning the crown of his head.3 The mother's brother,Sönam Dorjé, asked, "What will become of this boy who has no father? How shamefulit would be if people saw these feathers!"4 But although he cut the feather tuftoff the child's head several times, it grew back on its own, just as before. This upsetSönam Dorjé even more, and he berated his sister angrily, saying on numerous occasions,"How could your child have no father? You must tell me who he is!" Hissister retorted, "With the truth of karma as my witness, I swear I have never lain witha flesh-and-blood man of this world. This pregnancy might be a result of my ownkarma." She became so extremely depressed that her fellow villagers couldn't bear itand used various means to bring a halt to her brother's inappropriate behavior.From an early age, this great master, Apang Terchen, felt an innate and unshakablefaith in Guru Rinpoché and had a clear and natural knowledge [2.188b] of the ''vajra guru'' mantra and the Seven-Line Supplication. He learned how to read and writesimply upon being shown the letters and exhibited incredible signs of his spiritual potentialawakening. For example, his intelligence, which had been developed throughtraining in former lifetimes, was such that no one could compete with him. As hegrew up, he turned his attention toward seeking the quintessential meaning of life.He studied at the feet of many teachers and mentors, including the Nyingtik masterGyatsok Lama Damlo and Terchen Sogyal, studying many of the mainstream traditionsof the sutras and tantras, especially those of the kama and terma.The most extraordinary lord of his spiritual family was Trehor Drakar Tulku,5with whom he studied for a long time, receiving the complete range of empowerments,oral transmissions, and pith instructions of the secret Nyingtik cycles of utter lucidity.He went to solitary ravines throughout the region, making caves and overhangson cliffs his dwelling places, taking birds and wild animals as his companions, andrelying on the most ragged clothing and meager diet. He planted the victory bannerof spiritual practice, meditating for a long period of time. He was graced by visions ofan enormous array of his personal meditation deities, [2.189a] including Tara, Avalokiteshvara,Mañjushri, Sarasvati, and Amitayus. He was not content to leave thetrue nature of phenomena an object of intellectual speculation, and his realizationprogressed in leaps and bounds.Apang Terchen bound the eight classes of gods and demons — including such spiritsas Nyenchen Tanglha, Ma Pomra, and Sergyi Drong-ri Mukpo6 — to his service.He communicated directly with Tsiu Marpo, the white form of Mahakala, Ganapati,and other protective deities, like one person conversing with another, and enjoinedthem to carry out his enlightened activities. So great was his might that he also boundthese protective deities to his service, causing lightning to strike and so forth, so thatthose who had become his enemies were checked by very direct means, before years,months, or even days had passed.Notably, he beheld the great master of Orgyen in a vision and was blessed as theregent of Guru Padmakara's three secret aspects. On the basis of a prophecy he receivedat that time, Apang Terchen journeyed to amazing holy sites, such as DraklhaGönpo in Gyalrong, Khandro Bumdzong in the lowlands of eastern Tibet, and DorjéTreldzong in Drakar, where he revealed countless terma caches consisting of teachings,objects of wealth, and sacred substances. He revealed some of them in secret,others in the presence of large crowds. In these ways, he revealed a huge trove of profoundtermas. [2.189b] Those revealed publicly were brought forth in the presence ofmany fortunate people and in conjunction with truly incredible omens, which freedall present from the bonds of doubt and inspired unshakable faith in them. ApangTerchen's fame as an undisputed siddha and tertön resounded throughout the land, asthough powerful enough to cause the earth to quake. His terma teachings are foundin the numerous volumes of his collected works and include ''The Hidden Treasure of Enlightened Mind: The Thirteen Red Deities'', practices focusing on the Three Roots, cycles concerning guardian deities and the principle of enlightened activity, and his large instruction manual on Dzogchen teachings.Apang Terchen's students, from Dartsedo in the east, to Repkong in Amdo to thenorth, to the three regions of Golok and other areas, included mentors who nurturedthe teachings and beings, masters such as those known as the "four great illuminatorsof the teachings," the "four vajra ridgepoles,11 the "four named Gyatso," the "greatmasters, the paired sun and moon," and Jangchub Dorjé (the custodian of ApangTerchen's termas).7 He also taught important political figures who exerted greatinfluence over the people of their areas, including the "four great chieftains of theregion of Dza in the north," [2.190a] that is, Getsé Tsering Dorjé of Dza in the northernreaches of eastern Tibet, Gönlha of Akyong in Golok, Mewa Namlo of the Méregion of Golok, and the chieftain of Serta in Washul. Apang Terchen's students alsoincluded countless monks, nuns, villagers, and lay tantric practitioners. He transmittedhis own termas and the great Nyingtik cycles of the Dzogchen teachings, and sonumerous were those he guided that he truly embodied the enlightened activity ofone who held sway over the three realms. In these times of spiritual degeneration, healleviated problems caused by disease, famine, border wars, and civil unrest. In suchways, Apang Terchen rendered great service to the land of Tibet. His kindness to theTibetan people as a whole was truly extraordinary, for he worked to ensure a gloriousstate of peace and well-being.During a pilgrimage to Jowo Yizhin Norbu, the statue of the lord Shakyamuni inLhasa, Apang Terchen paid respect to many tens of thousands of ordained membersof the sangha, sponsoring ganachakras, making offerings, and offering meals, tea,and donations at such monastic centers as Sera, Drepung, and Ganden. He sponsoredthe gilding of statues in these centers and in such ways strove to reinforce his positivequalities. Everyone could see that no matter how many avenues he found to extendgenerosity, his resources of gold, silver, and other valuables [2.190b] continued toincrease, as though he had access to a treasure mine.Among his heart children and intimate students were his sons, Gyurmé Dorjé,Wangchen Nyima, and Dotrul Rinpoché; his daughter, Tare Lhamo; and the custodianof his termas, Jangchub Dorjé. Until recently, Tare Lhamo lived in eastern Tibet,maintaining the teachings.8Thus did Apang Terchen benefit beings with his incredible compassion and activities.As his life was nearing an end, he remarked, "For the sake of the teachings andof beings, I must enter the bloodline of the glorious Sakya school." This fearless lion'sroar proved to be his last testament, spoken with an unobscured awareness of past,present, and future. He then manifested incredible miracles and departed for thegreat palace of Pema Ö.Source: Richard Barron translation of Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, Padma Publications, 2005, pages 488-491., Padma Publications, 2005, pages 488-491.)
