Garchen Rinpoche

Garchen Rinpoche (born April 1936 in Kham, eastern Tibet) is one of the most respected living teachers within the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Following the Chinese occupation of Tibet, he spent roughly twenty years in labour camps, where — by his own account — he deepened his practice under the guidance of a fellow imprisoned lama, an experience that profoundly shaped his later emphasis on compassion.

After his release he fled to India and began teaching internationally relatively late in life. His instruction is notably simple and accessible: at its centre is the cultivation of bodhicitta, the aspiration for the wellbeing of all beings, often summarised in his frequently used statement that love and compassion form the core of every practice.

Rinpoche founded the Garchen Buddhist Institute in Arizona (USA), which grew into the hub of an international network of dharma centres. Due to his advanced age — he is 90 as of mid-2026 — he has, since 2020, stopped travelling to centres around the world, but continues to give regular teachings, prayers and question-and-answer sessions from his seat in Arizona, which are streamed online for students worldwide.