Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
He was born at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India. His father was the General Secretary of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. His Holiness recognized him and he was enthroned as the 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at Rumtek Monastery in 1968. He has received most of the Buddhist teachings and empowerments of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions from His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and others.
In 1981, he entered the monastic college at Rumtek, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. In May 1990, Rinpoche graduated from the Institute and also simultaneously earned the degree of Acharya, or Master of Buddhist Philosophy, from Sampurnanant Sanskrit University. Ponlop Rinpoche subsequently completed courses of studies in English and Comparative Religions Studies at Columbia University in New York City.
Rinpoche has worked actively to develop and adapt traditional Tibetan education curriculum for Western audiences. In 1996 he helped establish Nitartha Institute in North America, which provides a focused Buddhist studies program, and where Rinpoche is the main teacher. In 1997, Rinpoche founded Nalandabodhi to preserve the genuine lineage of the Nyingma and Kagyu Schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Since January 1996, Rinpoche has been visiting professor at Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado, where he teaches courses on Buddhist philosophy and language.
Rinpoche has his primary residence in Seattle. To find out more about Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche please go to www.dpr.info.

Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen was born in the region of Drakar, Nepal. At a very early age, he began studying dharma texts and meditation with Lama Amji. At the age of 13, he moved to Kathmandu, where he entered a monastery.
In 1981, Lama Tenpa was enrolled as a member of the first class of the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India, together with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Sangay Nyenpa Rinpoche. He completed his studies and received the Acharya degree (Master of Buddhist studies) from the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute and Sampurnan and Sanskrit University jointly in March 1991.
After completing his studies, he was appointed as a junior Khenpo (professor) and taught Buddhist philosophy at the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for two years.
Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, he then entered a 3-year retreat in Pullahari, Nepal, in 1993.
From 1997 to 2004, Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen was the resident teacher at HH Karmapa's center Theksum Tashi Chöling in Hamburg, Germany. During this time, he also traveled to various centers in Europe, the US and Asia to teach. Furthermore, Lama Tenpa has been one of the main teachers at Nitartha Institute in Canada and Europe since 1998.
Since August 2004, Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen has been in the US as a professor of Buddhist studies and Tibetan language at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. He also works with several translators on the translation of Tibetan texts and has started to train new translators. He is the main teacher at Nalandabodhi Boulder.