Hubert Decleer + ('''In Memoriam: Hubert Decleer (1940–2021) … '''In Memoriam: Hubert Decleer (1940–2021)''':by Andrew QuintmanWith great sadness, we share news that our incomparable teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend Hubert Decleer passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 25. He was at his home with his wife, the poet Nazneen Zafar, in Kathmandu, Nepal, near the Swayambhū Mahācaitya that had been his constant inspiration for nearly five decades. His health declined rapidly following a diagnosis of advanced-stage lung cancer in May, but he remained lucid and in high spirits and over the past weeks he was surrounded by family members and close friends. Through his final hours, he maintained his love of Himalayan scholarship and black coffee, and his deep and quiet commitment to Buddhist practice.Hubert’s contributions to the study of Tibetan and Himalayan traditions are expansive, covering the religious, literary, and cultural histories of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. For nearly thirty-five years he directed and advised the School for International Training’s program for Tibetan Studies, an undergraduate study-abroad program that has served as a starting point for scholars currently working in fields as diverse as Anthropology, Art History, Education, Conservation, History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Public Policy. The countless scholars he inspired are connected by the undercurrent of Hubert's indelible "light touch" and all the subtle and formative lessons he imparted as a mentor and friend.Hubert embodied a seemingly inexhaustible curiosity that spanned kaleidoscopic interests ranging from Chinese landscapes to Netherlandish still lifes, medieval Tibetan pilgrimage literature to French cinema, 1940s bebop to classical Hindustani vocal performance. With legendary hospitality, his home, informally dubbed “The Institute,” was an oasis for scholars, former students, artists, and musicians, who came to share a simple dinner of daal bhaat or a coffee on the terrace overlooking Swayambhū. The conversations that took place on that terrace often unearthed a text or image or reference that turned out to be the missing link in the visitor's current research project. When not discussing scholarship, Hubert inspired his friends to appreciate the intelligence and charm of animals—monkeys and crows especially—or to enjoy the marvels of a blossoming potted plum tree. His attentiveness to the world around him generated intense sensitivity and compassion. He was an accomplished painter and a captivating storyteller, ever ready with accounts of the artists’ scene in Europe or his numerous overland journeys to Asia. The stories from long ago flowed freely and very often revealed some important insight about the present moment, however discrete. Hubert François Kamiel Decleer was born on August 22, 1940, in Ostend, Belgium. In 1946, he spent three months in Switzerland with a group of sixty children whose parents served in the Résistance. He completed his Latin-Greek Humaniora at the Royal Atheneum in Ostend in 1958, when he was awarded the Jacques Kets National Prize for biology by the Royal Zoo Society of Antwerp. He developed a keen interest in the arts, and during this period he also held his first exhibition of oil paintings and gouaches. In 1959 he finished his B.A. in History and Dutch Literature at the Regent School in Ghent. Between 1960 and 1963 he taught Dutch and History at the Hotel and Technical School in Ostend, punctuated by a period of military service near Köln, Germany in 1961–62. The highlight of his military career was the founding of a musical group (for which he played drums) that entertained officers’ balls with covers of Ray Charles and other hits of the day. In 1963 Hubert made the first of his many trips to Asia, hitchhiking for thirteen months from Europe to India and through to Ceylon. Returning to Belgium in 1964, he then worked at the artists’ café La Chèvre Folle in Ostend, where he organized fortnightly exhibitions and occasional cultural events. For the following few years he worked fall and winter for a Belgian travel agency in Manchester and Liverpool, England, while spending summers as a tour guide in Italy, Central Europe, and Turkey. In 1967 he began working as a guide, lecturer, and interpreter for Penn Overland Tours, based in Hereford, England. In these roles he accompanied groups of British, American, Australian, and New Zealand tourists on luxury overland trips from London to Bombay, and later London to Calcutta—excursions that took two and a half months to complete. He made twenty-six overland journeys in the course of fourteen years, during which time he also organized and introduced local musical concerts in Turkey, Pakistan, India, and later Nepal. He likewise accompanied two month-long trips through Iran with specialized international groups as well as a number of overland trips through the USSR and Central Europe. In between his travels, Hubert wrote and presented radio scenarios for Belgian Radio and Television (including work on a prize-winning documentary on Nepal) and for the cultural program Woord. The experiences of hospitality and cultural translation that Hubert accumulated on his many journeys supported his work as a teacher and guide; he was always ready with a hint of how one might better navigate the awkward state of being a stranger in a new place. With the birth of his daughter Cascia in 1972, Hubert’s travels paused for several years as he took a position tutoring at the Royal Atheneum in Ostend. He also worked as an art critic with a coastal weekly and lectured with concert tours of Nepalese classical musicians, cārya dancers, and the musicologist and performer Michel Dumont.In 1975, during extended layovers between India journeys, Hubert began a two-year period of training in Buddhist Chinese at the University of Louvain with pioneering Indologist and scholar of Buddhist Studies Étienne Lamotte. He recalled being particularly moved by the Buddhist teachings on impermanence he encountered in his initial studies. He also worked as a bronze-caster apprentice and assistant to sculptor—and student of Lamotte—Roland Monteyne. He then resumed his overland journeying full time, leading trips from London to Kathmandu. These included annual three-month layovers in Nepal, where he began studying Tibetan and Sanskrit with local tutors. He was a participant in the first conference of the Seminar of Young Tibetologists held in Zürich in 1977. In 1980 he settled permanently in Kathmandu, where he continued his private studies for seven years. During this period he also taught French at the Alliance Française and briefly served as secretary to the Consul at the French Embassy in Kathmandu. It was during the mid 1980s that Hubert began teaching American college students as a lecturer and fieldwork consultant for the Nepal Studies program of the School for International Training (then known as the Experiment in International Living) based in Kathmandu. In 1987 he was tasked with organizing SIT’s inaugural Tibetan Studies program, which ran in the fall of that year. Hubert served as the program’s academic director, a position he would hold for more than a decade. Under his direction, the Tibetan Studies program famously became SIT’s most nomadic college semester abroad, regularly traveling through India, Nepal, Bhutan, as well as western, central, and eastern Tibet. It was also during this period that Hubert produced some of his most memorable writings in the form of academic primers, assignments, and examinations. In 1999 Hubert stepped down as academic director to become the program’s senior faculty advisor, a position he held until his death.Hubert taught and lectured across Europe and the United States in positions that