Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

Born in Derge, Tibet in 1938, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as a child as a reincarnation connected to two earlier masters, later earning the honorary title Chögyal ("Dharma King"). At sixteen he met his root teacher Rigdzin Changchub Dorje, from whom he received direct experiential transmission of Dzogchen's three series of teachings.

Invited to Italy in 1960, he spent over three decades teaching Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at the University of Naples, while quietly building what became a global Dzogchen community. He founded the Dzogchen Community in 1976 and the Shang Shung Institute in 1990 — inaugurated by the Dalai Lama — to preserve Tibetan culture and knowledge, and held more than 600 Dzogchen retreats over his life across centers in over forty countries. He died in Arcidosso, Italy, in 2018.