Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche was born in 1933 in the village of Ralungda in Kham, eastern Tibet. At the age of five he was recognised as the Thrangu Tulku by the 16th Karmapa and the 11th Tai Situ Rinpoche, and he was enthroned at Thrangu Monastery.

He began formal study at seven and received teachings from visiting lamas. In 1945 he began a retreat on the preliminary practices that lasted until 1947. From 1948 he studied Buddhist philosophy, including five years with Khenchen Lodrö Rabsel, and later received dzogchen and mahamudra instructions from Khenpo Gangshar Wangpo. He took full monastic ordination in 1954.

In 1958 he and a group from Thrangu Monastery fled the advancing Chinese armies to Central Tibet, and early in 1959 he reached India by way of Bhutan. At Rumtek in Sikkim he helped build the new monastery and taught monks. In 1967 he took the Geshe Lharampa degree before the Dalai Lama in Assam, after which he was given the title Khenchen.

From 1976 he built Thrangu Tashi Yangtse at Namo Buddha in Nepal, with a monastic college, a school and a retreat centre. Other projects followed: Thrangu Tara Abbey for nuns near Swayambhu, the Vajra Vidya Institute in Sarnath, and the Vajra Vidya Retreat Centre in Crestone, Colorado. He also helped rebuild Thrangu Monastery in Qinghai. For many years he spent months of each year teaching in Asia, Europe and North America, and his students founded centres and study groups in several countries.

Students have transcribed his oral teachings into books, articles and pamphlets in several languages, and he wrote commentaries on major philosophical texts for beginners. In 2002 he founded Thrangu Dharmakara to publish his teachings and translations into English and Chinese. His books in English include Essentials of Mahamudra and Creation and Completion, both from Wisdom Publications. When the 17th Karmapa reached India in 2000, the Dalai Lama appointed Thrangu Rinpoche as his tutor. He oversaw a 32-volume collection of his Tibetan works.

From March 2020 he stayed in retreat, giving transmissions online. He died on 4 June 2023, and his cremation took place at Namo Buddha in November that year.

The monasteries, college and centres he founded continue his work.