included visiting lecturer at Middlebury College and Numata visiting faculty member at the University of Vienna. Hubert’s writing covers broad swaths of geographical and historical territory, although he paid particular attention to the Buddhist traditions of Tibet and Nepal. His research focused on the transmission history of the Vajrabhairava tantras, traditional narrative accounts of the Swayambhū Purāṇa, the sacred geography of the Kathmandu Valley (his 2017 lecture on this topic, “Ambrosia for the Ears of Snowlanders,” is recorded here), and the biographies of the eleventh-century Bengali monk Atiśa. His style of presenting lectures was rooted in his work as a musician and lover of music—he prepared meticulously to be sure his talks were rhythmic, precise, and yet had an element of the spontaneous. One of his preferred mediums was the long-form book review, which incorporated new scholarship and original translations with erudite critiques of subjects ranging from Buddhist philosophy to art history and Tibetan music. His final publication, a forthcoming essay on an episode contained in the correspondence of the seventeenth-century Jesuit António de Andrade (translated by Michael Sweet and Leonard Zwilling in 2017), uses close readings of Tibetan historical sources and paintings to complicate and contextualize Andrade’s account of his mission to Tibet. This exemplifies the spirit and method of his review essays, which demonstrate his deep admiration of published scholarship through a meticulous consideration of the work and its sources, often leading to new discoveries. In addition to Hubert’s published work, some of his most endearing and enduring writing has appeared informally, in the guise of photocopied packets intended for his students. Each new semester of the SIT Tibetan Studies program would traditionally begin with what is technically called “The Academic Director’s Introduction and Welcome Letter.” These documents would be mailed out to students several weeks prior to the program, and for most other programs they were intended to inform incoming participants of the basic travel itinerary, required readings, and how many pairs of socks to pack. The Tibetan Studies welcome letter began as a humble, one-page handwritten note, impeccably penned in Hubert’s unmistakable hand. Hubert’s welcome letters evolved over the years, and they eventually morphed into collections of three or four original essays covering all manner of subjects related to Tibetan Studies, initial hints at how to approach cultural field studies, new research, and experiential education, as well as anecdotes from the previous semester illustrating major triumphs and minor disasters. The welcome letters became increasingly elaborate and in later years regularly reached fifty pages or more in length. The welcome letter for fall 1991, for example, included chapters titled “Scholarly Fever” and “The Field and the Armchair, and not ‘Stage-Struck’ in either.” By spring 1997, the welcome letter included original pieces of scholarship and translation, with a chapter on “The Case of the Royal Testaments” that presented innovative readings of the Maṇi bka’ ’bum. Only one element was missing from the welcome letter, a lacuna corrected in that same text of spring 1997, as noted by its title: Tibetan Studies Tales: An Academic Directors’ Welcome Letter—With Many Footnotes.Hubert was adamant that even college students on a study-abroad program could undertake original and creative research, either for assignments in Dharamsala, in Kathmandu or the hilly regions of Nepal, or during independent-study projects themselves, which became the capstone of the semester. Expectations were high, sometimes seemingly impossibly high, but with just the right amount of background information and encouragement, the results were often triumphs. Hubert regularly spent the months between semesters, or during the summer, producing another kind of SIT literature: the “assignment text.” These nearly always included extensive original translations of Tibetan materials and often extended background essays as well. They would usually end with a series of questions that would serve as the basis for a team research project. For fall 1994 there was “Cultural Neo-Colonialism in the Himalayas: The Politics of Enforced Religious Conversion”; later there was the assignment on the famous translator Rwa Lotsāwa called “The Melodious Drumsound All-Pervading: The Life and Complete Liberation of Majestic Lord Rwa Lotsāwa, the Yogin-Translator of Rwa, Mighty Lord in Magic Intervention.” There were extended translations of traditional pilgrimage guides for the Kathmandu Valley, including texts by the Fourth Khamtrul and the Sixth Zhamar hierarchs, for assignments where teams of students would race around the valley rim looking for an elusive footprint in stone or a guesthouse long in ruins that marked the turnoff of an old pilgrim’s trail. For many students these assignments were the first foray into field work methods, and Hubert's careful guidance helped them approach collaborations with local experts ethically and with deep respect for diverse forms of knowledge. One semester there was a project titled “The Mystery of the IV Brother Images, ’Phags pa mched bzhi” focused on the famous set of statues in Tibet and Nepal and based on new Tibetan materials that had only just come to light. Another examined the “The Tibetan World ‘Translated’ in Western Comics.” Finally, there was a classic of the genre that examined the creative nonconformity of the Bhutanese mad yogin Drugpa Kunleg in light of the American iconoclast composer and musician Frank Zappa: “A Dose of Drugpa Kunleg for the post–1984 Era: Prolegomena to a Review Article of the Real Frank Zappa Book.”Frank Zappa was, indeed, another of Hubert’s inspirations and his aforementioned review included the following passage: “If there’s one thing I do admire in FZ, it is precisely these ‘highest standards’ and utmost professional thoroughness that does not allow for any sloppiness (in the name of artistic freedom or spontaneous freedom)…. At the same time, each concert is really different, [and]…appears as a completely spontaneous event.” Hubert’s life as a scholar, teacher, and mentor was a consummate illustration of this highest ideal. Hubert is survived by his wife Nazneen Zafar; his daughter Cascia Decleer, son-in-law Diarmuid Conaty, and grandsons Keanu and Kiran Conaty; his sister Annie Decleer and brother-in-law Patrick van Calenbergh; his brother Misjel Decleer and sister-in-law Martine Thomaere; his stepmother Agnès Decleer, and half-brother Luc Decleer. A traditional cremation ceremony at the Bijeśvarī Vajrayoginī temple near Swayambhū is planned for Friday.Benjamin Bogin, Andrew Quintman, and Dominique TownsendPortions of this biographical sketch draw on the introduction to [[Himalayan Passages]]: Newar and Tibetan Studies in Honor of Hubert Decleer (Wisdom Publications, 2014))
