Chögyal Namkhai Norbu (1938-2018) has been one of the most important Dzogchen masters, an internationally renowned scholar and disseminator of the Tibetan Civilization. He was born in Derge, Eastern Tibet, in 1938. While still very young he studied in important Buddhist monasteries and colleges where he completed the rigorous traditional study program excelling in the five major sciences: the science of language and grammar, the science of logic, the science of medicine, the science of fine arts and crafts and the internal science of spirituality (which are illustrated in the MACO logo designed by Prof. Namkhai). 

 

His academic career began in the mid-1950s in his own country and continued in the West, at first at the ISMEO (Institute of the Middle and the Far East) in Rome, Italy, where he had been invited by Prof. Giuseppe Tucci. From 1962 to 1992 he taught Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at the University of Oriental Studies in Naples. 

 

In addition to his worldwide activities as a spiritual teacher, Namkhai Norbu has conducted extensive research on the ancient history of Tibet, on the life of Tibetan nomads, on the theory and practice of Tibetan astrology and medicine. His profound and innovative studies led to the publication of numerous seminal works, including: Journey into the Culture of Tibetan Nomads; EMAHO Narratives, Symbolic Languages and Bön in Ancient Tibet; The Necklace of Zi; Zhang Zhung: Images from a Lost Kingdom; The Light of Kailash (in 3 volumes); Yantra Yoga: the Yoga of the Tibetan Movement; Birth, Life and Death. Recently he conducted research on traditional and modern Tibetan dances, compiling a collection entitled Message from Tibet. He has been the promoter of several international conferences and seminars on Tibetan Language and Medicine.