At the beginning of meditation training, we identify (1) the observer, (2) the observed, and (3) the observing act. As our practice matures, these three become indistinguishable.

- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Biography of Mingyur Rinpoche

The 7th Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a highly venerated teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Nepal in 1975, and was recognized as a tulku by both His Holiness the Sixteenthth Karmapa and His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

When Rinpoche was nine, he moved to the hermitage of Nagi Gompa in Nepal to study mahamudra teachings, as well as instructions on the trekcho and togyal aspects of dzogchen with his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, one of the greatest dzogchen meditation masters of our time. When Mingyur Rinpoche was eleven, he was invited by His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche to study at Sherab Ling in northern India. There he learned the practical applications of the daily rituals of Karma Kamtsang and the tantras according to the tradition of Marpa. Rinpoche also completed all required studies at the monastic college or shedra.

At the age of thirteen, Rinpoche entered a traditional three-year retreat. At age of seventeen, he was asked by His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche to become the retreat master and at the age of twenty, Tai Situ Rinpoche asked Mingyur Rinpoche to become assistant Khenpo of Sherab Ling where a new monastic college was established under Mingyur Rinpoche’s guidance.

One of his current projects is the building of Tergar Institute in Bodhgaya, India, which will server large numbers of people attending Buddhist events at this sacred pilgrimage site, serve as an annual site for month-long Karma Kagyu scholastic debates, and serve as an international study institute for monastic and lay sangha. The institute will also have a medical clinic for local people.

Mingyur Rinpoche teaches actively in the West and is known for his remarkable ability to convey the Buddhist teachings in a clear and skillful manner.