Born in the 7th lunar month of 1951 into the Tsangsar family, Tulku Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche was the first son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, whose family has preserved the now rare Barom Kagyu lineage for many generations. At just 18 months old, Chökyi Nyima — “Sun of the Dharma” — was recognized as the 7th incarnation of Gar Drubchen, the Drikung Kagyu lama and Tibetan mahasiddha regarded as an emanation of the 2nd-century Indian philosopher Nagarjuna.
He was soon enthroned at his predecessor’s monastery, Drong Gon Tubten Dargye Ling Monastery in Nakchukha, Central Tibet, where he resumed his responsibilities as Dharma Master to 500 monks. In 1959, just before the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he left for Gangtok, Sikkim with his parents and younger brother, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche. He later studied at the Young Lamas’ School in Dalhousie, India. At 13, he entered Rumtek, the seat of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, and spent the next 11 years immersed in the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions under masters including His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
Through intensive study of classical philosophical texts such as Vasubhandu’s Abhidharma Kosha, the Five Texts of Maitreya, Dharmakirti’s Pramanavartika, Shantideva’s Bodhicarya Avatara, and Chandrakirti’s Madhyamaka Avatara, Tulku Chökyi Nyima earned his khenpo degree at an early age.
In 1974, after serving as personal aide to Rangjung Rigpey Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, at Rumtek, he joined his parents and younger brother in Boudhanath, near Kathmandu, Nepal. There, at the 16th Karmapa’s request, the family founded Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery just north of the Great Jarung Khashor Stupa. When the monastery was completed in 1976, Rinpoche was appointed its abbot at the age of 25. The Karmapa also encouraged him to focus on teaching Western practitioners. In response, Rinpoche strengthened his English and began offering weekend teachings to the growing Western community in Nepal and to visiting travelers. These free public talks, now known as the “Saturday Morning Talks,” continue to this day.
In 1980, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche traveled around the world with his eldest son, accompanied by translator Erik Pema Kunsang, to share Lord Buddha’s message across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. On these journeys, they offered Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings and empowerments to many students.
After returning to Nepal, Rinpoche founded the Rangjung Yeshe Institute for Buddhist Studies in 1981. The institute hosts annual international seminars and symposia on Buddhism. In 1997, it expanded to include an international Buddhist college, or shedra, with an in-depth curriculum in formal Buddhist studies for students from around the world. It also helped establish the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Kathmandu University, a degree-granting institution for scholarship and academic research where local and international students can complete BA and MA degrees in Buddhist Studies after 3 to 5 years of study.
Later in 1981, Rinpoche also founded Rangjung Yeshe Publications, which has produced many notable books over the decades. His teachings, commentaries, and writings appear in titles including Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, Song of Karmapa, Bardo Guidebook, Indisputable Truth, Present Fresh Wakefulness, and Medicine and Compassion.
Fluent in English, Rinpoche has been teaching meditation practice to an increasing number of Western students since 1977. When his schedule permits, he opens his personal shrine room several mornings each week to meet visitors directly. Each autumn, he also leads a 10-day Fall Seminar on Buddhist teachings, covering subjects from the most basic to the most profound. To support international participants, the seminar is offered in Tibetan and translated into English, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and several other languages.
Over the years, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche has founded Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Centers in Malaysia, Denmark, America, Austria, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France, and study groups have also formed under his guidance in Israel, Holland, Mexico, and Portugal. He travels widely each year throughout Europe, Russia, Asia, and the Americas, teaching students in a range of Buddhist settings. He has also been invited to lecture at respected colleges and universities around the world, including Harvard and Oxford University.
In 2006, he established the Dharmachakra Translation Group, a committee of expert translators devoted to translating and publishing classical Buddhist treatises from the Tibetan and Sanskrit scriptural canon.
For more than 30 years, Rinpoche has overseen the welfare and spiritual education of nearly 500 monks and nuns, primarily at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery, Asura Cave Retreat Centre, and Nagi Gompa Hermitage. With a heartfelt wish to double the number of ordained practitioners, the monasteries and retreat centers under his care continue to grow and improve.
Alongside his spiritual responsibilities, much of Rinpoche’s daily life is devoted to the needs of local Tibetan and Nepalese lay practitioners. To support the wider community around the monastery, he founded the charitable organization Shenpen, which addresses practical needs such as health care and education for disadvantaged people. Shenpen is administered by several of Rinpoche’s close Western students.