Elliot Sperling + ('''Obituary: Elliot Sperling (1951-2017)'' … '''Obituary: Elliot Sperling (1951-2017)''' by Tenzin Dorjee. (''HIMALAYA''. Volume 37, Number 1, pp 149-150)Professor Elliot Sperling’s death was a colossal tragedy byevery measure. He was only 66 years old, and he exudedlife, health, and purpose—the antithesis of death. Afterretiring from a long professorship at Indiana Universityin 2015, where he was director of the Tibetan Studiesprogram at the department of Central Eurasian Studies,Sperling moved back to his native New York. He bought anapartment in Jackson Heights, where he converted everywall into meticulously arranged bookshelves—only thewindows were spared. He was clearly looking forward toa busy retirement, living in what was basically a librarypretending to be an apartment.Sperling was the world’s foremost authority on historicalSino-Tibetan relations. For his landmark work “on the political, religious, cultural, and economic relations betweenTibet and China from the fourteenth through seventeenthcenturies,” he was awarded a MacArthur genius grant atthe age of 33.1He accumulated a compact but enduring body of work that defined and shaped Tibetan studiesover the last three decades. No less important, he was alsoa phenomenal teacher, storyteller, entertainer, whiskey connoisseur (he delighted in teaching us how to enjoythe peaty Scotch whiskies), and a passionate advocate forTibetan and Uyghur causes.Through his seminal writings on Tibet’s relations withChina during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, hebecame arguably the first historian to use both Chineselanguage archives and Tibetan language sources extensively, bringing to light the separation and independence thatcharacterized the relationship between the two nations.Until he came along, most Western academics viewedTibet through Chinese eyes, largely because they couldnot access Tibetan sources. Sperling, fluent in Tibetan aswell as Chinese, upended the old Sino-centric narrativeand transformed the field. Roberto Vitali, who organized afestschrift for Sperling in 2014, writes that Sperling’s work“will stay as milestones” in Tibetan studies.2 His writingshave become so central to the field that any scholar whowrites a paper about historical Sino-Tibetan relations cannot do so without paying homage to Sperling’s work. He is,so to speak, the Hegel of Sino-Tibetan history.One can imagine the joy many of us felt when ProfessorSperling chose to make his home in Jackson Heights, thesecond (if unofficial) capital of the exile Tibetan world—after Dharamsala, India. We saw him at demonstrations atthe Chinese consulate, art openings at Tibet House, poetrynights at Little Tibet restaurant, and sometimes at dinnerparties in the neighborhood. At every gathering, he heldcourt as the intellectual life of the party. His friends andstudents bombarded him with questions on topics rangingfrom art to politics to linguistics, for his erudition wasnot limited to history alone. Unfailingly generous andeloquent, he supplied the most intriguing, insightful andexhaustive answers to every question. Each conversationwith him was a scholarly seminar. Among the circle ofTibetan activists and artists living in New York City,Sperling quickly fell into a sort of second professorship, anunderground tenure without the trappings of university.We weren’t about to let him retire so easily.Some of Professor Sperling’s most influential early worksinclude: The 5th Karma-pa and Some Aspects of the RelationshipBetween Tibet and the Early Ming (1980); The 1413 MingEmbassy to Tsong-ka-pa and the Arrival of Byams-chen chos-rjeShakya ye-shes at the Ming Court (1982); Did the Early MingEmperors Attempt to Implement a ‘Divide and Rule’ Policy inTibet? (1983); and The Ho Clan of Ho-chou: A Tibetan Family inService to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1990) among others.One of my personal favorites in his corpus is The 5th Karmapa and Some Aspects of the Relationship Between Tibet and theEarly Ming. In this text, Sperling argues that in the earlyyears following the collapse of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in1367, the Ming rulers of China adopted a non-expansionistforeign policy, displaying greater interest in drawing clearboundaries to keep the ‘barbarians’ out of China thanin expanding its boundaries to encroach into non-Mingterritories. Ming China was initially conceived more asan inward-looking state than an outward-looking empire,partly in critique of the ruthless expansionism of theirpredecessors, the Mongol Yuan rulers. In fact, Sperlingquotes from the very proclamation carried by the firstmission that Ming Taitsu, or the Hongwu Emperor, sent toTibet::Formerly, the hu people [i.e. the Mongols] usurped:authority in China. For over a hundred years caps:and sandals were in reversed positions. Of all:hearts, which did not give rise to anger? In recent:years, the hu rulers lost hold of the government….:Your Tibetan state is located in the western lands.:China is now united, but I am afraid that you have:still not heard about this. Therefore this proclamation [is sent].3 Sperling goes on to write that this “first mission is acknowledged by Chinese records to have met with nosuccess,” and that necessitated the dispatching of a secondmission.4In ''Did the Early Ming Emperors Attempt to Implement a “Divide and Rule” Policy in Tibet?''5Sperling defies decades of conventional wisdom with a bold argument when he writes::The Chinese court was never, in fact, able to mount:a military expedition beyond the Sino-Tibetan:frontier regions. This fact becomes strikingly:obvious as one glances through both Tibetan and:Chinese sources for the period in question…. Unable:to protect its embassies or even to retaliate against:attacks on them, China was hardly in a position to:manifest the kind of power needed to implement a:policy of “divide and rule” in Tibet.For many Tibetans who care about seemingly inconsequential details of the murky Sino-Tibetan relations from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, a historical period that has become a domain of highly charged information battles between Dharamsala and Beijing, Sperling’s writings are like a constellation of bright lamps illuminating the tangled web of Sino-Tibetan history. He excavated critical pieces of Tibet’s deep past from the forbidding archives of antiquity, arranged them in a coherent narrative, and virtually placed in our hands several centuries of our own history.Elliot Sperling’s academic stature would have allowedhim to be an ivory tower intellectual. Instead, he choseto be a true ally of the Tibetan people and an unwaveringchampion of Tibetan freedom. While he studied withTaktser Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama’s elder brother, hemaintained lifelong friendships with the people he metin Dharamsala: Tashi Tsering (the preeminent Tibetanhistorian), Jamyang Norbu (the rebel intellectual andaward-winning author), Peter Brown (the ‘AmericanKhampa’ and a brother in the Tibetan struggle). Sperlingjoined many of us in the trenches of activism, alwaysencouraging us to embark on bigger and bolder advocacycampaigns for Tibet. Speaking in his Bronx-accentedTibetan, he told us that if only Tibetans studied our historymore seriously, we would be able to believe that Tibet willbe free again.A sharp and fearless critic of Beijing, Sperling neitherminced his words nor censored his writings under fear ofbeing banned from China. Even when he taught in Beijingfor a semester, where he developed a close friendship withthe Tibetan poet Woeser, he successfully avoided the trapof self-censorship that has neutered so many scholars in our time.6While railing against Beijing’s atrocities in Tibet, he managed to be critical of Dharamsala’s excessively conciliatory stance toward Beijing.7His provocative critiques of the Tibetan leadership sometimes made us uncomfortable, but that was exactly the impact he was seeking as a teacher who cared deeply about Tibet: to awaken and educate us by pushing us into our discomfort zone. “Having a teacher like Sperling was a bit like having access to a genius, a father, and some sort of bodhi all in one,” says Sara Conrad, a doctoral student at Indiana University who studied with Sperling for many years. “A walking encyclopedia, I felt I could learn a lot just being near him—and he took every opportunity to teach me. I benefited learning from him about Tibet and Tibetan of course, but also about parenthood and morality, music and comedy. In terms of academia he told me I must be able to live with myself after I write, and therefore it is always best to be honest.”In recent years, Sperling took up the case of Ilham Tohti,the Uyghur intellectual sentenced to life imprisonmentby Beijing. He played a key role in raising Tohti’s profileas a prisoner of conscience, nominating him for humanrights awards. He took Tohti’s daughter, Jewher, underhis wing and oversaw her wellbeing and education. InJewher’s own words, Elliot Sperling became “like a secondfather” to her. His friendship with Ilahm Tohti and Jewherexemplified the compassion and generosity with which hetreated everyone. Sure, he made his mark in this world as ascholar, but his monumental intellect was matched by hisunbounded kindness, altruism, and humanity.