Authors

Tulku Sangak* Rinpoche

Tulku Sangak Rinpoche is the world lineage holder of the Namchak lineage. Rinpoche is the spiritual director of Namchak Retreat Ranch and Ewam International Centers around the world.

Born in Chamdo in the Kham region of Tibet in 1952, Rinpoche was recognized in early childhood by the great Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö [1893-1959], as well as by the former Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, to be the reincarnation of the Gochen Tulku.

Rinpoche’s parents were hoping he was the reincarnation of another master instead—the great tertön Tsasum Lingpa, founder of our Namchak lineage. Tsasum Lingpa had been reborn in their family repeatedly, in the past. Their family had been responsible for the local Namchak Ritrö monastery and Tsasum Lingpa’s heritage.

Imagine their chagrin when, as soon as he was old enough to speak a bit, he himself insisted he was actually a reincarnation of another lama—the Gochen Tulku! As such, he was head of the Gochen monasteries of the Namchak lineage. Soon after that he was formally recognized and confirmed as the 6th incarnation of the Gochen Tulku. It was Tsasum Lingpa who first predicted and named the site for the first Gochen Monastery, which was then built by the first Gochen Tulku, Gyalwa Gyatso.

Around the age of three, when Rinpoche was with his family and a large group of others harvesting hay in the fields, he was left sitting on a boulder at the foot of a cliff, where he imparted the wondrous sign of his realization by leaving his footprint in a rock, as though in soft clay. To this day it is still visible.

During the Cultural Revolution after 1969, he received important teachings including Dzogchen (the Great Perfection) from Tulku Chemchok Rinpoche and practiced them deeply. Later on, due to the kindness of HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, he spent 14 years studying and practicing under him outside of Tibet. At that time, His Holiness personally empowered him to take charge and uphold the Namchak lineage by starting the Namchak retreat center in Nepal. He published the Treasure teaching of the Namchak lineage, beginning soon after HH Dilgo Khentse Rinpoche’s parinirvana.

Tulku Sangak Rinpoche, an outstanding meditation master and scholar, is a primary lineage holder of the Namchak lineage. He also holds other widely practiced lineages of Tibet. Rinpoche is a master stupa builder as well. He has established the Turquoise Leaf Nunnery, a convent in Nepal, where more than fifty nuns live and practice.

When he was about seven, he first heard of the land of America. He thought of nothing else for a week, and knew that he would ultimately move here. He had specific visions of places here in the U.S.

As an adult, on one of his early trips to America, he asked Lama Tsomo to drive him around so that he could look for a place to create a center. Rinpoche recognized from his childhood visions the land on which the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas now sits. That is where he created his first U.S. center.

After living in Montana for many years, he and his family have now moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he has established a retreat and practice center, Pema Khandro Ling.

After establishing the first Ewam in the U.S., the center’s Dharma activity prospered around the world, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bhutan, India, and others. Rinpoche later bestowed the Lama title to Sangak Tsomo, and she was given responsibility to begin the works to build a retreat center and to create translations of Namchak lineage texts. To read more about Tulku Sangkak Rinpoche visit: http://www.ewam.org

*sometimes spelled “Sang-Ngag”

Lama Tsomo

Born Linda Pritzker, Lama Tsomo followed a path of spiritual inquiry and study that ultimately led to her ordination as one of the few American lamas in Tibetan Buddhism.

Under the tutelage of Tulku Sangak Rinpoche, international holder of the Namchak lineage, Lama Tsomo has done extensive spiritual retreats in the U.S. and abroad, and is fluent in Tibetan. Today, she is dedicated to sharing the teachings of the Namchak lineage with Western students, bringing greater happiness and meaning to life through meditation practice, community, and retreat. She is especially passionate about reaching young people and supporting those working for positive social change. Her teaching has inspired American and international students, who appreciate her informal, and often humorous, style.

Lama Tsomo holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Jungian studies. She is the author of Why Is the Dali Lama Always Smiling? An Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice, winner of a 2016 Independent Publisher award. She is also a contributor to Tami Simon’s book: The Dharma of Dogs: Our Best Friends as Spiritual Teachers, released July 2017.

For more offerings from Lama Tsomo and the Namchak Community visit Namchak.org.

Reverend Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, Episcopal priest, and activist who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years.

He holds a doctorate, summa cum laude, in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality, which is rooted in ancient Judeo-Christian teaching, inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions; welcoming of the arts and artists; wisdom centered, prophetic, and committed to eco-justice, social justice, and gender justice.

Fox has reinvented forms of education and worship and awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West, revivifying awareness of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Merton, among other premodern and post-modern spiritual pioneers. He has authored more than 35 books on spirituality and contemporary culture, among them: Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, The Reinvention of Work, A Spirituality Named Compassion, and Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times. His books, celebrated around the world, have been translated into 60 languages.

Visit MatthewFox.org for a full listing of Matthew’s events, teachings, and titles.