Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

རྫོགས་ཆེན་དཔོན་སློབ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།
rdzogs chen dpon slob rin po che

---

The first Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is said to have been an emanation of, among others, the great yogis Repa Shiwa Ö (Twelfth Century C.E.) and Melong Dorje (1243-1303). The former was one of the eight heart sons of Milarepa. He worked together with the 1st Dzogchen Rinpoche, Pema Rigdzin, to establish Dzogchen Monastery in 1685. After the death of the latter, the 1st Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche then became abbot of Dzogchen Monastery. Since that time, the succesive Dzogchen Rinpoches have been the abbots of Dzogchen Monastery along with members of the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche line, and members of the Kushok Gemong Rinpoche line.

The current Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was born in 1965 at Rumtek Monastery (Dharma Chakra Center) in Sikkim, Northern India and was raised from a young age by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rikpey Dorje, supreme head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His father was Dhamchö Yongdu, the General Secretary of His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa and his mother was Lekshey Drolma, who comes from a family of intellectuals and artists. His Holiness Karmapa prophesized his birth to his parents before he was conceived. Upon his birth, Karmapa immediately recognized him as the seventh in the line of Dzogchen Ponlop incarnations. As a heart son of the Karmapa, he is one of the highest ranking lineage holders of the Karma Kagyu tradition. He is also a highly esteemed Nyingma master who received many of the Nyingma tranmissions from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and others. He was enthroned as The Seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at Rumtek Monastery in 1968.

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was one of seven Rinpoches in the first graduating class from Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies (KSNI), the shedra of Rumtek Monastery, and is widely recognized of one of the most brilliant scholars of his generation. In addition, he is also an acknowledged meditation master, poet and artist.

He currently resides in Seattle, USA, where he directs the Nalandabodhi sangha and a yearly shedra program, Nitartha Institute, which takes place in Canada.

Main teachers

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

Published Works

• Wild Awakening. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
• Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra. Vancouver: Siddhi Publications (New edition forthcoming from Snow Lion Publications)
• Mind Beyond Death. Forthcoming from Snow Lion Publications

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

Alternate Names

• Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (rdzogs chen dpon slob rin po che)
• Ponlop Rinpoche (dpon slob rin po che)
• Dzogchen Ponlop (rdzogs chen dpon slob)
• Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen (Karma gsung rab nges don bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan)
• rje dpon rin po che

Websites

• Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche | Buddhist Scholar and Meditation Master - DPR.info
• 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
• Dzogchen Rinpoche and Dzogchen Monastery India
• Dzogchen history and Dzogchen Monastery Tibet