Tribute to His Holiness Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

The ASIA Association joins the Bön community worldwide in paying tribute to His Holiness Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, who passed away on June 12, 2025, at the age of 100, at his retreat residence near Kathmandu.

Founder of Triten Norbutse Monastery and the foremost living exponent of the Yungdrung Bön tradition, Rinpoche was for decades a spiritual, cultural, and intellectual guide for thousands of people, in both East and West.

He left his body in a state of profound meditation, according to a tradition in Tibetan culture that accompanies great masters in their transition to parinirvana,  a state of ultimate liberation that represents not an end, but the fulfillment of a path of wisdom and compassion. At this time, the monastic community of Triten Norbutse has gathered in prayer and meditation, observing the rites prescribed for a master of such extraordinary realization.

Ordained as a monk at a very young age and recognized as a holder of the three principal lineages of the Bön tradition (Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen), Yongdzin Rinpoche was among the first scholars to obtain the Geshe degree prior to exile.
In the years that followed, he founded important institutions: the first Bönpo refugee settlement in Dolanji, a School of Dialectics in India, and in 1987 Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, which today is one of the most important centers of study and practice outside Tibet.

His contribution also extended to the dissemination of knowledge in the West, through academic collaborations and the founding of teaching centers, always upholding the principle of free and compassionate access to knowledge.

Since as early as 1978, ASIA has been deeply connected to the figure of Yongdzin Rinpoche. It was then that ASIA’s founder, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, and the current president, Andrea Dell’Angelo, together with a very small group of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s students, traveled to India to meet Lopön Tenzin Namdak and receive teachings.

From that time until today, ASIA has continuously supported Yongdzin Rinpoche’s projects in India, Nepal, and Tibet, and will continue to do so now and in the future.

In particular, at Yongdzin Rinpoche’s request, several years ago ASIA began the construction of a traditional Bönpo medical school at the site where Rinpoche built his retreat residence.

In recent days, the third and final phase of the medical school has begun, involving the construction of classrooms and laboratories for the preparation of traditional medicines.

Preserving Tibetan cultural heritage by keeping it alive, accessible, and oriented toward the well-being of all sentient beings, through education, medicine, and spiritual practice is the mission that His Holiness Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche carried forward throughout his life. It is a precious legacy that ASIA is committed to safeguarding and continuing.

With profound gratitude, we pay homage to a Master who has left an indelible mark on the history of the Tibetan people and on our own path.

May his wisdom continue to guide us and illuminate the darkness of a world shaken by war.