In January of 1996, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was invited to join the faculty of the Religious Studies department at Naropa University, in Boulder, Colorado, as a visiting professor. The combination of his scholarly prowess, personable demeanor, and surprising knowledge of popular culture drew great interest. In 1997, in response to the requests of students wishing to study formally with him, Rinpoche founded his spiritual community, Nalandabodhi, which soon developed into an international network of Buddhist study and practice centers. In 1998, the Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche graciously assumed the position of Spiritual Director of Nalandabodhi and currently works closely with Rinpoche on the continuing development of all phases of the curriculum.
In 1999, after years of constant travel, Rinpoche moved his
residence to the port city of Seattle, Washington, just a short
distance south from his Vancouver home. With the encouragement and
blessing of his guru, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Rinpoche,
in 2003, opened the doors to Nalanda West, "Center for American
Buddhism," an ecumenical event center and the headquarters for
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche's teaching activity in North
America.
To the great fortune of Rinpoche's students, Rinpoche developed
comprehensive paths of both study and meditation, complete with
extensive and accessible support materials, for the members of
Nalandabodhi, beginning with the fundamentals and culminating with
opportunities to practice some of the most profound Buddhist
methods for awakening in a context of a lay householder lifestyle.
Rinpoche has convened and taught at an annual, private retreat for
the members of Nalandabodhi since 1999.
In 2005, as an expression of his commitment to the development of Western Buddhism, and at the encouragement of his main teacher, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Rinpoche appointed five of his Western students to be senior teachers within his lineage for the Nalandabodhi sangha. He gave them the title Mitra ("spiritual friend") and authorized them to impart a broad range of teachings and carry significant spiritual responsibilities in relation to the students of Nalandabodhi.
Nalanda translates as "the place that confers the lotus (of spiritual knowledge)," and was the name of the great Buddhist university that flourished for some 1800 years in ancient India. Bodhi translates as "enlightenment." The programs sponsored by Nalandabodhi and Nalanda West carry on this ancient wisdom tradition in a Western context.