THE TEACHERS
Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen Rinpoche
Born in 1976, Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen Rinpoche studied at both the Drikung Kagyu Jangchubling Monastery in Dehradun and the Dzongsar Shedra, a monastic college in Bir, India. In 2002, he was appointed Khenpo by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgön Thinle Lhundup and has since been teaching at Kagyu College. Since 2005, numerous Buddhist texts have been translated under his guidance into various languages. In addition, he began teaching in Dharma centers in the East and West during his annual vacations starting in 2008. In 2013, he was appointed the second Khenchen of the Drikung Kagyu headquarters in India by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgön Thinle Lhundup. At His Holiness’s request, he leads the Vikramashila translation project and provides teachings and guidance on the texts to be translated at the Milarepa Retreat Center in Germany. As a teacher of the Dharmadhara Program, Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen will primarily give teachings on the “Single Intention” (Gongchik) and the “Essence of the Mahayana Teachings” (Thekchen Tenpé Nyingpo).
Khenpo Konchog Tamphel
Born in Ladakh in 1975, Khenpo Könchog Tamphel became a novice monk at Lamayuru Monastery at the age of nine, receiving a foundational Dharma education and studying Drikung Kagyu rituals. In 1987, he went to the Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehradun, India, for advanced Buddhist studies. There, he spent nine years studying the twelve major commentaries of the Nalanda masters and Drikung Kagyu treatises like the “Single Intention” (Gongchik) and the “Essence of the Mahayana Teachings” (Thekchen Tenpé Nyingpo) under the guidance of Khenpo Togdol Rinpoche, Khenpo Konchog Monlam, Khenpo Konchog Tashi, and Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche. After completing his studies in 1996, he traveled as a translator for His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche across Europe and Southeast Asia. He has taught in Drikung Kagyu centers in Malaysia, Singapore, North America, Estonia, and Latvia. He also participated in a year-long English-Tibetan translation course in Dharamsala and studied Maitreya’s works at Dzongsar Institute for a year.
Drubpon Kunsang Korpon
Born to Tibetan refugees in Bylakuppe, India, Drubpon Kunsang Korpon expressed a desire to become a monk from an early age. He was introduced to the Dharma, Buddhist philosophy, meditation, rituals, and Tibetan language and culture at the monastery. He also learned the art of Thangka painting and sand mandala creation. He furthered his studies at the Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehradun, completing his knowledge of the Five Treatises on Buddhist Philosophy and Tibetan poetry and grammar over seven years. In 1997, he earned the title of Shastri (Kachospa or Dharma Teacher). He later taught young monks in Tibetan grammar and Buddhist philosophy. He was involved in the “Science meets Dharma” project and moved to Switzerland, spending 2001 to 2005 at the Tibet Institute in Rikon. In 2005, the Drikung Kagyu Dorje Ling Center was inaugurated with him as the resident Lama. This center remains the only Drikung Kagyu center in Switzerland.
Drubpon Palkyi
Drubpon Palkyi was ordained as a nun at the age of fourteen and received a thorough monastic education in Tibet, including extensive retreat practice. After fleeing to India in 2001, she joined the Drikung Samtenling Nunnery, where she studied Buddhist philosophy for eight years and received comprehensive training in music, rituals, and dance. She also served as the head chant master for three years. After completing her philosophical studies, she participated in a traditional three-year retreat, practicing the Fivefold Path of Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa. Since August 2013, she has served as a resident Lama at the Drikung Garchen Institute in Munich. In February 2023, she completed a 200-hour holistic Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India, and is now a certified Hatha yoga teacher. She enjoys leading retreats that combine Buddhist yogic practices with Hatha yoga.
Drubpon Tsering Rinpoche
Drubpon Tsering Rinpoche is the primary resident Lama of the Drikung Garchen Institute in Munich. At the age of eight, he took refuge with His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. Three years later, he received novice ordination, the Bodhisattva vow, and Mahamudra teachings from the great Siddha Karma Norbu (Karma Kagyu). He lived and studied with His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche at Gar Monastery in Eastern Tibet from the age of eleven, completing the preliminary practices of the Drikung Dzogchen Yangzab and Longchen Nyingthig traditions. He received numerous empowerments, teachings, and transmissions from His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, including empowerments into the Eight Herukas, the fifty empowerments of the Drikung Kagyu, Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini empowerments, the Chod collection, and protector deities of the old and new traditions. Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok also conferred the Kalachakra empowerment upon him. Since 2003, Drubpon Tsering Rinpoche has been the resident Lama at the Drikung Garchen Institute in Munich at the request of His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, representing him throughout Europe since 2009.
Drubpon Rachel Dodds
Drubpon Rachel Dodds completed a traditional three-year retreat in the Drikung Kagyu tradition from 2004 to 2008 in Almora, India, under the patronage of His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang and His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche and the guidance of Drupon Champa Rigzin Rinpoche. She was officially given the title “Drubpon” (meditation master) by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Thinley Lhundup. Since 2010, Drubpon Rachel has been teaching and leading retreats in Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and the USA. She lives in Italy with her husband, Giorgio Savigliano. In 2016, she began her role as Drubpon at the Milarepa Retreat Center in Schneverdingen, Germany, where she has since given numerous teachings.
Giorgio Savigliano
Giorgio combines Hatha yoga studies from many traditions with intensive practice in the Drikung Kagyu tradition, making him a unique teacher with an exceptional understanding of breathing, posture, and mind. He completed a four-year training at the Higher Institute of the Italian Federation of Yoga and received a diploma from his two-year training at the Satyananda Yoga Center (according to the parameters of the Bihar Yoga University). In 2006, Giorgio decided to deepen his practice and traveled to India, taking refuge with His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Thinle Lhundup. He began training in the Fivefold Path of Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa. From 2006 to 2009, he was in retreat under the guidance of Drubpon Champa Rinpoche, Drubpon Sonam Kunga Rinpoche, and Lama Manu from Chile. Giorgio has also received teachings and empowerments on the Six Yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra from His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. For the past 15 years, Giorgio has taught yoga in Switzerland and Italy. He recently began teaching retreatants at the Milarepa Retreat Center, helping them improve the relationship between body, breath, and mind—a central aspect of the yogic path of Tibetan Buddhism.
