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Khempo Tsenam was born in 1928 in the Derge Kingdom of DhoKhams in a place which is presently known as Troru Deshok, in the District of Terton, within the Chamdo region of the Autonomous Region of Tibet. From 1933-43 he lived as a monk in Troru monastery where he received his first tuition. Having learnt to read and write, he studied continuously and completed his training in the general skills related to monastic ritual. Under the guidance of the then Khempo (Professor) of Troru monastery, he received instruction in the three stages of Buddhist vows and in the most profound aspects of meditation of the Kagyu tradition. For the latter, he studied commentaries on the profound and secret yoga practices of Naropa and teachings on mahamudra, the meditation treasure of the Kagyu tradition which unveils the very nature of the human mind. From other teachers he received instruction in grammar and composition and teachings on both element-based and planetary astrology.
Having successfully completed this first phase of his education, he spent the years from 1943-46 in pilgrimage, going first to Lhasa and f rom there to India, Bhutan and Sikkim. In 1946 he returned to Eastern Tibet and after staying for a few months at his home. Throughout the earlier parts of his studies and his pilgrimage, the masters under whom he studied recognised a tremendous potential in him and encouraged him to carry his studies to their fullest conclusion. One of his traveling companions in particular, a Khempo (professor) of Katok monastery in Eastern Tibet, insisted that he pursue his education at Katok, as it was a very great seat of learning.
Shortly after his return to Tibet, Troru Tsenam did go to Katok monastic university where, for the five years up to 1951 he studied medicine, elemental and planetary astrology, poetic composition and the various fields of study proper to all the traditions of Buddhism, namely madhyamika, prajnaparamita, abhidharma and vinaya. Besides these, he received a thorough training in vajrayana Buddhism, becoming well-versed in both the Nyingma and the Kagyu traditions, whose theoretical teachings he mastered in their totality. In particular he became one of the rare person entrusted with the secret medicinal science of preparing "detoxified mercury". He received the latter teachings from Tachung Lama Tsering Chopel. Thus he became a physician-monk, learned in all domains and particularly gifted in medicine.
The monasteries in Tibet, like those of Europe in the Middle Ages, were major centres of learning and of medical study and practice. They served as bases from which lama-doctors would tour surrounding areas. The religious aspect of Tibetan medicine was a vital one: the whole science of medicine was presented as being teachings given by the Buddha, through his emanation as the Healing Buddha. The collecting of medicinal plants, their preparation and administration were all accompanied by prayer and performed as a semi-religious act. When medicines could not help the patient, specific healing religious ceremonies were performed. Besides providing this spiritual context to healing, the monasteries were important seats of medical study inasmuch as medical knowledge was seen as a key part of an overall education in the nature of the human condition and hence something which needed to be understood, in the Buddhist quest for a complete wisdom. Medicine forms the second of the five main fields of Buddhist study. ([https://www.khenpo.org/tara/khenpo.html Source Accessed Jan 27, 2023])
A disciple of Mipam Gyatso and author of a commentary on ''The Beacon of Certainty'' (''Nges shes rin po che'i sgron me'') titled ''Nges shes rin po che'i sgron me'i rnam bshad 'od zer dri med''. +
Trudy Dixon was a close disciple of Shunryu Suzuki and the editor of the book ''Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind''. She passed away before the book was published. +
Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, the teacher whose great kindness we remember with so much gratitude, was one of the last great masters to have completed a truly extensive study, training and practice of the Tibetan (Buddhist tradition within the extraordinary cultural environment of Tibet before the invasion by the Chinese communist régime. He was the close disciple of many of the greatest masters of his time including Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Later he was himself to become a respected teacher of His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. He was the holder of an important monastic lineage as well as of many precious instructions and transmissions.
[http://www.songtsen.org/songtsen/founding-teachers/kyabje-trulshik-rinpoche/ Longer version of Trulshik Rinpoche's bio on Songtsen.org] +
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]) +
A direct disciple of Nyakla Pema Dudul (1816–1872). +
Tsarchen Losal Gyatso was the founder of the Tsar subschool of the Sakya tradition and of its main monastery, Dar Drangmoche Monastery in the province of Tsang. A number of his writings survive such as his compositions on the Hevajra visualization (Tib. ཉི་མའི་འོད་ཟེར, Wyl. nyi ma'i 'od zer) and on the Vajrayogini teachings. His biography was written by the Fifth Dalai Lama. His chief disciples were Jamyang Khyentse Wangchuk, who is compared to the sun, and Mangtö Ludrup Gyatso, who is likened to the moon, as well as Yol Khenchen Shyönnu Lodrö, the Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso, and Bokarwa Maitri Döndrup Gyaltsen. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Tsarchen_Losal_Gyatso Rigpa Wiki]) +
[https://bo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%BD%A1%E0%BD%BC%E0%BD%84%E0%BD%A6%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A0%E0%BD%9B%E0%BD%B2%E0%BD%93%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A1%E0%BD%BA%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A4%E0%BD%BA%E0%BD%A6%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A2%E0%BE%92%E0%BE%B1%E0%BD%A3%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%98%E0%BD%9A%E0%BD%93%E0%BC%8B You can read a short Tibetan biography on the Bo Wiki here].
