His Eminence Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche was born in Himachal Pradesh, Northern India, to Tibetan refugee parents, his father, the 3 rd Neten Chokling Rinpoche, a renowned reincarnated lama, and his mother, Mayum Tsewang Palden, a life-long meditation practitioner. In addition to guidance from his parents, from a young age Rinpoche received direct instruction from his teacher, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He studied Buddhist philosophy in a Shedra (graduate-level program) as well as undertook extensive meditation retreats. In 1993 Rinpoche founded Mangala Shri Bhuti, a Tibetan Buddhist non-profit organization, whose vision is to further the genuine study and practice of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingtik lineage of the Nyingma tradition. Rinpoche currently lives in the US and travels and teaches widely there, in Europe, Asia, and South America.