Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche New Head of Nyingma

Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche has accepted a request to serve as Supreme Head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Rinpoche is the throne-holder of the Dorje Drak Monastery, and the head of the lineage of the Northern Treasures, the tradition which originated from the treasures of the great tertön Rigdzin Godem. Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche is renowned as a holder of all the great Kama and Terma traditions of the Nyingmapa, as well as being a great exponent of the Rime, or non-sectarian, tradition.

Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche was born in central Tibet in the Western year 1926. Recognised as an incarnation of the great master Ngok Chöku Dorje, he began his studies at the age of five in the monastery of Taklung Tse. At the age of eight, he was invited to become the throne-holder of Dorje Drak. There, he underwent rigorous training, becoming proficient in all rituals and arts, and receiving the complete teachings and empowerments of the Northern Treasures. At the age of twenty, Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche received the complete empowerments and transmissions of the Rinchen Terdzöd, as well as other transmissions, from the previous Kyabje Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche.

After the invasion of Tibet in 1959, Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche was forced to leave Tibet. In exile, he has continued to seek out and receive teachings and transmissions from numerous masters, including HH the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and others.

Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche now resides in the town of Shimla in India, where he has established a new Dorje Drak monastery in exile, and leads the community there.