Biography of Chagdud Rinpoche
 
    Chagdud Rinpoche, abbot of Chagdud Gonpa, fled Tibet during the
 Chinese invasion and worked tirelessly over the next twenty years in
 Tibetan refugee camps in India and Nepal. At the urging of Western
 students, he came to the United States in 1979 and has dedicated his
 remaining years to the preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist arts and
 teachings.
  
    Rinpoche is a highly realized meditation master and accomplished
 scholar, artist and poet. As part of his lama training, which began at
 the age of five, he received extensive instruction in all aspects of
 Tibetan Buddhism, completed two three-year retreats, and studied with
 some of the greatest Dzogchen and Vajrayana masters of his time. His
 extensive training, along with his humor, compassion and skill as a
 teacher, has made it possible for him to transmit his profound
 insights to people of widely divergent backgrounds and interests.
 Chagdud Rinpoche's generation is the last to have absorbed the full
 cultural and spiritual heritage of Tibet and he is among those few who
 are bringing this knowledge to the West.