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.