The 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, he was a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of Shambhala Buddhist tradition.

Among Trungpa's contributions are the translation of numerous Tibetan Buddhist texts,[6] the introduction of the Vajrayana teachings to the West, and a presentation of Buddhism largely devoid of traditional trappings.

[7] Some of his own methods and actions, particularly his heavy drinking, sexual promiscuity, and his ordering of a physical assault on a student and his girlfriend, caused controversy during his lifetime and afterward.

He was deeply trained in the Kagyu tradition and received his khenpo degree at the same time as Thrangu Rinpoche; they continued to be very close in later years.

[11][12] Masked in his account in Born in Tibet to protect those left behind,[13] the first, preparatory stage of his escape had begun a year earlier, when he fled his home monastery after its occupation by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Trungpa, the monastics and about 70 refugees managed to cross the river under heavy gunfire,[16] then, eating their leather belts and bags to survive, they climbed 19,000 feet over the Himalayas before reaching the safety of Pema Ko.

Freda Bedi then initiated a project with[25] Trungpa and Akong Tulku called the Young Lamas Home School in Dalhousie, India.

[30] He made that decision principally to mitigate students' becoming distracted by exotic cultures and dress and to undercut their preconceptions of how a guru should behave.

During this period, he conducted 13 Vajradhatu Seminaries, three-month residential programs at which he presented a vast body of Buddhist teachings in an atmosphere of intensive meditation practice.

Trungpa had a number of notable students, among whom were Pema Chödrön, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Anne Waldman, Diane di Prima, Peter Lieberson, John Steinbeck IV, José Argüelles, David Nichtern, Ken Wilber, David Deida, Francisco Varela, and Joni Mitchell, who portrayed Trungpa in the song "Refuge of the Roads" on her 1976 album Hejira.

According to Trungpa, it was his intention to propagate the Kingdom of Shambala that provided the necessary inspiration to leave his homeland and make the arduous journey to India and the West.

In addition to making a variety of traditional contemplative practices available to the community, he incorporated his students' already existing interests (especially anything relating to Japanese culture), evolving specialized teachings on a meditative approach to these various disciplines.

By then he was in failing health due to paralysis from the 1969 auto accident, diabetes, high blood pressure, and years of heavy alcohol use.

"[47] One of Trungpa's nursing attendants reported that he suffered in his last months from classic symptoms of terminal alcoholism and cirrhosis,[48] yet continued drinking heavily.

[55] Upon Trungpa's death, the leadership of Vajradhatu was first carried on by his American disciple, appointed Vajra Regent, and Dharma heir Ösel Tendzin (Thomas Rich).

Among Tendzin's controversial actions was his rejection of the recommendation of senior Kagyu lineage holder the Tai Situpa to take over leadership of Vajradhatu in conjunction with Trungpa's half-brother, Damchu Tenphel, who resided in Tibet.

[56] Also controversial was that Tendzin "took further action to buttress his centrality by denying students permission to seek teachings from other Kagyu Tibetan teachers, claiming that only he possessed the special transmission, materials and knowledge unique to the Trungpa lineage.

I was even more distressed over the stories of how the Regent used his position as a dharma teacher to induce "straight" students to have unprotected sex with him, while he claimed he had been tested for AIDS but the result was negative.

[66][67][68] In response, and to allow time for the community to investigate these accusations, Sakyong Mipham temporarily stepped aside as leader, and the Shambhala governing council resigned and appointed an interim Board of Directors and a Process Team.

In addition, I would like you to know that over the years, I have apologized personally to people who have expressed feeling harmed by my conduct, including some of those who have recently shared their stories.

[83] Gehlek Rinpoche, who lived with Trungpa when they were young monks in India and later visited and taught with him in the U.S., remarked: He was a great Tibetan yogi, a friend, and a master.

[111] An incident that became a cause célèbre among some poets and artists was the Halloween party at Snowmass Colorado Seminary in 1975, held during a 3-month period of intensive meditation and study of the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism.

Although he had not gone through the several years' worth of study and preparatory mind training required, Merwin asked if he and Hawaiian poet Dana Naone, his girlfriend, could attend and Trungpa granted his request.

[121] Author Jeffery Paine commented on this incident that "[s]eeing Merwin out of step with the rest, Trungpa could have asked him to leave, but decided it was kinder to shock him out of his aloofness.

"[122] Paine also noted the outrage felt in particular by poets such as Robert Bly and Kenneth Rexroth, who began calling Trungpa a fascist.

[1][127] Receives terma text[129] while on retreat in the sacred cliffside monastery in Bhutan,[130] where Guru Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal also practiced.

1980–1983: Presents a series of environmental installations and flower arranging exhibitions at art galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Boulder.

Forms Ryuko Kyūdōjō to promote the practice of Kyūdō under the direction of Shibata Kanjuro Sensei, bow maker to the Emperor of Japan.

1983: Establishes Gampo Abbey, a Karma Kagyü monastery in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for Western students wishing to enter into traditional monastic discipline.

The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center, near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, houses his kudung, or his bodily remains.