Wisdom Dharma Chat | Khandro Rinpoche

June 9, 2025

In this special episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats, host Daniel Aitken welcomes Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche for an open and insightful conversation on the nature of interdependence, the power of connecting with a teacher, their and your authentic presence in spiritual life, and much more.

With clarity and humor, Khandro Rinpoche reflects on how all experiences—joyful and painful alike—arise through the web of dependent origination. She offers a compelling vision of compassion grounded in reality, where happiness is seen as a shared aspiration and suffering as a condition we can transform through wisdom. The conversation weaves together timeless Buddhist teachings with contemporary challenges, touching on themes such as identity and the innate potential for awakening in ourselves and others.

As the conversation deepens, Khandro Rinpoche offers profound reflections on key elements of the bodhisattva path: wisdom and compassion. She shares how these two realizations support each other in practice and are indispensable for anyone seeking to move beyond conceptual understanding and toward genuine inner transformation. Her insights illuminate how the cultivation of great compassion must be inseparable from the direct understanding of emptiness, if we are to bring lasting benefit to ourselves and others.

Khandro Rinpoche also speaks to the subtle yet potent power of presence—what it means to truly be in the company of a lama and how spiritual transmission depends not just on teachings but on direct connection. She reminds us that while knowledge may be increasingly accessible online, the cultivation of inner transformation still calls for guidance, humility, and devotion.

Show Links:
Learn more about Khandro Rinpoche and her upcoming teachings at khandroling.org

Meet Our Guest

Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche

Autobiography in Verse of
Khandro Rinpoche

Essence that embodies the three refuges,
Kind root lama,
Crown ornament never apart from the top of my head,
Bestow blessings of all that is wished for!

Welcomed by these auspicious pleasing words,
Now I will share the substance:

I am Khandro Tsering Kunga Bum-ma
My ethnicity is Tibetan, my birthplace in a gathering of farmers and nomads.
From age seven I sought to understand the causality of nomadic farmers.
Although I found joy in the meaning of interdependence and isolated retreat,
My parent’s village was lacking education for me.

When looking at outer objects and the mind inside
Some marvelous bliss, clarity and non-thought directly arose.
Various experiences and realizations dawned unimpeded in the mind.

Principal of all divine protectresses of the Victorious One’s teachings,
Glorious Queen, Palden Lhamo Maksor[1]—I saw her joyful face!
She said, “You must go to unfamiliar places at uncertain times.”
I received a promise to grant me prophecies and to continuously take me under her care.

From then on, conceptual fixations collapsed.
In unpredictable ways I visited the sacred sites and the Jowo shrine in Lhasa.
I then went to the great monastic seat of Tashi Lhunpo.
Due to poor sustenance and clothing, I suffered all sorts of struggles.

While on the pilgrimage path, I met an old hermit-sage.
He said in order to revive the Fifth Dalai Lama’s twenty-five hidden teachings,
I must go to the noble land of India and meet the most exalted Dalai Lama.
In that way he bestowed many prophecies,
And gave me provisions and money for the journey.

On the journey, at Mount Kailash and other places,
Within the blissful expanse of illusory relative appearances,
I encountered some spiritual guides such as Jigme Lingpa.
They granted me introduction to the heart essence of the Great Perfection.
Thus, my being was blessed through karma, aspirations, and interdependence.
I received the pith instructions for liberating unfavorable negative circumstances.

As prophesized by deities and lamas, through hardships and trials,
In 1994 I arrived in Swayambu, Nepal.
Sickened by contaminated food, I was afflicted by unbearable suffering.
In that state, pure visions and various other apparent phenomena appeared as perceptions.

Barely surviving, I made it to Dharamsala, in the noble land of India.
How I was received at Nèlen by some heartless staff!
While being denied an audience with His Holiness, a lot of time was lost.
Receiving mistreatment and scorn, this illusory body was filled with illness.

At a time when I was slightly better,
By the power of various prophesies of deities and lamas,
And help given by some spiritual friends,
I got the good fortune, the opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama.

For many years a deity had sometimes taken me over.
I didn’t know who it was, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
At the end of meeting the Great Vajradhara, the Victorious Dalai Lama,
The Protectors Tseringma and Tenma entered me.
I was then authorized and enthroned as the official government oracle of Tseringma and Tenma.

