Spiritual Director
Biography
Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche (ལྕགས་ཁུང་འཇིགས་མེད་དབང་དྲག) was born in the Golok region of Eastern Tibet as the fourth descendant of the great Tibetan master Dudjom Lingpa – one of the foremost spiritual masters of 19th Century Tibet. At the age of 15 he was recognized as the reincarnation of Rigzin Longsal Nyingpo by Choktrul Tamdrin Wangyal. He attended Larung Gar Monastery and studied Buddhist teachings in great depth, including Sutra and Tantra as well as Dzogchen pith instructions and empowerments with His Holiness Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok, who formally requested for Rinpoche to teach and preserve the lineage of Dudjom Lingpa.
In addition to his training at Larung Gar, Rinpoche received teachings from a well known female teacher and descendant of Dudjom Lingpa, Dakini Kunzang Wangmo, who also encouraged him to teach and preserve the Dudjom lineage.
While in Tibet, Rinpoche was responsible for the publication of many revelatory writings from Dudjom Lingpa and produced an original woodblock edition of the Nyingma Gyudbum, The 100,000 Tantras of the Nyingma Lineage, published at the Derge Printing House. Since 2011, Rinpoche has lived primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches to a number of Buddhist communities.
