Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche, Spiritual Director
Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche (1925-2023) was born in China near the Tibetan border. (For information about Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche’s passing, his sea burial, and the stupa being constructed in his honor, click HERE.) At the age of 7 he was recognized to be a tulku, or consciously reincarnated teacher, by the great meditation masters Chokyi Lodro and Tulku Natsog Rangdrol. Rinpoche was trained at Palyul Dhomang Monastery in eastern Tibet by such adepts as Sangye Gon, Tulku Natsok Rangdrol, Palyul Chogtrul Rinpoche, and Apkong Khenpo. Rinpoche spent many years in solitary retreat with his root guru Tulku Natsog, moving from one isolated location to another. In 1959, with the Communist invasion of Tibet, Rinpoche fled to India, where he lived for 12 years. Then, H.H. the Dalai Lama and H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche requested Gyatrul Rinpoche to move to the West to teach the Dharma. In 1976, Rinpoche was appointed as H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s spiritual representative in America.
Rinpoche lived nearly a century, traveling to many countries over the decades, touching the hearts of thousands of people and founding many Buddhist centers. These include Tashi Choling, Orgyen Dorje Den in the San Francisco Bay area, Dorje Ling in Portland OR, and a center in Ensenada, Mexico.
Our Teachers
Lama Chonam, Sangye Khandro, Lama Les Collins, Lama Bruce Newman, and Tashi Choling’s shedra students Shashi Reitz, Keith Lacoste & Ila Reitz are authorized by Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche to teach at Dechen Ling. Senior student Ian Villarreal is authorized to guide practice groups at Dechen Ling.