I received uncommon, profound pith instructions from His Holiness on Lama, Yidam, Khandro and Protectors.
Particularly, His Holiness proclaimed I have a special karmic connection with the secret hidden pure visions of the 5th Dalai Lama,
And he authorized me as the Doctrine-holder of those teachings.

The Dalai Lama said I am a self-occurring yogini,
And gave me empowerments, transmissions, and pith instructions.
For ten years I exerted myself earnestly in meditating on approach and accomplishment on what I received from him.

For more than twenty years I received teachings from the King of Victorious Ones, Vajradhara Dalai Lama,
And empowerments, transmissions, and pith instructions on the great scriptures and so forth
Directly from various great masters of all Tibetan Buddhist lineages.
I applied myself for a long time in listening, contemplation, meditation, accomplishment, and the activities.

Realizing emptiness, compassion naturally dawned, and I arrived at faith.
May the undeceiving ocean of the three roots grant auspiciousness!

[1] ‘Queen Pāravatī’, also Shri Devi. A wrathful form of Palden Lhamo. This particular deity is the main protector of the Dalai Lamas.

Wisdom Dharma Chat | The Daily Buddhist (June 2025)

In this episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats, Pema Sherpa and Brendan Barca join host Daniel Aitken to explore the power of daily Buddhist practice and how small, consistent insights can lead to profound inner transformation.

They address life challenges, the impact of modern distractions on mindfulness, and the benefits of meditation. The conversation highlights the importance of self-compassion, techniques for personal growth, and practical guidance on integrating ancient Buddhist wisdom into modern daily life.

Drawing on their diverse experiences—from corporate mindfulness training to traditional study under great Tibetan masters such as Dudjom Rinpoche—Pema and Brendan offered a unique and contemporary lens on how the Dharma can support lasting happiness in today’s world.

Show Links:
Learn more about Pema and Brendan’s newsletter, and get your copy of The Daily Buddhist at thedailybuddhist.net

Meet Our Guest

Pema Sherpa & Brendan Barca

A wife-and-husband team, Pema Sherpa and Brendan Barca, teach mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhist principles to employees at companies worldwide.

Pema, born and raised in Nepal, has practiced Tibetan Buddhism since childhood. After moving to the U.S., she pursued formal studies in the field, earning a master’s degree in Buddhist philosophy at Harvard Divinity School.

Brendan discovered Buddhism in his twenties, initially turning to meditation to cope with stress and burnout. Since then, he has devoted years to studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhsim. Together, Pema and Brendan have studied under revered masters such as Dudjom Rinpoche.

Experiencing the transformative effects of mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhist teachings in their own lives, they cofounded Brema Solutions to bring these invaluable principles to the corporate world. Additionally, they also run the popular newsletter, The Daily Buddhist. Pema and Brendan live with their daughter Samaya in Brooklyn, NY.

Wisdom Dharma Chat | His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche (April 2025)

In this episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats, His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche returns for an enriching conversation with host Daniel Aitken. They begin with a brief reflection on Rinpoche’s recent book, A Monk’s Guide to Finding Joy, before expanding on themes explored in a prior Wisdom Dharma Chat with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Professor Robert Thurman. Drawing from this earlier dialogue, Daniel and Rinpoche explore detailed nuances in how the sutra and tantra approaches to mental afflictions differ. They continue to explore the challenges of distraction in the digital age and the enduring resilience of the Dharma across generations before returning to Rinpoche’s book with a deeper look at the role of joy and devotion on the Buddhist path and how one can balance rigorous tantric practice with the cultivation of joy.

Rinpoche, vice abbot of Gyuto Tantric Monastery, shares personal stories of his upbringing, monastic discipline, and the profound influence of his teachers. His grounded presence and accessible teaching style offer viewers the opportunity to witness the timeless depth and modern relevance of Buddhist practice. Rinpoche concludes the episode with reflections on the importance of consistent practice and a gentle reminder that—even amidst chaos—joy remains both a compass and a companion on the path.

Meet Our Guest

His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche

His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, in May 1975. At five years of age, a search party positively identified him as the reincarnation of the seventh Khangser Rinpoche. He is one of three high lamas responsible for recognizing the rebirth of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Khangser Rinpoche completed his preliminary study of Buddhist philosophy at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamshala, India. He later went on to advanced Buddhist studies in sutra and tantra at Sera Jey Monastery and Gyuto Tantric Monastic University. It was there he earned the geshe lharampa degree and a doctorate degree in tantra, both with the highest honors in the top division. Khangser Rinpoche presently serves as vice abbot of Gyuto Monastery and as the founder and administrative head of Thangkar Dechen Choling Monastic Institute. This institute is both a monastery and a school, and generously provides food, housing, and education in both Dharma and contemporary Western curricula to over eighty young monks in Nepal. The entire student population comes from impoverished conditions, many of whom are orphans.

