Dharma Sun - Teachers

About our Teachers

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920 - 1996) was widely acknowledged as one of the great meditation masters of the 20th century. Having fled Tibet in the face of the Chinese invasion in 1959, he settled in Kathmandu Valley and some years later founded Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery. In addition, Rinpoche took under his wing the hermitage of Nagi Gompa, perched high on the northern slopes of the Valley, and there he lived quietly as a true Dzogchen yogi. Throughout the course of his life, he spent more than 20 years in meditation retreat. When not in retreat, Rinpoche received a steady stream of other high Lamas as well as scholars, students and practitioners from around the world.

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche

Born in 1951, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is the eldest son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Since the inauguration of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in 1976, he has served as its abbot. Overseeing both the monastery and its affiliates, Rinpoche is responsible for the personal welfare and spiritual education of almost 400 monks and nuns. Rinpoche is also a renowned meditation master and teacher. For the past 27 years, he has been teaching audiences both in Nepal and around the world. He is founder and head of the diverse organization, known as Rangjung Yeshe, which includes numerous international centers for Buddhist study, practice, and social work.

Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche

Born in 1953, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche is the 4th reincarnation of the renowned 19th-century Nyingma master, Terchen Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa. For the past 30 years, Rinpoche has resided at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery where he serves in the role of Vajra Master. He is a terton, or revealer of Padmasambhava’s hidden treasures, as well as a lay practitioner with a wife and four children. His elder son, Phakchok Rinpoche, is an incarnate high Lama with monasteries and Dharma Centers of his own in both Nepal and elsewhere, while his younger son, Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, is the reincarnation of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Phakchok Rinpoche

Born in 1981, Phakchok Rinpoche is the grandson of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the oldest son of Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche. As a small boy, he was recognized as a high-ranking tulku of the Taklung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. In 2004, Phakchok Rinpoche completed many years of advanced Buddhist studies and received his khenpo degree from the Dzongsar Shedra in India. Thereafter, whenever his busy schedule allowed, Phakchok Rinpoche taught regularly at Rangjung Yeshe Institute’s international shedra. He has monasteries and Dharma Centers both in Nepal and elsewhere. Rinpoche travels to all parts of the world to give Buddhist teachings, grant initiations and oversee his Dharma-related projects.

Khenpo Jampa Donden

Khenpo Jampa Donden comes from southern Tibet. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 14 at Gongar Chode Monastery of the Sakya lineage. At 18 he went to India and studied at H.E.Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's Shedra at Bir, India, for 10 years. After graduation, he taught at Dzongsar Khyentse Shedra prior to coming to Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in 2000. He is now a much esteemed faculty member at the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu where he teaches the assembly of international students full-time.