Palyul (དཔལ་ཡུལ་དགོན།) is one of the six great “mother monasteries” following the Nyingma School, or Ancient Translation Tradition, of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery was founded in 1665 in the Kham province of eastern Tibet (present-day Baiyu, Sichuan, China) by Kunzang Sherab, the First Palyul Throne Holder. Find out more…

Tertön Migyur Dorje (1645 – 1667) revealed the teachings that form the main practices upon which the Palyul Tradition is built. The cycle he revealed is called the Nam Chö or “Sky Dharma,” a complete set of instructions for those wishing to practice the path. He first transmitted these to his teacher Karma Chakmé (1613-1678) who transcribed the teachings that Palyul students worldwide recite daily. Find out more about Tertön Migyur Dorje here…

Kyabjé Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche (“Penor Rinpoche,” 1932 – March 27, 2009), was the 11th throneholder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen, meditation techniques designed to help us realize our true nature. Read more here…
The Three Heart Sons now oversee the work of His Holiness. His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche (center), the Twelfth Throne Holder, is the current head of the Palyul Lineage an oversees responsibilities in Baiyu, Shichuan. His Holiness Khentrul Gyangkhang Rinpoche (right) serves as chief of Namdroling Monastery along with His Holiness Mugsang Kuchen Rinpoche (left).

As His Holiness Penor Rinpoche tells us in the introduction to A Garland of Immortal Wish Fulfilling Trees, by Venerable Tsering Lama Jampal Zangpo, “… many troubled times have passed. However, due to the strength of the profound prayers made by many realized beings of the past, this stainless lineage has been maintained in an unbroken line to the present day. The original, undefiled blessings have not only been kept in the mother monastery, but also in the thousands of branch monasteries.”