In 1968 Tarthang Tulku came to America. He arrived as a refugee with no homeland, a few dollars in his pocket, knowing very little English and not much about American culture and history. He chose America because of the long tradition of freedom, for America embraces the important freedoms of speech, of assembly, of religion. Here he could do his important humanitarian work.
Within the freedoms of opportunities provided in America, he could teach a more fundamental freedom – a freedom of the mind, a complete and perfect liberation from suffering.
In Old Tibet, a long line of realized masters kept the knowledge of freedom alive and sustained it for over twelve hundred years. Rinpoche brought this rich tradition to the West. Over the past fifty years, he worked to preserve, protect, support and pass on this precious body of knowledge. He has planted the roots, helped them to grow finding new cultural forms, new languages, reaching new minds with unsurpassed dedication and devotion.
A lifetime of work for the sake of all of us and for those yet unborn.
Throughout his fifty
Working quietly with a small number of students, he has achieved almost unimaginable accomplishments. In fifty years, he has written over 30 books in English. At times it seems more difficult to find the time to read and practice with them than it does for him to publish them. As with everything he does, he is always a step ahead.
His publishing activity is only one small part of what he has done:
- Typeset, printed, and freely given away nearly 6,000,000 Tibetan texts;
- Produced a new edition of the Tibetan Canon (120 volumes) and the collected Nyingma teachings (642 volumes);
- Established the annual World Peace Ceremony in India, attended by 15,000 people each year;
- Founded Dharma Publishing (more than 230 titles in print), the Nyingma Institute, the Tibetan Aid Project, Mangalam Research Center, Dharma College, among others;
- Built Odiyan Center, the largest Buddhist center in the West.
May Rinpoche’s work and teachings continue to transmit wisdom and compassion throughout the world.