It is our solemn, heartbreaking task to share that our guru’s guru, the supreme Khenchen Vajradhara Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, while immersed within the meditative concentration of great nonreferential compassion and profound wisdom inseparable, departed from his form of this lifetime and passed into parinirvāṇa at 6:10pm Nepal Standard Time on Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khenpo Rinpoche was 90 years old. According to the announcement of Khenpo Rinpoche’s nunnery, Tek Chok Ling, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa instructed that no announcement be made about Khenpo Rinpoche’s passing until three full calendar days had elapsed, in order to ensure that Khenpo Rinpoche’s enlightened activity will proceed forward according to his intentions and free of obstacles.

Khenpo Rinpoche’s passing is a moment of unfathomable sadness and is without a doubt a tremendous loss for the teachings of the Buddha in general, for the practice lineages in particular, and especially for Nalandabodhi as a dharma organization and all its members.

The greatness of Khenpo Rinpoche in terms of his realization, compassion, altruistic activity, meditative accomplishment, and scholarly mastery has been widely celebrated within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and in all lands in which the mahāyāna-vajrayāna dharma is present. Within the Karma Kagyü school in particular, and in the practice lineages, Khenpo Rinpoche has for many decades been praised by such descriptions as the “modern-day Milarepa” and the greatest siddha of our era. Most importantly, for Nalandabodhi, Khenpo Rinpoche is indescribably precious since he is the root guru of our main teacher and founder, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

Nalandabodhi offers its deepest heartfelt condolences to our guide, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, to the teachers and students of Tek Chok Ling Nunnery, to all of Khenpo Rinpoche’s direct students, to all the leaders and members of the organizations and communities founded by Khenpo Rinpoche, and to all who are mourning his departure. May we continue to pray to be united with Khenpo Rinpoche’s enlightened heart and mind, and may the sincerity of our endeavor help to bring healing and peace to all sentient beings.