Khenchen Namdrl was born in 1953 in a small village in Eastern Tibet, a
three-days ride from Palyul Monastery in Kham. In 1959, at the onset of
the Communist Chinese occupation of Tibet, he fled to India. At the age of 13 he joined Palyul Namdrling monastery in Bylakuppe, India. He served there as attendant to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, who was the first master to encourage him to pursue the path of study to become a scholar. Khenchen Namdrl studied with and received transmissions from many renowned masters and teachers. He studied with Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche in Sikkim, and then for five years he studied with Dzogchen Khenpo Tsndru. He later continued his studies with Khenpo RInchen, and Khenpo Dazer. Returning to Bylakuppe in 1978, with Khenpo Tsndru he co-founded the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, the Higher Buddhist Studies and Research Center at Namdrling monastery. The Institute is the largest Nyingma study college outside of Tibet, and has a reputation for outstanding scholarship. For many years, Khenchen Namdrl served H.H. Penor Rinpoche selflessly, and received many teachings from him. He also received a number of transmissions from H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who visited Namdrling monastery on three occasions. In search of deeper teachings on the Guhyagarbha Tantra, Khenchen Namdrl traveled to Tibet, where he met Khenpo Jigmed Phuntsok. Khenchen Namdrl discovered a very close connection with Khenpo Jigphun, from whom he received many teachings and whose students he was invited to teach. He played a leading role in arranging the meeting between H.H. Dalai Lama and Khenpo Jigphun in 1990, and in 1993 he accompanied Khenpo Jigphun on his sole tour of the West. Khenchen Namdrl is a lineage holder of Khenpo Jigmed Phuntsok's terma teachings. Currently, Khenchen Namdrl is a senior khenpo at the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, where he has taught for 22 years. He lives most of the year at the Nyingma Palyul Retreat Center located near Yangleshod, Pharping, Nepal. He is one of the most respected khenpos of the Nyingma tradition. A retreat master, teacher, and devoted practitioner, he works tirelessly to preserve and propagate the Nyingma tradition, in the service of countless beings.