The Teachers

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche is the 9th Throne Holder of the Traleg lineage within the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is currently President and Spiritual Director of Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute in Melbourne and E-Vam Institute in the Upstate New York. He is the author of several books including The Essence of Buddhism, Mind at Ease: Self-liberation through Mahamudra Meditation and The Benevolent Mind: A Manual in Mind Training. Rinpoche regularly gives lectures and seminars worldwide on Buddhism and related topics, and has become well-known for his erudition, fluency in English and background in western psychology and comparative religion. He is especially respected for his skill in working with people of diverse interests, ages, and backgrounds.

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche was born in 1955 in Nangchen, Eastern Tibet. He was enthroned as the Supreme Abbott of Thrangu Monastery at age two. Rinpoche had to flee his native land at the age of four and escaped with his party to Bhutan and from there to Rumtek, the headquarters of His Holiness the XVI Gyalwa Karmapa in Sikkim. At sixteen Traleg Rinpoche attended the Sanskrit University of Varanasi following which he was put in charge of the Zangdog Palre Monastery in East Bhutan. In 1980, at twenty-five, Rinpoche arrived in Australia and established the Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute two years later.

Traleg Rinpoche was recognized as the ninth incarnation of the Traleg line by His Holiness the XVI Gyalwa Karmapa and was accorded the title Kyabgon, a significant distinction retained by only a few lineage holders of the Tibetan tradition. The Traleg line is one of the most important Kagyu tulku lineages in Tibet. Rinpoche has both a strict traditional Buddhist education and a comprehensive Western education, holding a degree from La Trobe University and is currently engaged in academic research for a Doctoral dissertation.

Rinpoche is currently the spiritual director of E-Vam Institute in Melbourne, Australia; E-Vam Institute, New York in USA; Nyima Tashi in Auckland, New Zealand; and other affiliated centers around the world.