Photo: rigpa.org
Sogyal Rinpoche, 72, a renowned Tibetan spiritual leader and a Dzogchen Nyingma Master, has passed away in Thailand on August 28 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He had been receiving treatment for colon cancer.
“Although his passing was sudden, in a way, all the same it was very peaceful and serene, and he was surrounded by close and loving students,” was posted by one of his care team on his official Facebook page. “Rinpoche is now resting in meditation. Several Lamas are supporting us with precise guidance at every step, and especially Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche,” said the post.
Rinpoche was the founder of Rigpa, an international network of Buddhist centres, and the author of the best-selling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying , of which more than two million copies have been printed in 30 languages across 56 countries. The book brought him international fame as a modern and Buddhist teacher.
Rinpoche had been teaching for 40 years in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. He had retired from his role as Spiritual Director of Rigpa in August 2017 in the wake of allegations of sexual, physical and emotional abuse of his students over a period spanning decades.
Sogyal Rinpoche was born in 1947 in the Trehor region of the traditional Tibetan province of Kham. As well as studying Tibetan Buddhism from various buddhist masters, he studied in Delhi University and at Trinity College, Cambridge, as a visiting scholar.
After five years of teaching in the west, in 1979, Rinpoche gave the title “Rigpa” to his work, which later became the name of the organisation – a collection of international Buddhist centres which currently has centres and groups in 41 countries around the world.
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