Khangser Rinpoche has established many Dipkar centers around the globe, spearheading philanthropic efforts such as providing free food to those in need. He also established the Dipkar Vajrayana Institute to offer free Dharma education to all who wish to learn. Khangser Rinpoche is considered one of the great Buddhist teachers of the modern age. He has dedicated his entire life to providing spiritual medicine for what ails a broken spirit. He believes his mission is to help as many suffering beings as possible.

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche & Professor Robert Thurman

In this special Wisdom Dharma Chats episode, presented in collaboration with Tergar International and Tibet House US, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Professor Robert Thurman come together for a rich and wide-ranging conversation on the practical application of Buddhist teachings in everyday life. With clarity, warmth, and humor, they explore tantric practice, the nature of Buddha’s potential, and the central role of meditation in transforming the mind.

Rinpoche, a renowned meditation master trained in the highest Vajrayana practices and known for his extended retreats and wandering pilgrimage through the Himalayas, brings firsthand insight into the lived experience of the Dharma. Thurman, a preeminent scholar of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and a tireless advocate for its preservation, shares his deep textual knowledge and contemporary reflections on the relevance of the Buddhist worldview today.

Together, they discuss overcoming distraction, the role of compassion in both personal and societal contexts, and even reflect on the meeting point between artificial intelligence and consciousness. The session concludes with a short guided meditation from Rinpoche, offering participants a direct experience of present-moment awareness. With host Daniel Aitken guiding the conversation, this Wisdom Dharma Chat offers a rare and inspiring encounter with two remarkable teachers who bridge ancient wisdom and the modern world.

Meet Our Guests

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Mingyur Rinpoche is a world-renowned meditation teacher with personal experience of anxiety and panic attacks, which he suffered from throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, when he learned to transform his panic through meditation.

Born in Nepal in 1975, Mingyur Rinpoche began to study meditation as a young boy with his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, himself a well-respected Buddhist teacher.

As a child he became interested in contemporary science through conversations with scientists who were visiting his father, and as he grew older he began to collaborate with neuroscientists and psychologists, including Richard Davidson and Antoine Lutz at the University of Wisconsin, on research projects that study the effects of meditation on the brain and the mind.

Mingyur Rinpoche’s first book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. His second book, Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom, explores how difficult emotions and challenging life situations can be used as stepping stones to discover joy and freedom. In his most recent book, In Love with the World, Mingyur Rinpoche shares how his meditation practice sustained him when he left his monastery to wander through India and the powerfully transformative insights he gained from the near-death experience he had at the beginning of his journey. Mingyur Rinpoche recently appeared in the Netflix series The Mind, Explained, in an episode about the benefits of mindfulness.

As the head of the Tergar Meditation Community, Mingyur Rinpoche supports groups of students in more than thirty countries, leading workshops around the world for new and returning students every year.

Robert Thurman

Bob Thurman, known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, is a talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings and the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama,

A charismatic speaker and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture, Bob was named by The New York Times the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, and was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2020, for his help in recovering India’s ancient Buddhist heritage. Time Magazine chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997, describing him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.”

Bob served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A very popular professor, students always felt his classes were “life-changing”. Bob is the founder and active president of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture, and of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific Tibetan treatises.

His own search for enlightenment began while he was a university student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Bob left school on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He found his way to India, where he first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism, Bob became a Tibetan Buddhist monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by the Dalai Lama. Some years later, however, he offered up his robes when he realized he could be more effective in the American equivalent of a monastery: the university, returning to Harvard to finish his PhD.

As part of his long-term commitment to the Tibetan cause, at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Bob co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Tethong, Richard Gere, and Philip Glass, a non profit organization based in New York City and dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan culture.

Inspired by his longtime good friend the Dalai Lama, Bob takes us along with him into an expanded vision of the world through the prisma of Tibetan Buddhism. He shares with us the sense of refuge in the Dharma, which unfailingly helps us clear away the shrouds of fear and confusion, sustains us with the cheerfulness of an enriched present, and opens a door to a path of realistic hope for a peaceful, kind, and wise future.

