NITARTHA FACULTY
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Nitartha’s president and spiritual director, is acknowledged to be one of the foremost scholars of his generation in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder of Nitartha international, a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to preserving the literary and artistic heritage of the dharma in the East, particularly that of Tibet, and bringing it to the world community. He is a graduate of the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek in India and has completed courses of study in English and comparative religions at Columbia University.
Rinpoche is an accomplished meditation master, calligrapher, visual artist, and poet. He travels and teaches widely and is well-versed in Western culture and technology and is the founder of Nalandabodhi, a non-profit organization with meditation centers around the world that provide a complete curriculum of study, meditation, and mindful activity, based on an authentic lineage of Buddhist teachings, that is accessible and relevant to everyday life. He is known for his warmth, humor, and lucid presentation of Buddhist teachings in a manner relevant to contemporary life.
You can find more info on Rinpoche, articles by him, and his teaching schedule on www.dpr.info. Or follow Rinpoche on Facebook or Twitter.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Nitartha’s president and spiritual director, is acknowledged to be one of the foremost scholars of his generation in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder of Nitartha international, a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to preserving the literary and artistic heritage of the dharma in the East, particularly that of Tibet, and bringing it to the world community. He is a graduate of the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek in India and has completed courses of study in English and comparative religions at Columbia University.
Rinpoche is an accomplished meditation master, calligrapher, visual artist, and poet. He travels and teaches widely and is well-versed in Western culture and technology and is the founder of Nalandabodhi, a non-profit organization with meditation centers around the world that provide a complete curriculum of study, meditation, and mindful activity, based on an authentic lineage of Buddhist teachings, that is accessible and relevant to everyday life. He is known for his warmth, humor, and lucid presentation of Buddhist teachings in a manner relevant to contemporary life.
You can find more info on Rinpoche, articles by him, and his teaching schedule on www.dpr.info. Or follow Rinpoche on Facebook or Twitter.
Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen studied together with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek under some of the greatest living masters in the Kagyü lineage. Acharya lived in Boulder, Colorado for many years and served as a faculty member of the Religious Studies Department of Naropa University, where he mainly taught Nitartha Institute-based graduate courses.
Acharya works closely with Ponlop Rinpoche in all aspects of leadership for the Institute, particularly in the design of our curriculum. He is teaching worldwide, and is also one of the main teachers at Nalandabodhi International.
He is known for his profound instructions on analytical meditation, his humor and always brings everyday life examples which make even advanced teachings accessible to western students.
Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen
Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen studied together with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at Karma Shri Nalanda Institute at Rumtek under some of the greatest living masters in the Kagyü lineage. Acharya lives in Boulder, Colorado and serves as a faculty member of the Religious Studies Department of Naropa University, especially teaching Tibetan tradition Nitartha Institute-based graduate courses.
Acharya works closely with Ponlop Rinpoche in all aspects of leadership for the Institute, particularly in the design of our curriculum, and, after Ponlop Rinpoche, is the Institute’s most revered teacher. He is also one of the main teachers at Nalandabodhi International. He is known for his profound instructions on analytical meditation, his humor and always brings everyday life examples which make even advanced teachings accessible to western students.
Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl has been a teacher, translator, and oral interpreter at Nitartha Institute since 1999 in both North America and Europe. Originally trained and having worked as a physician for 20 years, since 2006, Karl works as a full-time author and translator from Tibetan and Sanskrit to English in Seattle. He has published fifteen books in several languages (in the US with Snow Lion Publications and Wisdom Publications) on Madhyamaka, Prajñaparamita, Yogacāra, buddha nature, and other topics, including commentaries by several of the Karmapas and other major Kagyu lineage figures. Currently, he has been working on the collection of Indian Mahamudra texts (including many songs of realization) compiled by the Seventh Karmapa.
Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl
Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl has been a teacher, translator, and oral interpreter at Nitartha Institute since 1999 in both North America and Europe. Originally trained and having worked as a physician for 20 years, since 2006, Karl works as a full-time author and translator from Tibetan and Sanskrit to English in Seattle. He has published fifteen books in several languages (in the US with Snow Lion Publications and Wisdom Publications) on Madhyamaka, Prajñaparamita, Yogacāra, buddha nature, and other topics, including commentaries by several of the Karmapas and other major Kagyu lineage figures. Currently, he has been working on the collection of Indian Mahamudra texts (including many songs of realization) compiled by the Seventh Karmapa.
Mitra Tyler Dewar has been attending Nitartha Institute since 1999, has served as a translator at the Institute since 2000, and joined the Institute’s faculty in 2003. He has contributed written translations to various Nitartha Institute courses and serves as a Tibetan-to-English oral interpreter for Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Mitra Tyler Dewar
Mitra Tyler Dewar has been attending Nitartha Institute since 1999, has served as a translator at the Institute since 2000, and joined the Institute’s faculty in 2003. He has contributed written translations to various Nitartha Institute courses and serves as a Tibetan-to-English oral interpreter for Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
Faculty
Christian Scott
Christian Scott grew up in Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche’s sangha going to various countries with his parents, Jim and Birgit Scott, who served Rinpoche as his translators. Christian joined Nitartha Institute in 2012 right after high school and became faculty in 2024. He also joined Nalandabodhi in 2013, becoming a Karunika in 2021. Christian has a particular fondness for meditation on the cushion and humour off the cushion.