Thinley Norbu Rinpoche  
​ཕྲིན་ལས་ནོར་བུ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།

Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931-2011) was a preeminent teacher in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Lhasa, Tibet, he was the eldest son of H.H. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche II Jigdral Yeshe Dorje and Sangyum Kusho Tseten Yudron. Thinley Norbu Rinpoche was considered an incarnation of Tulku Drimed Oser, one of Dudjom Lingpa's seven sons, and also an emanation of Longchen Rabjam, the great 14th-century Nyingma scholar. Rinpoche attended the esteemed Mindrolling Monastery in Tibet for nine years, and studied under many of the greatest teachers of his era, including his father Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche II, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, Dodrupchen Rinpoche, and Chatral Rinpoche. He was highly revered for possessing extraordinary wisdom qualities, and for being an accomplished Buddhist scholar, while living a quiet and simple life and continuously imparting precious teachings with an emphasis on view and meditation. With matchless skill, depth, and brilliance, Rinpoche generously and compassionately taught in both the West and the East, following Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche’s instructions. In the 1990s, he established Kunzang Gatshal, Always Noble Joyful Park, in upstate New York, which became his primary residence and the focal point of his Dharma activities. Rinpoche also authored many influential books in both Tibetan and English, leaving an extraordinary legacy of writings. His notable works include "Magic Dance," "White Sail," and his magnum opus "A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar."​

Thinley Norbu Rinpoche entered parinirvana on the 2nd day of the 11th Tibetan Lunar month (December 26, 2011), and his anniversary is commemorated annually according to the Tibetan lunar calendar.