“Professor Sperling was the moral compass of Tibetan studies,” said fellow historian Carole McGranahan at Sperling’s March 11 memorial in New York. His untimely deathhas left an abyss in our hearts and a chasm in the world of Tibetology. Christophe Besuchet, a fellow activist, remarked that it is “as if a whole library had burned down.”Even so, it is worth remembering that Sperling has already done far more than his fair share of good in the world, and he deserves a rest (or a break, if you consider it from a Buddhist perspective). In the course of 66 years, he lived multiple lifetimes—as a taxi driver, hippie, scholar, mentor, activist, father—each one more productive and meaningful than the last. He has engraved his spirit so deeply in the lives of so many of us that, in a way, he is still alive. And while one library has burned down, there are thousands of libraries where his words still live and breathe.''Endnotes'' 1. MacArthur Foundation, <https://www.macfound.org/fellows/236/> (accessed 6 March 2017).2. Roberto Vitali, “For Elliot from a Friend,” InternationalAssociation for Tibetan Studies. Also see Trails of the TibetanTradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling, edited by Roberto Vitali(Amnye Machen Institute: 2014).3. Elliot Sperling, “5th Karmapa and Some Aspects ofthe Relationship Between Tibet and the Early Ming,” inMichael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, eds., Tibetans Studiesin Honour of Hugh Richardson, Warminster, 1980 (publishedin translation as Shiboling, “Wushi Gamaba yiji Xizanghe Mingchu de guanxi yaolue,” in Guowai Zangxue yanjiuyiwenji, vol. 2, Lhasa, 1987), pp.279-289.4. Ibid.5. Elliot Sperling, “Divide and Rule Policy in Tibet,” inErnst Steinkellner, ed., Contributions on Tibetan Language,History and Culture. Proceedings of the Csoma de KorosSymposium Held at Velm-Vienna, Austria, 13-19 September1981, Vienna, 1983, pp.339-356.6. See Tsering Woeser, “A Chronicle of Elliot Sperling,”in Trails of the Tibetan Tradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling,Roberto Vitali eds., (published by Amnye Machen Institute,2014).7. He has criticized the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle WayApproach’ to dealing with China as too conciliatory. Seehis article Self-Delusion, <http://info-buddhism.com/SelfDelusion_Middle-Way-Approach_Dalai-Lama_Exile_CTA_Sperling.html#f1>.'''Tenzin Dorjee''' is a writer, activist, and a researcher at TibetAction Institute. His monograph The Tibetan NonviolentStruggle: A Strategic and Historical Analysis was publishedin 2015 by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.His writings have been published in various forums includingGlobal Post, Courier International, Tibetan Review, TibetTimes, and the CNN blog. He is a regular commentatoron Tibet-related issues for Radio Free Asia, Voice ofAmerica, and Voice of Tibet. He served as the ExecutiveDirector of Students for a Free Tibet from 2009 to 2013.An earlier version of this obituary was published in theHuffington Post <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/remembering-elliot-sperling-personal-reflections-on_b_5899c990e4b0985224db59cb>.t-sperling-personal-reflections-on_b_5899c990e4b0985224db59cb>.)
Akester, M. + ('''SIT BIO: Matthew Akester, Lecturer and … '''SIT BIO: Matthew Akester, Lecturer and Faculty Advisor''' Matthew is a translator of classical and modern literary Tibetan with 25 years of fieldwork experience as an independent researcher throughout the Tibetan world. His discipline is history, both religious and political history, which corresponds with the program’s double specialization. Matthew's special interests include the history of Lhasa, the life and times of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, historical geography of central Tibet, and history and memoir in occupied Tibet. His published book-length translations include [[The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo]] by Jamgon Kongtrul ([[Shechen Publications]] 2012); [[Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule]] by Tubten Khetsun ([[Columbia University Press]] 2008, Penguin India 2009); and [[The Temples of Lhasa]] (with [[Andre Alexander]], [[Serindia Publications]] 2005). In addition, he has worked as active consultant and contributor for the Tibet Information Network, Human Rights Watch, Tibet Heritage Fund, and [[Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center]]; as translator, editor, and advisor for countless publications on Tibet in English, French, and Tibetan; and as lecturer on contemporary Tibet for student programs including SIT in Nepal and India. ([http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/faculty_npt.cfm SOURCE])www.sit.edu/studyabroad/faculty_npt.cfm SOURCE]))
Tyler Dewar + ('''Short Biography:''' Mitra Tyl … '''Short Biography:''' Mitra Tyler Dewar met [[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche]] in 1997, just one year after beginning his journey of practicing the dharma. Through an auspicious coincidence, he learned the Tibetan alphabet that summer and soon after formed the conviction to serve the dharma through translating Tibetan into English. He became a formal student of Rinpoche's in 1998 and began translating for Rinpoche's organizations, Nalandabodhi and Nitartha Institute, in 2000. In 2001 he became the regular translator for Acharya Sherab Gyaltsen Negi at Nalandabodhi Seattle. From that point onward, Tyler has traveled extensively with The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche on Rinpoche's teaching tours, translating for the Tibetan segments of Rinpoche's teachings and occasionally presenting aspects of Rinpoche's teachings himself. In 2003 Nalandabodhi welcomed Acharya Tashi Wangchuk as a resident teacher; Tyler served as Acharya's oral interpreter and also worked closely with Acharya on the translation of several texts from the philosophical and intuitive traditions of Indian and Tibetan Buddhadharma. Tyler has served as a secretary in the Office of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche for the past seven years, and has thus felt enriched by the opportunity to support Rinpoche's teaching activity from many perspectives.In terms of his formative dharma training, Tyler completed two dathuns (month-long intensive meditation retreats) in the late 90s and resided for one year, 1997-1998, at Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scotia, Canada, practicing intensively, participating in several study curricula, and attending lengthy seminars by Ani Pema Chödrön on Mind Training. He has attended Nitartha Institute's summer program since 1999 and has been a faculty member since 2000, translating for such courses as Collected Topics, Abhidharma, Mind Only, and Madhyamaka. He attended his first Nalandabodhi Sangha Retreat in 2001 and has been in attendance ever since.Two books of Tyler's translations have been published by [[Snow Lion Publications]]: [[Trainings in Compassion]]: Manuals on the Meditation of Avalokiteshvara (2004) and [[The Karmapa's Middle Way]]: Feast for the Fortunate (2008), a translation of a major philosophical work by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje.hical work by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje.)
