| Seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche:
Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpa Gyaltsen (b. 1965)  The seventh and current Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was born at Rumtek Monastery (Dharma Chakra Center) in Sikkim, India in 1965. His father was Dhamchö Yongdu, General Secretary of His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa. His Holiness, supreme head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, immediately recognized the infant as a reincarnated lama. In 1968, at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India, at the age of three, his hair was cut by Holiness Karmapa, from whom he received the refuge vows and the name Karma Sungrap Ngedon Tenpe Gyaltsen. At the same time, His Holiness Karmapa enthroned him as the seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. As such, His Holiness recognized that Rinpoche was one of the three traditional abbots of Dzogchen Monastery and a high-ranking Nyingma master.
At age eight, the seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche received Buddhist refuge and bodhisattva vows from His Holiness, and the name Changchup Sempa Droway Gonpo. He was ordained as a novice monk in 1974, at age nine, and received the name Karma Drupgyu Tenpe Gyaltsen. Rinpoche studied with great Nyingma and Kagyu masters from an early age. He received most of the Buddhist teachings and empowerments of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions from His Holiness Karmapa, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentsé, Rinpoche, and others. In 1979, at the age of twelve, at Dharmachakra Center, Rumtek, Sikkim, India, The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa formally empowered and officially proclaimed the seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche as one of the lineage holders of the Karma Kagyu school and heart son of His Holiness Karmapa. At fourteen, he began studying Buddhist philosophy at the primary school in Rumtek. In 1980, Rinpoche first traveled to the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia with His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa. He gave dharma teachings and assisted with the various ceremonies performed during the course of this tour. In 1981, he entered the monastic college at Rumtek, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies, an affiliate of Samprunant Sanskrit University in Varanasi, (U.P.) India. There he was schooled in the traditional scholastic curriculum of Buddhist philosophy, psychology, logic, and debate. Rinpoche worked for the Students' Welfare Union at the Institute for three years. In 1987, Rinpoche became head librarian of the Institute's new library. He was the chief-editor of the Nalandakirti Journal, an annual publication which brings together Eastern and Western views on Buddhism. In May 1990, Rinpoche graduated from the Institute as an Acharya, or Master of Buddhist Philosophy. He also completed courses of studies in English and comparative religions at Columbia University in New York City. Since then he has annually criss-crossed the globe, teaching and assisting Buddhist centers in North America, Europe and Asia. Rinpoche travels widely to teach and offer assistance in Dzogchen and Kagyu study and practice. He supervises the activities of study and meditation centers in Europe and North America, and has worked actively to develop and adapt traditional Tibetan education curriculums for Western audiences. To support his work, he has founded a number of buddhist institutions. In 1994, to assist in the integration of computer technology with traditional Tibetan scholarship, Rinpoche founded Nitartha international, a non-profit education corporation based in New York City. Nitartha uses computer technologies to support Tibetan studies and education, and preserves the ancient literature of Tibet in computerized formats. Rinpoche also advises on web site design for various Buddhist-related websites. In 1995 he established Nitartha Institute in North America, which provides a focused Tibetan studies program, and where Rinpoche is the director and primary teacher. In January 1996, Rinpoche was offered and assumed a faculty position at Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado, where on an occasional basis he teaches courses on Tibetan language and philosophy. In 1997, Rinpoche founded Nalandabodhi to preserve the genuine lineage of the Nyingma and Kagyu Schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1998, Rinpoche became director of the Kamalashila Institute of Germany, at the request of His Holiness, the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa. In 1999, Kamalashila began offering a European based Nitartha Institute on an annual basis. Acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism, The Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche is also an accomplished calligrapher, visual artist and poet. Fluent in the English language and well-versed in Western culture, he is known for his sharp intellect, humor, and the lucidity of his teaching style. Kushok Gemong Rinpoches  |
