Padmasambhava, often called Guru Rinpoche (“Precious Guru”), was an influential 8th-century Buddhist master who helped establish Buddhism in Tibet. According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, he was born in the region of Oddiyana, believed by many scholars to be in present-day Pakistan or Afghanistan.

He was invited to Tibet by King Trisong Detsen to help spread Buddhist teachings and overcome resistance to the new religion. Padmasambhava worked alongside the scholar-monk Śāntarakṣita and played a key role in founding Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

He is especially important in the Nyingma tradition, where he is regarded as a second Buddha. Many teachings and spiritual practices are attributed to him, including tantric methods and hidden spiritual texts known as terma.

Stories about Padmasambhava include many miraculous events, symbolizing wisdom, compassion, and the transformation of negative forces into positive energy. Today, he is deeply revered across Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and Himalayan Buddhist communities around the world.

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, was a spiritual teacher and philosopher who founded Buddhism more than 2,500 years ago in ancient India. He is regarded as one of the greatest religious figures in history, and his teachings continue to influence millions of people around the world.

Buddha was born around 563 BCE in Lumbini, which is located in present-day Nepal. He was born into a royal family of the Shakya clan. His father, King Suddhodana, wanted him to become a powerful ruler, so Siddhartha was raised in great luxury and protected from the hardships of life. According to tradition, astrologers predicted that the young prince would either become a great king or a great spiritual leader.

As Siddhartha grew older, he became curious about the world outside the palace. During several journeys, he saw what are known as the “Four Sights”: an old man, a sick person, a dead body, and a wandering holy man. These experiences deeply affected him because they revealed the realities of suffering, illness, aging, and death. He began to question the meaning of life and realized that wealth and comfort could not protect people from suffering.

At the age of 29, Siddhartha left his royal life, his wife Yasodhara, and his young son Rahula in search of spiritual understanding. This event is often called the “Great Renunciation.” He traveled across northern India and studied with different teachers. For several years, he practiced extreme self-discipline and meditation, believing that severe hardship would lead to enlightenment. However, he eventually realized that neither luxury nor extreme suffering was the correct path. He called his new approach the “Middle Way.”

Siddhartha then sat beneath a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya and meditated deeply, determined not to rise until he found the truth. After many hours of meditation, he attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha, meaning “The Enlightened One.” He understood the causes of human suffering and how it could be overcome.

After his enlightenment, Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching others. His teachings were based on compassion, wisdom, mindfulness, and peaceful living. The central ideas of Buddhism are known as the Four Noble Truths, which explain that suffering exists, suffering is caused by desire and attachment, suffering can end, and there is a path that leads to the end of suffering. This path is called the Noble Eightfold Path and includes right speech, right action, right thought, and right meditation.

Buddha attracted many followers from all social classes, including kings, merchants, and ordinary people. He established a community of monks and nuns known as the Sangha. His teachings spread throughout India and later across Asia, influencing cultures in countries such as Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Thailand, and Tibet.

Buddha died around 483 BCE at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India. His passing is called “Parinirvana,” which represents the final release from the cycle of rebirth. Even after his death, his teachings continued to spread and inspire generations. Today, Buddhism remains one of the world’s major religions, and Buddha is remembered as a symbol of peace, wisdom, and compassion.

His Holiness the 3rd Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche (1932-2009) is the founder of Namdroling Monastery (popularly known as 'the Golden Temple'). His Holiness laid a foundation stone of the monastery in the year 1963 on 31 st of July. His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the monastery to consecrate it and bestowed the name Namdroling. Likewise His Holiness Chatrel Rinpoche named the monastery Thegchog, while Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche named it Shedrub and His Holiness himself added Dargyeling. Thus the complete name of monastery came to be known as Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling (Land of Increasing Practice and Teaching of the Utmost Yana that achieves spontaneous Liberation).

Since the founding of the monastery till 1979 His Holiness went through great hardships to finance the work; because during those days there were no organizations or private sponsors to offer support. Bearing all hardships and weariness, Rinpoche himself engaged in manual work with the ordinary monks even in the most searing sun, continuously day after day, with the skin of his hands cracked and bleeding. He did all menial and basic tasks, such as procuring milk, and went to perform pujas at any time in the villages without turning down the request of single person. The work he carried out simply cannot be imagined by ordinary beings. Tibetan people from the Fourth Camp also came to assist His Holiness in their own accord without being requested.

There were only about ten monks at the time that the monastery was established, but the numbers gradually grew year by year as followers from Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and other countries started to flood in. To date, more than 9000 monks and nuns are registered, out of which more than 3,500 monks and nuns are present and engaged in studies. Food, clothing, accommodations and teachings are provided free of cost.

The mission of His Holiness was to uphold and preserve the teachings of the Gautam Buddha as a whole and the Nyingma tradition in particular through study, practice and activity. People from different countries come here to study Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1993, at the request of all the members of Ngagyur Nyingma, His Holiness Dalia Lama enthroned His Holiness as the Third Supreme Head of the Ngagyur Nyingma Tradition in Dharamsala at Thekchen Choling Monastery. Through his selfless and extensive contribution the tradition was able to flourish in all corners of the world like the rays of sun. For ten years (1993- 2002), His Holiness had rendered service to the Nyingma Tradition to the best of his ability.

His Holiness was appointed as the president of the Ngagyur Nyingma Monlam Chenmo (the Great World Peace Prayer) in 1996. He worked tirelessly for 14 years (1996-2009) to develop the Monlam Society, until his attainment of Mahaparinivana. In order to spread the Buddha Dharma and to increase the welfare of all sentient beings, His Holiness attended the World Peace Ceremony at Bodh Gaya every year the time it was established, regardless of any personal difficulties or inconveniences. His Holiness had also sponsored the ceremony for three years. He was praised all over the world for his inestimable service rendered in maintaining and improving the World Peace Ceremony. In this way he made a great contribution to the peace and happiness throughout the world. Therefore, his kindness is immeasurable.

In brief, His Holiness had carried out great beneficial activities for the betterment of economics and educations. In recognition of this, the Defending Community of Humanity and Tradition of the Karnataka government, which includes 1,850 branches and 65,000 members, honoured His Holiness with its Fifth National Award. They presented this to His Holiness on 26 th of January 2005, at the age of 74, in Bangalore. On that occasion, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Dharamsingh, religious leaders of the Hindu tradition, senior officials, representatives from different monasteries and thousands of people gathered to pay their respects. The Defending Community stated that the core reason for granting His Holiness the National Award was their recognition of his honourable service to the state. His Holiness greeted the people with infinite kindness and expressed his deep gratitude for the support and friendship granted by India and its people to Tibetans for the previous 40 years.

His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche displayed the attainment of Mahaparinivana and dissolved his mind into the Sphere of Ultimate Reality on 28th of March in 2009 at the age of 77.

Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo (1040-1159), also called Rongzom Mahapandita, was a famous Tibetan Buddhist scholar, teacher, and translator from the 11th century. He is considered one of the greatest masters of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.