Baatra Erdene-Ochir + ('Baatra' Erdene-Ochir is a Ph.D. student i … 'Baatra' Erdene-Ochir is a Ph.D. student in Buddhist Studies. He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from UCSB and a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School. He is interested in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophical polemics and the history of Buddhist scholastic traditions as well as monastic institutions in Tibet and Mongolia. ([https://www.religion.ucsb.edu/people/student/erdenebaatar-baatra-hehimhis-erdene-ochir/ Source Accessed June 9, 2021])dene-ochir/ Source Accessed June 9, 2021]))
Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo + ( *https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Rongzom_Ch%C3%B6kyi_Zangpo *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongzom_Chokyi_Zangpo )
Zhönu Gyalchok + (1. (from kong sprul gsan yig @ v. 1, f. 16 … 1. (from kong sprul gsan yig @ v. 1, f. 16v)important master in the bka' ma transmission lineage of the rgyud bzhi.2. important bka' gdams/sa skya master in lineage of the blo sbyong teachings; he was involved with his student sems dpa' chen po dkon mchog rgyal mtshan in the compilation of the blo sbyong brgya rtsa. ([https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P1943 Source Accessed June 12, 2022])/bdr:P1943 Source Accessed June 12, 2022]))
Bhikshu Heng Ch'ien + (A diligent, student and cultivator, Dharma … A diligent, student and cultivator, Dharma Master Heng Ch'ien has been one of the foremost students to sit at the feet of the Venerable Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua. He studied the Dharma Blossom Sutra for over five years, and has been explaining it for more than four. His understanding of the Sutra is deep and comprehensive, and his lectures have made the Sutra's principles clear and easy to understand. ([http://www.dharmasite.net/vbs28/28_7.htm Adapted from Source Oct 1, 2022])28_7.htm Adapted from Source Oct 1, 2022]))
Lhopa Kunkhyen Rinchen Pal + (A direct student of Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182–1251), from whom he received detailed teachings on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra''. He wrote a commentary on the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' as a synopsis of the teachings he had received from Sakya Paṇḍita.)
Judith Amtzis + (A long term student of the Dharma, Judith … A long term student of the Dharma, Judith met both Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche in 1976, and has lived in Asia since then, primarily in Kathmandu, Nepal. On the request of Holiness Penor Rinpoche, she collaborated with Khenpo Sonam Tsewang of Namdroling Monastery in Mysore to translate the Liberation Story of Namcho Migyur Dorje, the terton who discovered the treasures that make up the core of the Palyul tradition. This biography is entitled ''The All-Pervading Melodious Sound of Thunder'', and was written by the first Karma Chagme Rinpoche. ([http://levekunst.com/team_member/judith-amtzis/ Adapted from Source July 20, 2022])mtzis/ Adapted from Source July 20, 2022]))
Ann Helm + (A long–term student of Chogyam Trungpa Rin … A long–term student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ann joined the Nalanda Translation Committee in 1986. She studied Tibetan at Naropa University, mainly with Dzigar Kongtrul, and she taught Tibetan and Foundations of Buddhism at Naropa from 1991-2004. After 30 years in Boulder, Ann lived as a retreatant for eight years at Padma Samye Ling, the monastery in upstate New York of Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. From 1997 to 2014, she translated primarily with Ringu Tulku and for Dharma Samudra, the Khenpo Brothers’ publication group. In 2014 Ann moved to Portland, Oregon, where she continues her Buddhist practice and study under the guidance of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. ([http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Ann_Helm Source Accessed Sept 9, 2020])hp/Ann_Helm Source Accessed Sept 9, 2020]))
Chogye Trichen Rinpoche + (A modern Tibetan biography is available on … A modern Tibetan biography is available on [https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W1KG17214 BDRC W1KG17214 ]: bco brgyad khri chen rin po che'i mdzad rnam mdor bsdus. Edited by Yon tan bzang po (P5949). Kathmandu, Nepal: Sachen International, 2008. His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, Ngawang Khyenrab Thupten Lekshe Gyatso, is the most senior Sakya Lama and the head of the Tsar sub-school of Sakya tradition. His Eminence is a renowned tantric master, a dedicated practitioner, an outstanding scholar, an eloquent poet, and embodies the wisdom, spirit and activities of the holy Dharma. His Eminence is a master of masters as most Tibetan Buddhist lineage holders are his disciples. Amongst these disciples are His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, and His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, Ngawang Kunga, and His Eminence is regarded as the definitive authority on Kalacakra Tantra. In addition to His Eminence's stature among Tibetan lamas, the late King Birendra of Nepal awarded His Eminence "Gorkha Dakshin Babu", a tribute which has never been awarded to a Buddhist monk in Nepal before.Born in 1919 in the Tsang province of Central Tibet into the Zhalu Kushang family of the Che clan, a lineage descended from the clear light gods, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Chogye Rinpoche of Nalendra Monastery by the 13th Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso. Many auspicious and marveleous signs accompanied His Eminence's birth. His Eminence is the 26th patriarch of Phenpo Nalendra Monastery, North of Lhasa. Founded by Rongton Sheja Kunrig (1367-1449), Nalendra is one of the most important Sakya monasteries in Tibet. Wondrously, each generation of the Kushang family has produced no less than four sons, most of who have served as throne holders of many important monasteries including Nalendra, Zhalu and Ngor.The name "Kushang" meaning 'royal maternal uncle' derived from the fact that many daughters from the family were married to numerous Sakya throne holders, one of whom, Drogon Chagna, was supreme ruler of Tibet, who