Recently the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project made available the entire 2-hour recording of a panel discussion with three esteemed Buddhist teachers, one in a series of four events honoring the publication of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma.

The panel was hosted by The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City in 2014, in which Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, founder and spiritual guide of Nalandabodhi, Acharya Judith Leif, Buddhist teacher and author, and Shastri Ethan Nichtern, head of the Interdependence Project discussed the life and legacy of Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his three-volume collection on Tibetan Buddhism, compiled and edited by Judith Leif: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma.

Moderator Melvin McLeod, editor-in-chief of Lion’s Roar magazine, formerly known as Shambhala Sun, opened the conversation by inviting Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche to make some introductory remarks.

With his trademark humor and clear explanations, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche began with a remembrance of his first meeting with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in New York City in 1980, when Chogyam Trungpa gave Dzogchen Ponlop an original copy of the material now contained in The Profound Treasury.

During this panel, Ponlop Rinpoche remarked that Chogyam Trungpa was a “pioneer of Tibetan Buddhism in the West,” who brought the genuine teachings and lineage of the East together with the culture and psyche of the West.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, author of Rebel Buddha: A Guide to a Revolution of Mind, is known as a strong proponent of American and Western Buddhism.

Among other subjects in the 2-hour panel, Ponlop Rinpoche spoke about the Buddhist tradition of the guru principle. “There is so much misconception about the guru,” he said, adding that the guru offers genuine love and compassion and that is what Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche did: He offered genuine love and compassion.

Listen to the entire discussion of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at the Rubin Museum, with all three panelists, here.

Nalandabodhi thanks the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project and the Rubin Museum for generously sharing the video of the panel discussion.