First Tsechokling Yongdzin Tulku, Yeshe Gyeltsen (yongs 'dzin ye shes rgyal mtshan, 1713-1793) was an important scholar of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism and was a tutor of the 8th Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatsho (1758-1804).
He received his education in the monastery Trashilhünpo. In 1756 he founded the monastery Trashi Samtenling (bkra shis bsam gtan gling).
One of his most famous works is The Necklace of Clear Understanding, An Elucidation of Mind and Mental Factors (Tib. སེམས་དང་སེམས་བྱུང་གི་ཚུལ་གསལ་པར་སྟོན་པ་བློ་གསལ་མགུལ་རྒྱན་, Wyl. sems dang sems-byung gi tshul gsal-par ston-pa blo gsal mgul rgyan). A commentary on the Abhidharma topic of the mind and mental factors. This Tibetan text has been translated into English by Herbert Guenther & Leslie S. Kawamura, in a text entitled Mind in Buddhist Psychology. ([https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Yongdzin_Yeshe_Gyeltsen Source: Encyclopedia of Buddhism])
Six printings of his collected works (each in 19 or 25 volumes, depending on the printing, and [[Yongs 'dzin ye shes rgyal mtshan gyi gsung 'bum|32 volumes in modern book print]]) are cataloged on [https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:WA1022 BDRC.org]. +
Tsedrön Kyi is a Tibetan poet and writer. +
Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche (July 27, 1914, Tibet—August 29, 1983, Spiti Valley, India) was a master (''tsenshab'') of Tibetan Buddhism from the Geluk tradition. At the age of 34 in 1948 he was appointed from Ganden Jangtsey Monastery near Lhasa as one of seven teachers for the Dalai Lama.
'''Duties with the Dalai Lama'''<br>
Having joined the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamsala India in 1959, Rinpoche taught the Dalai Lama through debates about Buddhist teachings until Rinpoche's death in August 1983. He assisted the 14th Dalai Lama in prayers for the benefit of the world.
Rinpoche assisted in reestablishing in India's many Buddhist monasteries and their rituals, otherwise destroyed in the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
'''Travels'''<br>
Rinpoche traveled in India, Nepal, Western Europe and North America. Over five visits to Spiti, the Himalayan valley next to Kinnaur, Rinpoche rededicated the most ancient monastery, Tabo Gonpa, and conferred on its monks the empowerments and oral transmissions for its traditional rituals. He imported learned spiritual teachers and founded a school for the local children.
Rinpoche used the offerings he received during his Western tours to commission a large applique scroll portraying the Buddha-figure Kalachakra and a full set of scroll-paintings of the life of Tsongkhapa, which he presented to his monastery, Ganden Jangtsey. He also made extensive offerings to the monks and nuns gathered at Drepung Monastery, Mundgod, in March 1983 for the first full Monlam prayer festival.
'''Death and reincarnation'''<br>
According to Alexander Berzin, Rinpoche died while practicing tonglen to take on obstacles faced by the Dalai Lama. He passed away in village Kibber, Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh. In 1986, a two-year old boy from village Lari, Spiti valley, was recognised as the reincarnation of Tsenzhab Serkhong Rinpoche. He is now formally known as Tsenzhab Serkhong Rinpoche II, and is the spiritual head of Spiti's ancient Tabo monastery. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsenzhab_Serkong_Rinpoche#:~:text=Tsenzhab%20Serkong%20Rinpoche%20(July%2027,teachers%20for%20the%20Dalai%20Lama. Source Accessed Jan 23, 2025])
Tsepak Rigzin received his B.A. and M.A. from Punjab University, B.Ed. from Annamalai University, India, and traditional Buddhist training from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. He is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles on Tibetan Buddhism and he has extensive experience in written and oral translation.
From 1980 to 1993, Rigzin led the Research and Translation Bureau at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, producing numerous articles and books, and attending international seminars, workshops and conferences. During the ten year period from 1993 to 2003, he held high ranking positions as Rector, Principal and Education Officer with Central Tibetan Schools. For two consecutive years, he served as translator and spokesperson for Mystical Arts of Tibet, touring with the monks throughout North America and Europe.