succeeded Chogyal Phakpa.The name "Chogye" means 'Eighteen' and comes from the time of Khyenrab Choje, the 8th abbot of Nalendra who also belonged to the aristocratic Kushang family. Khyenrab Choje, a great teacher possessing the direct lineage of Kalacakra received from Vajrayogini, was invited to be the abbot of Nalendra by Sakya Trizin Dagchen Lodro Gyaltsen (1444-1495). Khyenrab Choje visited the Emperor of China who was greatly impressed by the tantric scholar from Tibet and bestowed on him 'eighteen' precious gifts. From Khyenrab Choje the lineage of Chogye Rinpoches began.At the age of twelve His Eminence was officially enthroned at the Phenpo Nalendra Monastery. In these early years he studied intensively all the basic liturgies and rituals of Nalendra Monastery. His two main root Gurus were the 4th Zimwog Tulku, Ngawang Tenzin Thrinley Norbu Palzangpo, the other main incarnate lama of Nalendra Monastery, and Dampa Rinpoche Shenphen Nyingpo of Ngor Ewam. From these two great teachers His Eminence recieved all the major and minor teachings of Sakya such as the two Lamdre Traditions, the Greater and Lesser Mahakalas, the Four Tantras, the Thirteen Golden Dharmas, Kalacakra, etc. His Eminence completed extensive studies in all major fields of study taught in Lord Buddha's teachings. His Eminence becomes a master in both Sutrayana and Mantrayana teachings. His Eminence is also a great scholar of literature, poetry, history and Buddhist metaphysics and a highly accomplished poet. ([https://www.yuloling.com/khacho-yulo-ling/spiritual-leaders/his-eminence-chogye-trichen-rinpoche.html Source Accessed June 16, 2020])poche.html Source Accessed June 16, 2020]))
Khenchen Appey Rinpoche + (A more detailed biography is available her … A more detailed biography is available here: https://www.khenpoappey.org/en/khenpo-appey-rinpocheand here: http://internationalbuddhistacademy.org/biography-of-our-founder-khenchen-appey-rinpoche/<big>'''An Introduction to Khenpo Appey Foundation'''</big> Khenpo Appey Foundation (KAF) was established in 2010 to honor the most Venerable Khenchen Appey Rinpoche (1927-2010), an eminent, recognized, and humble Tibetan Buddhist scholar and practitioner who dedicated his life exclusively to the propagation of the Buddhadharma. The foundation was established by Mdm Doreen Goh, a devoted follower and sponsor of Khenchen Appey Rinpoche. Inspired by Khenchen Appey Rinpoche’s vision, KAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of Buddhist study and practice. KAF’s primary aim is to extend the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion as widely as possible, in order to benefit all beings.<big>'''Short Biography'''</big> Khenpo Appey was born in Kusé in the kingdom of Dergé in 1927. He studied at Serjong Monastery and later at the Kham-jé shedra at Dzongsar Monastery.At the age of nine he became a monk at Serjong Monastery, where a year later he received his first teachings from Gapa Khenpo Jamgyal, also known as Khenpo Jamyang Gyaltsen.For nine years, from the age of 14 to 23, at Serjong Shedra, Khenpo Appey studied ‘the thirteen classical texts’ based on Khenpo Shenga’s famous annotation commentaries. During his last two years at the shedra he studied with Khenpo Dragyab Lodrö who later became the fifth khenpo at Dzongsar Shedra and wrote a commentary on the ninth chapter of the Bodhicharyavatara. After his nine years of intensive study at Serjong Shedra, Khenpo Appey went to the shedra at Dzongsar Monastery, where he was able to continue his studies under Khenpo Dragyab Lodrö for another year. He also studied with Dezhung Ajam Rinpoche.He went to see Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö in Sikkim in 1957. He then returned to Tibet and spent time at Ngor Monastery, but left in 1959 when Tibet was lost. He went to see Jamyang Khyentse who was ill in Sikkim. After Jamyang Khyentse passed away, in accordance with his final wishes, he began to teach Sogyal Rinpoche, giving him instruction on the Bodhicharyavatara in the Palace Monastery in the presence of Jamyang Khyentse's kudung.Later, while Sogyal Rinpoche was attending school in Kalimpong, Khenpo Appey spent one or two years in retreat in a small village in Sikkim. He was later requested to tutor Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. For this purpose, he founded the Sakya College in Barlow Ganj, Mussoorie, on 19th December 1972, the anniversary of Sakya Pandita. In the first year, there were only seven students. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche studied there for five years. From 1972 to 1985, Khenpo Appey worked full time to look after the college and was responsible for teachings the classes, supervising the administration and raising funds.In 2001 he established the International Buddhist Academy in Boudhanath, Nepal. He passed away in Nepal on Tuesday 28th December, 2010.Source: [http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Appey Rigpawiki]10. Source: [http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Appey Rigpawiki])
William LaFleur + (A native of Patterson, New Jersey, LaFleur … A native of Patterson, New Jersey, LaFleur received his BA from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned two master’s degrees, one in comparative literature from the University of Michigan and another in the history of religions from the University of Chicago. He also completed his doctoral work at the University of Chicago, where he studied with Joseph Kitagawa and Mircea Eliade. After completing his PhD in 1973, LaFleur taught at Princeton University; University of California, Los Angeles; Sophia University, Tokyo; and University of Pennsylvania, where he was the E. Dale Saunders Professor of Japanese Studies. LaFleur was a groundbreaking figure in the interdisciplinary study of Buddhism and culture in Japan and trained two generations of graduate students in these fields. His seminal work ''The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan'' (University of California Press, 1986) broke away from a traditional focus on specific Buddhist figures and lineages and instead approached Buddhism as the “cognitive map” by which medieval Japanese of all Buddhist schools and social levels made sense of