Dzogchen Ponlop, The 7th

Dzogchen Ponlop, The 7th on the DRL

Authors of English Works • Ordained (Monks and Nuns) • Tulkus • Tibetan Buddhist Teachers • Abbots

English Phonetics	Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Alternate names

• Karma Sungrap Ngedön Tenpa Gyaltsen

Dates

Birth:	1965
Place of birth:	Sikkim, India

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Primary Affiliation (Workplace)

Nalandabodhi

Secondary Affiliation

Nitartha International; Nitartha Institute; Bodhi Seeds

Teachers

Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim · Karmapa, 16th · Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche · Kalu Rinpoche · Urgyen, Tulku · Thrangu Rinpoche · Alak Zenkar Rinpoche

Biographical Information

The 7th Dzogchen Ponlop (Karma Sungrap Ngedön Tenpa Gyaltsen, born 1965) is an abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, founder and spiritual director of Nalandabodhi, founder of Nītārtha Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies, a leading Tibetan Buddhist scholar, and a meditation master. He is one of the highest tülkus in the Nyingma lineage and an accomplished Karma Kagyu lineage holder.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was born in 1965 at Rumtek Monastery (Dharma Chakra Center) in Sikkim, India. His birth was prophesied by the supreme head of the Kagyu lineage, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, to Ponlop Rinpoche's parents, Dhamchö Yongdu, the General Secretary of the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa, and his wife, Lekshey Drolma. Upon his birth, he was recognized by the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa as the seventh in the line of Dzogchen Ponlop incarnations and was formally enthroned as the Seventh Dzogchen Ponlop at Rumtek Monastery in 1968.[1]

After receiving Buddhist refuge and bodhisattva vows from the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Dzogchen Ponlop was ordained as a novice monk in 1974. He subsequently received full ordination and became a bhikṣu, although he later returned his vows and is now a lay teacher.

Rinpoche received teachings and empowerments from the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Dilgo Khyentse, Kalu Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (chief Abbot of the Kagyu lineage), Alak Zenkar Rinpoche, and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, his root guru.

Ponlop Rinpoche began studying Buddhist philosophy at the primary school in Rumtek at age 12. In 1979 (when Rinpoche was fourteen), the 16th Karmapa proclaimed Ponlop Rinpoche to be a heart son of the Gyalwang Karmapa and a holder of his Karma Kagyu lineage. In 1980 on his first trip to the West, he accompanied the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa to Europe, United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia. While serving as the Karmapa's attendant, he also gave dharma teachings and assisted in ceremonial roles during these travels.[2]

In 1981, he entered the monastic college at Rumtek, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies where he studied the fields of Buddhist philosophy, psychology, logic, and debate. During his time at Rumtek, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche worked for the Students' Welfare Union, served as head librarian, and was the chief-editor of the Nalandakirti Journal, an annual publication which brings together Eastern and Western views on Buddhism. Rinpoche graduated in 1990 as Ka-rabjampa from Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies in Rumtek Monastery. (Ka-rabjampa means "one with unobstructed knowledge of scriptures", the Kagyu equivalent of the Sakya and Gelug's geshe degree.) He simultaneously earned the degree of Acharya, or Master of Buddhist Philosophy, from Sampurnanant Sanskrit University. Dzogchen Ponlop has also completed studies in English and comparative religion at Columbia University in New York City. (Source Accessed Nov 19, 2019)

For further information about Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, visit his Official Website

Links

Wiki Pages

• Dzogchen Ponlop, The 7th on the DRL
• Dzogchen Ponlop, The 7th on the LIB
• Dzogchen Ponlop, The 7th on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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Tibetan: རྫོགས་ཆེན་དཔོན་སློབ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་། : ཀར་མ་གསུང་རབ་ངེས་དོན་བསྟན་པའི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་།

Wylie:

• Rdzogs chen dpon slob
  
• rdzogs chen dpon slob rin po che
  
• Karma nges don gsung rab bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan
  
• rje dpon rin po che
  

Other Transliterations in use:

• The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
  
• The 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Ngedon Sungrab Tenpe Gyaltsen
  
• Ngedon Sungrab Tenpe Gyaltsen
• Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen
  
• Karma Sungrap Ngedön Tenpa Gyaltsen - "Victory Banner of the Scriptures of Definitive Meaning"
  
• Ponlop Rinpoche
  
• The 7th Dzogchen Ponlop
  
• DPR
  

Dates

b. 1965 in Sikkim, Northern India - presently resides in Seattle, WA, USA

Affiliation

Nyingma and Kagyu

Dzogchen Monastery, Khams

Founder of Nalandabodhi, Nitartha Institute, Nalandabodhi International, Nitartha Translation Network.

Other Biographical Information

Longevity Supplication for the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Previous Incarnations

• 1st Dzogchen Ponlop Namkha Osel
• 2nd Dzogchen Ponlop Pema Sangngak Tendzin
• 3rd Dzogchen Ponlop Namkha Chokyi Gyatso
• 4th Dzogchen Ponlop Jigme Choying Osel
• 5th Dzogchen Ponlop Konchok Tenpe Nyima
• 6th Dzogchen Ponlop Jigtral Tsewang Dorje
• 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen)

Websites

Biography of The 7th Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche (Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen)
DPR Homepage
Nalandabodhi - the Sangha of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Nalandabodhi Canada - the Sangha of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in Canada
Nitartha Institute - A yearly academic program held in Canada

• Dzogchen Gompa website
• Dzogchen Rinpoche and Dzogchen Monastery India
• Dzogchen history and Dzogchen Monastery Tibet

Main Teachers

• Karmapa, 16th, Rangjung Rikpey Dorje
• Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
  
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
• Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
• Karmapa, 17th

Quotes

Let go and relax.

Other Books

2003: "Brief Histories of the Sixteen Karmapas". In: Music in the Sky: The Life, Art & Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Snow Lion Publications, U.S.A. First Indian Reprint: New Age Books, New Delh. (2004). ISBN 81-7822-193-4.
2003: Wild Awakening: The Heart of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. ISBN 1590300963 (SP)
2006: Penetrating Wisdom: the Aspiration of Samantabhadra. ISBN 1559392665 (SLP)
2007: Mind Beyond Death. ISBN 1559392762 (SLP)

The Nyingma, which is often described as the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, traces its origin to Padmasambhava, who is said to have visited Tibet in the eighth century.

The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa.

The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre.

The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.

Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra