Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche

The Trungram Gyaltrul is a lineage of tulkus of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Gyalwa Trulku was the name of the first incarnation of this line. Gyalwa was his personal name; Trulku refers to incarnation. Since he belonged to the Trungram teaching lineage and was well respected, his full name was Trungram Gyalwa Trulku Rinpoche. This name is quite long, so he often used Gyaltrul, the shortened form of Gyalwa Trulku, making the name Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche.

The 4th Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche (1968–present), more commonly known as Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche, was born into a Nepalese Sherpa family and was recognized by Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, as the reincarnation of the 3rd Trungram Gyaltrul. He is the head of the Trungram lineage, its monasteries, meditation centers, schools, dharma centers and groups around the world. He is one of the highest tulkus of the Karma Kagyu lineage; having received extensive transmissions of the Nyingma lineages he teaches in the spirit of the Rimé movement.

He is the first lama recognized as reincarnate to earn a Ph.D. in the West, having completed a doctoral program in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Harvard University. He is the founder of Trungram International Academy, United Trungram Buddhist Fellowship, the Dharmakaya Organization, the World Center for Peace and Unity at Lumbini, Buddhist Relief Services and the Trungram Gyalwa Foundation.

For more information, please see Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche