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Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, the director and resident lama of Ligmincha Institute, was the first lama to bring the Bön dzogchen teachings of Tibet to the West. He was recognized as the reincarnation of the famous master Khung Tul Rinpoche, a great mediator and scholar, and has studied and practiced dzogchen (the Great Perfection) since the age of 13. An accomplished scholar in the Bön Buddhist textual traditions of philosophy, exegesis, and debate, Tenzin Rinpoche completed an 11-year course of traditional studies at the Bönpo Monastic Center (Menri Monastery) in India, where he received his doctorate, or geshe, degree.
Upon graduation in 1986, Tenzin Rinpoche was employed at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives at Dharamsala, India. That same year he was appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the representative of the Bön school to the assembly of deputies of the government in exile.
Tenzin Rinpoche is a highly respected and beloved teacher to students throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Fluent in English, he is known for his clear, lively, and insightful teaching style and his ability to make Tibetan practices easily accessible to the Western student.
Tenzin Rinpoche is the author of Wonders of the Natural Mind,in which he presents the view and practice of the Bön dzogchen teachings; The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep; Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen; Tibetan Sound Healing; and Unbounded Wholeness (with Anne Klein).
In 1992, he founded Ligmincha Institute for the Preservation of the Religions and Cultures of Tibet, in order to preserve the culture, religious teachings, and arts of Tibet and Zhang Zhung. The aim of the institute is to introduce to the West the wisdom traditions of the Bönpo, which are concerned with the harmonious integration of internal and external energies, and most importantly, with the spiritual path to enlightenment. In addition to the Charlottesville, Virginia headquarters, which include the newly acquired rural retreat center, Serenity Ridge—“A home for Bön in the West”—there are study groups and branches of Ligmincha throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Tenzin Rinpoche travels regularly to teach at these centers.
Read 'Everyday Life Is the Practice', an article from Shambhala Sun by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. |
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faculty information
| Ligmincha Institute
313 2nd St S.E. Suite 207
Charlottesville, VA 22902
phone: 434-977-6161
website: ligmincha.org
email: ligmincha@aol.com
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