Dezhung Rinpoche Kunga Tenpai Nyima (), born Kunchok Lhundrup (February 26, 1906–1987), was a

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

an lama of the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depic ...

school. Sakya is one of four major schools of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, the others being the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

, Kagyu, and

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

. In 1960 he came to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, one of the first Tibetan lamas to settle and teach in the United States. Rinpoche was the teacher of a number of renowned Tibetologists, including

Turrell V. Wylie Turrell Verl "Terry" Wylie (August 20, 1927 – August 25, 1984) was an American scholar, Tibetologist, sinologist and professor known as one of the 20th century's leading scholars of Tibet. He taught as a professor of Tibetan Studies at the Un ...

and E. Gene Smith,

Tibetan Art The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and sm ...

expert Jeff Watt and the root teacher of leading translator Christopher Wilkinson. Rinpoche died in 1987. His claimed reincarnation, Dezhung Rinpoche IV, was born in Seattle in 1991, and trained at

Tharlam Monastery Tharlam Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Sakya sect in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लो ...

in Nepal.

References

External links

Biography of Dezhung RinpochePeer-reviewed biography of Dezhung Rinpoche on The Treasury of Lives
1987 deaths 1906 births Sakya lamas Rinpoches Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet {{Tibet-bio-stub