Rigzin began teaching Tibetan language courses at Emory in August 2009. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at the university, he served as Scholar in Residence and official translator for Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta, where he dedicated his time to outreach programs and also teaching the Tibetan language. ([http://mesas.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/rigzin.html Source Accessed Feb 14, 2020]) +
Tsering Gyalpo (Tibetan: ཚེ་རིང་རྒྱལ་པོ, Wylie: tshe ring rgyal po, Tsering Gyalpo), born April 12, 1961 in Langchu district, Gar county, Ngari prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region and died on Saturday June 27, 2015 in Berlin, was a Tibetologist. He was director of the religion department of the Tibet Autonomous Region Academy of Social Sciences from 2000 to 2015.
Tsering Gyalpo was born into a nomadic family in western Tibet, the fourth of nine children. His parents sent him to Lhasa for his education. From there he was sent to Beijing, where he studied at the Minority University and the Department of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From 1994, he held a leading position at the Tibet Autonomous Region Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) in Lhasa, where for the last 15 years he was director of the religions section. He strongly influenced the research work of this institute. ([https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsering_Gyalpo Adapted from Source Nov 5, 2025]) +
Born in Lhasa, he fled to India with his family after the Chinese invasion. He then won a scholarship to study in Britain, and was later to graduate from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) with a B.A. Honours in Social Anthropology and South Asian History. He received his M.Phil. in Tibetan Studies in 2000 and Ph.D. June 2004.
Today, Tsering is a world renowned and widely published scholar, on both historic and contemporary Tibet. His most expansive work to date The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947 (Pimlico, London 1999) was acclaimed as “the definitive history of modern Tibet” by The New York Times, and “a prodigious work of scholarship” by the UK’s Sunday Telegraph. The book is the first comprehensive account of Tibet’s recent history.
Tsering Shakya’s published works include Fire Under the Snow, The Testimony of a Tibetan Prisoner (Harvill Press, 1997), which has sold over 400,000 copies in more than 20 languages. He was also co-editor of the first anthology of modern Tibetan short stories and poems, Song of the Snow Lion, New Writings from Tibet (University of Hawaii, 2000). Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947, edited by Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya, (Serindia Publications, London, 2003) is a study of the relationship between senior British colonial officers and Tibetan elite as depicted in rare, previously unpublished photographs taken by members of the British Mission in Lhasa. Tsering’s feature articles have been published in numerous international journals and magazines, includingTime and New Left Review. He is currently engaged in a major research project on the shift in use of the Tibetan language, and how contemporary literature is used as a voice of resistance in present-day Tibet...([https://asia.ubc.ca/profile/tsering-shakya/ University of British Columbia. Source Accessed February 7, 2022.])
He convened the first International Conference on Modern Tibet Studies in 1990 at School of Oriental and African Studies. He taught at the Centre of Refugee Studies at the University of Oxford. From 1999 to 2002 he was a research fellow in Tibetan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
Tsering Tuladhar (Venerable Tsen-la) is a nun in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Lhasa, she grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, and was ordained there in 1979 by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She has acted as translator for many Buddhist lamas, led meditation courses around the world, and was instrumental in the founding of Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery in Kathmandu. (Source: [https://wisdomexperience.org/product/practicing-path/ Wisdom Publications]) +
Tsering Wangmo Dhompa is a Tibetan poet and writer. +
Jigme Rigpai Lodro was one of the great Tibetan polymaths of the twentieth century, writing extensively on Tibetan history, language, astronomy and Buddhism. By dint of his historical life and dedication to Tibetan scholarship, he acted as a conduit between “traditional” and “modern” Tibet. He is most famous for his role as one of the so-called Three Great Scholars after the Cultural Revolution. This epithet is drawn from tenth century Tibetan history when the first Three Great Scholars brought the Dharma to Eastern Tibet due to Langdarma’s persecution of Buddhism in central Tibet. Thus this title indicates how Alak Zhabdrung and the other two Great Scholars, Dungkar Lobzang Trinle and Muge Samten, contributed significantly to the revival of Tibetan scholarship, both at monasteries and secular institutions, following a near twenty-year vacuum due to various political campaigns. Many of today’s great Tibetologists both in the PRC and abroad studied with one of these Three Great Scholars. (Treasury of Lives, Source Accessed January 27, 2022)
The 6th Tseten Zhabdrung was a student of Giteng Lobzang Pelden (sgis steng blo bzang dpal ldan, 1880/1-1944), also known as Yongdzin Paṇḍita (yongs 'dzin paNDi ta) and Jigme Damcho Gyatso ('jigs med dam chos rgya mtsho), a.k.a. Marnang Dorjechang (mar nang rdo rje 'chang, 1898-1946).
