Chögyal Namkhai Norbu (1938-2018)

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu (1938-2018) was an internationally renowned Dzogchen master and a distinguished scholar of Tibetan history and culture. Born in Eastern Tibet, he received a rigorous traditional education in Buddhist philosophy from a very early age. He had the fortune of receiving profound teachings from the Dzogchen master Rigzin Changchub Dorje, as well as from many other eminent Tibetan masters of his time.

In 1960 he was invited to Italy by the renowned Tibetologist and scholar of Asian cultures Giuseppe Tucci, to collaborate as a research assistant at ISMEO (Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East) in Rome. Later, he became holder of the Chair of Tibetan Language and Literature at the University of Naples "L'Orientale", where he taught until 1992.

From the 1970s onwards, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu began transmitting the ancient practice of Yantra Yoga and, subsequently, the profound teachings of Dzogchen to a growing number of students in Europe, North America and, progressively, throughout the world. The interest sparked by his teaching led to the founding of what is today known as the International Dzogchen Community, a global network dedicated to the study and practice of this spiritual tradition.

A tireless author, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu published a wide body of works dedicated to Dzogchen, Yantra Yoga, and multiple aspects of Tibetan history, medicine, and culture.

In 1988 he founded ASIA, with the mission of safeguarding the cultural and spiritual identity of the Tibetan people and improving the living conditions of the populations of the Himalayan area.

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu passed away peacefully at his residence of Gadeling, in Arcidosso (GR) on 27 September 2018.