Rigdzin Sangye Dorje
Sangye Dorje was born in France in 1978, and has been living in Switzerland since 1995. In 1999, Sangye decided to take a break from his psychology studies, and travelled to India to go and meet Rigdzin Namkha Gyatso Rinpoche, who would become his root lama and inspire his whole life’s spiritual path. Along with a very small group of seven other students, Sangye Dorje spent the following six months in India and Nepal, receiving many teachings from Namkha Rinpoche and visiting sacred places of pilgrimage.
In 2001, after resuming his psychology degree in, Sangye and another Dharma brother invited Namkha Rinpoche to Switzerland for the first time. A year later, they helped him move there and establish Rigdzin Thegchok Ling, the main centre of the International Nyingmapa Rigdzin Community. The association now comprises nine European centres in Lithuania, Switzerland, Spain, France, Sweden, Italy, Holland and England. Since then, Sangye Dorje has been working as Namkha Rinpoche’s close personal attendant, spending countless hours by his side and receiving his precious heart advice.
In 2004, Sangye Dorje went back to Nepal to learn Tibetan. He quickly became Namkha Rinpoche’s main translator, following him on his travels and receiving the vast majority of his teachings and empowerments. Throughout the years, Sangye has received the crucial points of the Vajrayana path according to the Dudjom Tersar and Longchen Nyingthik tradition, including the highest Dzogchen teachings. He has also learnt to prepare, chant, and perform the Dudjom Tersar rituals.
In 2014, Sangye became president of the Swiss Rigdzin Association. Working with the association’s committee, he has helped organise the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the University of Lausanne and the teachings of His Holiness Karmapa Thinley Dorje and Khenpo Sodargye, the head of Serta Larung Gar, the largest monastery in Tibet. Sangye Dorje translated for these great lamas, as well as for Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, or Patrul Rinpoche.
Sangye Dorje started teaching the Dharma in 2006, and has been doing so increasingly frequently ever since. He has been teaching within the Rigdzin community, as well as publicly in various countries. Teaching in a clear, warm and open way, Sangye really maintains the authenticity of the traditional Dharma he has received. By speaking from his own experience as a Western disciple with two decades of experience and practice, he knows how to skilfully transmit the Dharma in a way that is both accessible and relevant to our modern lives.
Meeting such a great master as Namkha Rinpoche has been the greatest fortune and inspiration in Sangye Dorje's life, and the root of the spiritual transformation that lies at the very heart of his path. Namkha Rinpoche has considered him among his dearest disciples for years, and recently officialised this by naming him his representative, with the blessings of Katok Getse Rinpoche, the late Head of the Nyingma school. In his lay life, Sangye Dorje also has a family and works as a social worker. Every year, Sangye Dorje spends over six months travelling with Namkha Rinpoche in the different centres in Europe, as well as in India and Bhutan.