Key Works:
*[[སྙན་ངག་སྤྱི་དོན་]] - [[snyan ngag spyi don]] ([[Snyan ngag me long gi spyi don sdeb legs rig paʼi ʼchar sgo]]).
**First Edition: Zi-ling : [[Mtsho-sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang]], 2001.
**Second Edition: Lan-chou : [[Kan-suʼu mi dmangs dpe skrun khang]] : Kan-suʼu Zhing-chen Zhin-hwa dpe khang gis bkram, 2005. - Famous exegesis on the general meaning of the Kāvyadarśa of Daṇḍin, 7th cent. - General Summary of Poetics being translated by [[Nicole Willock]] and [[Gendun Rabsal]].
*[[Mkhas dbang tshe tan zhabs drung 'jigs med rigs pa'i blo gros kyi gsung rtsom]]. Xining: [[Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang]].
*[[Tshe tan zhabs drung rje btsun 'jigs med rigs pa'i blo gros mchog gi gsung 'bum]]. Beijing: [[Mi rigs dpe skrun khang]], 2007.
[https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Jigme-Rigpai-Lodro/2948 Read the detailed biography at Treasury of Lives...]
Tsoknyi Rinpoche (Wylie: Tshogs gnyis rin po che), or Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso (born 13 March 1966), is a Nepalese Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author and the founder of the Pundarika Foundation. He is the third Tsoknyi Rinpoche, having been recognized by the 16th Karmapa as the reincarnation of Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche. He is a tulku of the Drukpa Kagyü and Nyingma traditions and the holder of the Ratna Lingpa and Tsoknyi lineages.
He began his education at Khampagar Monastery at Tashi Jong in Himachal Pradesh, India, at the age of thirteen. His main teachers are Khamtrul Rinpoche Dongyu Nyima, his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, and Adeu Rinpoche.
Rinpoche has overseen the Tergar Osel Ling Monastery, founded in Kathmandu, Nepal, by his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. His brothers are Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, and Mingyur Rinpoche, and his nephews are Phakchok Rinpoche and the reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, known popularly as Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche. He has overseen the monastery's operations and introduced studies for non-Tibetans. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsoknyi_Rinpoche Source Accessed November 18, 2019]) +
Tsugunari Kubo is associated with the Reiyūkai movement, a Japanese Buddhist new religious movement. He is the son of Kakutarō Kubo, the founder of Reiyūkai, and succeeded Kimi Kotani as the president of Reiyūkai in 1971 after her death.
Kubo is best known for his translation work, particularly his collaboration with Akira Yuyama on the English translation of the ''Lotus Sutra''. This translation, published by the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research in 2007, is highly regarded for its scholarly accuracy and use of common English Buddhist terms. The translation is part of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series project, which aims to translate the entire Chinese and Japanese Buddhist canon into English.
As the president of Reiyūkai, Kubo played a significant role in the international expansion of the organization. Under his leadership, Reiyūkai established centers in various countries around the world, including the United States, Brazil, Canada, and several others. He also oversaw the organization's Inner Self Development campaign and participated in various international events promoting Buddhism and interfaith dialogue. +
Lama Tsultrim Allione is founder and resident lama of Tara Mandala. She is author of ''Women of Wisdom'', ''Feeding Your Demons'', and ''Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine''. Born in New England to an academic/publishing family, she traveled to India in her late teens and was ordained as a Buddhist nun at the age of 22 by H.H. the 16th Karmapa. She was the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Karma Kagyu lineage. After living in the Himalayan region for several years she returned her vows and became the mother of three, while continuing to study and practice Buddhism, particularly focusing on the lineage of Machig Labdron and Dzogchen teachings. In 1993, Lama Tsultrim founded Tara Mandala, a 700-acre center in southwest Colorado where an extraordinary three-story temple in the form of a mandala, dedicated to the sacred feminine in Buddhism has been constructed and consecrated. In 2007 while traveling in Tibet she was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdron at the historic seat of Machig Zangri Khangmar by the resident lama. This recognition was confirmed by several other lamas, and in 2012 she was given the Machig Labdron empowerment by HH the 17th Karmapa. ([https://taramandala.secure.retreat.guru/teacher/tsultrim-allione/ Source Accessed July 15, 2020]) +
Also known as kiH lung mkhan, he had a student named Mkhan po ngag dga' and also wrote an explanation of Parinamana. +
