Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche
Head of the Shambhala Buddhist Lineage

The Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, is one of Tibet’s highest and most respected incarnate lamas. The Sakyong—literally, “earth protector”—is king of Shambhala. The first king of Shambhala, Dawa Sangpo, was empowered directly by the Buddha.

The Shambhala tradition emphasizes confidence in the enlightened nature of all beings—windhorse—and teaches courageous rulership based on wisdom and compassion. It holds that these qualities are ultimately more stable than aggression and greed. It shows how to use worldly life as a means to ripen this spiritual potential. It practices turning the mind toward others as a discipline that creates lungta, windhorse, the ability to attain success that occurs from acting virtuously. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche leads a global community of over 150 meditation centers rooted in these principles.

The eldest son of the Vidyadhara Chˆgyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who was instrumental in bringing Buddhism to the West, he is the incarnation of Mipham the Great, who is revered in Tibet as an emanation of Manjushri, the buddha of wisdom. He descends from the Tibetan warrior-king Gesar of Ling. He also holds the Kagy¸ and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.

He is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and is spiritual director of Shambhala, a borderless kingdom of meditation practitioners committed to realizing enlightenment and social harmony through daily life. He is the lineage holder of Naropa University, which is dedicated to advancing contemplative education.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche was born in 1962 in Bodhagaya, India, to Lady Kˆnchok Palden. He spent his early years receiving a Buddhist education, later joining his father in the West, where he continued his study of Buddhist philosophy and ritual. He has studied with the great masters His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche—teacher of the HH Dalai Lama and the king of Bhutan—and HH Penor Rinpoche. He is married to Princess Tseyang Palmo, daughter of His Eminence Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche, head of the Ripa lineage. www.mipham.com, www.shambhalamountain.org, www.sakyong.com

• Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies for Modern Life, Doubleday (2006)
• Turning the Mind into An Ally, Riverhead Trade, (2004)
• Smile of the Tiger, Vajradhatu Publications (1998)