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Rubric of the Three Turnings

from The Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

The three turnings of the wheel of Dharma are a classic system for framing the philosophy of the Buddhist sūtras. However, we often hear that one turning of the wheel is true and that the others require interpretation and are in some sense inferior. Following the suggestion of H. H. the Dalai Lama, in this course accomplished scholars Jay Garfield and Guy Newland take another way of thinking about the three turnings of the wheel—as a comprehensive picture of the Buddhadharma.

In this first lesson, we are introduced to the idea of the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma and learn about their foundations in the early discourses of the Buddha. We also call into question the common belief that some teachings are provisional while others are definitive.

About Your Instructors

Jay Garfield is Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Logic Program and of the Five College Tibetan Studies in India Program at Smith College; Visiting Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at Harvard Divinity School; Professor in the graduate faculty of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts; Professor of Philosophy at Melbourne University; and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. He teaches and pursues research in the philosophy of mind, foundations of cognitive science, logic, philosophy of language, Buddhist philosophy, cross-cultural hermeneutics, theoretical and applied ethics, and epistemology. He is the author, editor, and translator of several books on these subjects, most recently The Essential Jewel of Holy Practice, a co-translation of verses written by Patrul Rinpoche (Wisdom 2017).

Guy Newland is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Central Michigan University, where he has taught since 1988. He has authored, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism, including the three-volume translation of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and Introduction to Emptiness. In recent years he has expanded his teachings at Dharma centers to include the topics of death, dying, and grief; he is the author of A Buddhist Grief Observed (Wisdom 2016).

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Malcolm Smith – December 2024

Please enjoy this unedited recording of our Wisdom Dharma Chats episode with special guest Ācārya Malcolm Smith. Join host Daniel Aitken and Malcolm as they discuss Malcolm’s recent translation projects, his upcoming volume, Yoga of the Natural State: The Dzogchen Aural Lineage, scheduled to be released in 2025 and available for pre-order now, understanding key terms for liberation, and much more!

We’re also pleased to be able to offer our Friends of Wisdom Dharma Chats 30% off on all of Malcolm’s works with us. Use the code WDC24SMITH to save 30% on the following books and courses through the end of Thursday, December 12, 2024.

– Yoga of the Natural State (Available Dec. 2025)
– Buddhahood In This Life
– The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra and the Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra
– The Tantra Without Syllables and The Blazing Lamp Tantra
– Dzogchen: Ten Key Terms – a Wisdom Academy Online Course

ĀCĀRYA MALCOLM SMITH has been a student of the Great Perfection teachings since 1992 and graduated in 2009 from Shang Shung Institute’s School of Tibetan Medicine. He is a veteran of the traditional three-year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a beloved and published translator, and was awarded the Acharya degree from the Sakya Institute in 2004

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Cortland Dahl – December 2024

Please enjoy this unedited recording of our Wisdom Dharma Chats episode with special guest Cortland Dahl. Join host Daniel Aitken and Cortland as they discuss Cortland’s new book, A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism, focusing on its relevance for practitioners. They also discuss the science and research behind meditation, integrating Buddhism into modern life, emphasizing authentic dharma and practical application, and the challenges of daily practice. They explore awareness, emotional experiences, and the balance between doing and being in meditation, and aiming for a deeper understanding of wisdom and compassion.

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Wisdom Dharma Chat | Yoga for Meditators

Please enjoy this unedited recording of our Wisdom Dharma Chats episode with special guests Alejandro Chaoul, Mary Taylor, and Richard Freeman. In this episode, our guests, with host Daniel Aitken discuss the upcoming Wisdom Academy online course, Yoga for Meditators. They provide insights into their yoga traditions, emphasizing historical dialogue between the traditions and shared practices. They also discuss practical meditation tips, integrating the body into mindfulness, and much more!

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Wisdom Dharma Chat | Khandro Rinpoche

June 9, 2025

Meet Our Guest

Rangjung Neljorma Khandro Tseringma Rinpoche

Wisdom Dharma Chat | The Daily Buddhist (June 2025)

Meet Our Guest

Pema Sherpa & Brendan Barca

Wisdom Dharma Chat | His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche (April 2025)

Meet Our Guest

His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche & Professor Robert Thurman

Meet Our Guests

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Robert Thurman

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Rubric of the Three Turnings

About Your Instructors

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Malcolm Smith – December 2024

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Cortland Dahl – December 2024

Join Wisdom

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Yoga for Meditators