Lama Tharchin Rinpoche
Heritage Foundation

About Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche was a beloved Dzogchen master of the Dudjom Tersar tradition of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Buddhism and the tenth family lineage holder of the Repkong Ngakmang in Amdo, the largest community of yogi and lay tantric practitioners in Tibet. The Repkong ngakpas were revered throughout the region for their realization and ability to benefit others through the power of their tantric practice.

Born in the Fire Rat Year, 1936, to highly accomplished and esteemed yogi parents, Rinpoche trained from the age of eight under the close guidance of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, completing five years of solitary retreat and a traditional three-year retreat by his early twenties. In addition to cultivating his own meditative experience and realization through Dharma practice, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche was highly respected for his accomplishments in textual study, ritual, torma making, mandala design, and sacred art, song, and dance.

In 1960, Rinpoche escaped Tibet, undertaking a dangerous six-week journey over the Himalayas on foot, guiding a small group of family and friends into India. Rinpoche continued to serve Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche in Tibetan refugee camps in Kalimpong and Orissa, India, as well as in Nepal, Taiwan, and eventually the United States. He continued mastering lineage traditions under the guidance of his root lamas, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, and Lama Sherab Rinpoche, as well as his other distinguished teachers.

After coming to the United States in 1984, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche was asked by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche to teach Vajrayana and turn the third wheel of Dharma, planting the authentic seeds of Buddha's teachings in the West. To establish a base for preserving and developing the Dudjom Tersar lineage for future generations, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche founded the Vajrayana Foundation in 1987 and Pema Ösel Ling retreat center in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains in 1991. Rinpoche passed into parinirvana in the Water Snake year, 2013, leaving the center under the guidance of Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche and Lama Sonam Tsering Rinpoche. Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s rich legacy continues to be preserved by the Lama Tharchin Rinpoche Heritage Foundation and distributed through Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche and the Vajrayana Foundation.