their world. He also uncovered an intimate relation between the Japanese Buddhist episteme and medieval literary arts. The innovative studies now emerging from a generation of younger scholars working at the intersections of Buddhism and literature owe much to LaFleur’s influence.A scholar of far-reaching interests and expertise, LaFleur refused to be confined by any single research area, historical period, or method of approach. In addition to his work on Buddhist cosmology and the “mind” of medieval Japan, he was a gifted translator and interpreter of poetry and published two volumes on the medieval monk-poet Saigyō. He was deeply interested in Zen, especially as a resource for contemporary thought. He wrote and edited several books and essays, introducing to Western readers the work of the thirteenth century Zen master Dōgen, the Kyoto-school figure Masao Abé, and the twentieth century philosopher and cultural historian Watsuji Tetsurō. In 1989, he became the first non-Japanese to win the Watsuji Tetsurō Cultural Prize.LaFleur’s ''Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan'' (Princeton University Press, 1994) expanded his earlier attention to Buddhist notions of the body and catalyzed his growing interest in comparative public philosophy and social ethics. In his later career, while continuing to study medieval Japanese religion and literature, he produced pioneering studies of Japanese bioethics, highlighting contrasts with Western approaches to such issues as abortion, organ transplants, and medical definitions of death. Altogether, he wrote or edited nine books. He left several other projects still in progress; some of which will be published posthumously. ([http://rsnonline.org/index7696.html?option=com_content Source Accessed Jan 16, 2020])com_content Source Accessed Jan 16, 2020]))
Chisa Lodrö Gyatso + (A renowned scholar born in Chisa in the Am … A renowned scholar born in Chisa in the Amdo Rebgong region. A student of Dzong Ngon Lodoe Tshang, Tsang Geshe Tshang, Zhwamar Pandita, Jampa Lobsang, Dzoge Lobsang Gyatsho, Horchen Yeshe Gyatsho, etc. He was an important holder of Tsongkhapa's transmission of the Whisper Lineage (''snyan rgyud''). His primary students were Tulku Jamyang Thinle Wangpo, Dzongkar Jigme Sherab Dagpa, Tulku Jigme Thinle Lhundup, Nangso Kukey, and Khaso Chogtrul.Lhundup, Nangso Kukey, and Khaso Chogtrul.)
James R. Ware + (A specialist in the study of pre-Tang Budd … A specialist in the study of pre-Tang Buddhism and Daoism, James Ware was the first student to receive a Ph.D. at Harvard in the field of Chinese studies. He completed his dissertation in 1932, on the representation of Buddhism in the historical chronicle of the Wei dynasty known as the Weishu. He then taught courses in the Chinese language and Chinese history at Harvard, and was, together with Serge Elisséeff, one of the founding faculty members of the Department of Far Eastern Languages. In this capacity, he supervised the Chinese language program for much of the 1930s and 40s.Much of the material for Ware’s early studies was drawn from the Weishu. He wrote on problems relating to the Toba rulers of the Wei, the history of Buddhism and Daoism in the Northern Dynasties, and the textual history of the ''Fanwang jing'' and other scriptures from the Buddhist canon. In the same years, he also published selected translations from several Buddhist sutras. He worked together with Serge Eliseeff to establish the ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' in 1936, and contributed numerous articles and book reviews to the journal over the course of the next decade. He also developed a series of Chinese language textbooks and wrote on aspects of modern Chinese linguistics.In the latter years of his career, Ware turned his attention his attention to translating, primarily for a non-specialist audience. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he published selections from the Analects, Zhuangzi, and Mencius. His final significant work was a complete translation of Ge Hong’s fourth century ''Baopuzi'' (1967). ([https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/james-ware Source Accessed July 28, 2021])james-ware Source Accessed July 28, 2021]))
Tsangnakpa Tsöndru Senge + (A student of Chapa Chökyi Senge, Nyangdren … A student of Chapa Chökyi Senge, Nyangdrenpa Chökyi Yeshe, and Khamo Zeupa. A teacher of Drotön Dudtsi Drak and Madunpa. Famed scholar of the Sakya/Kadam tradition; most closely connected with the Narthang school. He authored commentaries on the ''Śikṣāsamuccaya'', ''Bodhicaryavatara'', and an dbu ma'i bstan bcos (treatise on the Middle Way). ([https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P2259 Source Accessed Feb 8, 2023])ow/bdr:P2259 Source Accessed Feb 8, 2023]))
Drotön Kunga Gyaltsen + (A student of Chim Lobzang Drakpa and Zhönu Senge. A teacher of Nyendrak Zangpo, Khenchen Drupa Sherap, Nyakpuwa Sönam Wangchuk, Ritröpa Sönam Gyatso, and Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa.)
Dewachenpa Yeshe Gönpo + (A student of Dkon mchog 'byung gnas. He had a student named Seng+ge ba rgyal ba'i rdo rje.)
Lakla Sönam Chödrup + (A student of Jamgön Kongtrul, Patrul Rinpoche, Mipam Gyatso, etc. A teacher of Mewa Khenchen Sönam Gönpo.)
Adzi Norbu Wangyal + (A student of Ju Mipam Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso.)
Jikme Dorje Pawo + (A student of Khenchen Pema Tsewang Gyatso. A teacher of The Fifth Druktrül, Pema Tutop Dorje; The Fourth Tertön Wangchen Gyepai Dorje; Jikme Yeshe Nyingpo, and so forth.)
Kazhipa Drakpa Zhönu + (A student of Khenpo Drakpa Bum, Khenchen D … A student of Khenpo Drakpa Bum, Khenchen Dewa Pal, Lopön Tukjé Palzang, Lopön Chöden Palzang, etc. A teacher of Joden Khenpo Sönam Drakpa, Butön Rinchen Drup, Zhangtön Sönam Drak, etc. Kadam master; important figure in the transmission lineage of both the kha che tradition of the vinaya and the gzhung pa transmission of the lam rim. ([https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P2130 Source Accessed Feb 8, 2023])ow/bdr:P2130 Source Accessed Feb 8, 2023]))
Kyitön Drakpa Gyaltsen + (A student of Kyitön Shakya Bum, Chokden Lekpai Lodrö, Jangsem Gyalwa Yeshe, and Rongpa Sherap Senge. A teacher of Dölpopa and Longchenpa.)