His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was Kongtrul Rinpoche's spiritual father and root teacher. An incarnation of the great rimé, or non-sectarian, master Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, he is remembered for his scholarship, realization, unceasing warmth and kindness, and his majestic presence. Kongtrul Rinpoche took His Holiness' Sanskrit name, Mangala Shri Bhuti, as the namesake for our organization. For more information about His Holiness, please visit www.shechen.org. We also highly recommend the biography of His Holiness, The Spirit of Tibet, written by his close student, Matthieu Ricard.

Kongtrul Rinpoche on the Student-Teacher relationship:

When I was in the presence of my teacher, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, the very evenness, clarity, and spaciousness of his mind naturally exposed my self-importance. I knew he could always see through my self-absorption, no matter how significant or complex I thought my story was. This was an unspoken understanding we had as teacher and student. This kind of communication was one of the ways I learned from him.

I saw this kind of interaction take place with others too. Sometimes people whose minds were wild--really crazy--would become immediately tamed by his presence. This is what is meant by the teacher as mirror: The teacher is the mirror that reflects not only how we are stuck but our basic sanity as well. This is the main purpose of the teacher-student relationship.

--from It's Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications: 2005