Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (/ˈjɒŋɡeɪ/; born 1975) is a Nepalese teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He has authored two best-selling books and oversees the Tergar Meditation Community, a global network of Buddhist meditation centers.

Mingyur Rinpoche was born in Nepal in 1975 the youngest of four brothers. His brothers are Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche and his nephews are Phakchok Rinpoche and the reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, known popularly as Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche. From the age of nine, his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, taught him meditation, passing on to him the most essential instructions of the Dzogchen and Mahamudra traditions.

At the age of eleven, Mingyur Rinpoche began studies at Sherab Ling Monastery in northern India, the seat of Tai Situ Rinpoche. Two years later, Mingyur Rinpoche began a traditional three-year retreat at Sherab Ling. At age twenty, Mingyur Rinpoche became the functioning abbot of Sherab Ling. At twenty-three, he received full monastic ordination. During this time, Mingyur Rinpoche received important Dzogchen transmissions from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

In 2007, Rinpoche completed the construction of Tergar Monastery in Bodhgaya, India, which will serve large numbers of people attending Buddhist events at this sacred pilgrimage site, serve as an annual site for month-long Karma Kagyu scholastic debates, and serve as an international study institute for the Sangha and laity. The institute will also have a medical clinic for local people.

Rinpoche has overseen the Kathmandu Tergar Osel Ling Monastery, founded by his father, since 2010. He also opened a shedra (monastic college) at the monastery.

In June 2011, Mingyur Rinpoche left his monastery in Bodhgaya to begin a period of extended retreat. Rinpoche left in the middle of the night, taking nothing with him, but leaving a farewell letter.

He spent four years as a wandering yogi.

• (with Eric Swanson) The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness ISBN 0-307-34625-0, Harmony Books
• (with Eric Swanson) Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom ISBN 978-0-307-40779-5, Harmony Books
• (with Torey Hayden and Charity Larrison) Ziji: The Puppy Who Learned to Meditate ISBN 978-0-95638580-2
• (with Helen Tworkov) Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism ISBN 978-1-61180-121-7, Shambhala Publications under its Snow Lion imprint.