Khenpo Sodargye (Tibetan：མཁན་པོ བསོད་དར་རྒྱས；Chinese:索达吉堪布) is one of the most eminent contemporary Buddhist masters, and was born in the eastern region of Tibet known as Kham in 1962. Khenpo is a Tibetan lama, a Buddhist scholar and teacher, a prolific translator into Chinese, and a modern Buddhist thinker renowned across Asia and the west for his interest in the integration of traditional Buddhist teachings with worldwide issues and modern life.
Career
In 1985 Khenpo was ordained at Larung Buddhist Institute, the largest Buddhist academy of its kind in the world, which is in present-day Sichuan province of the PRC. He trained closely with Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, one of the great luminaries of his generation.
Khenpo Sodargye studied the traditional course of philosophical treatises and also received the entire corpus of Tibetan Buddhist transmissions.(These teachings include the five principle treatises on Madhyamaka, Prajnaparamita, Abhidharma, Vinaya, and Buddhist Logic, as well as the Great Perfection, Kalachakra, and Mipham Rinpoche's Guhyagarbha Tantra and Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries and Trilogy of Finding Comfort and Ease.) He was eventually placed in charge of the Institute where he became one of the principal teachers. He also served as Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche’s main translator for Chinese disciples and was assigned by Rinpoche to teach them.
He has lectured extensively across China and other parts of Asia, Oceania, Europe as well as Africa and North America. He has recently given lectures at a number of Universities including Peking University, Tsinghua, Harvard, Columbia, Yale , Princeton, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Auckland, Melbourne University, University of Tokyo, Waseda University, National University of Singapore, National Taiwan University, University of Hong Kong and University of Göttingen.
Khenpo often says, “I don’t know how long I can live, but even if there were only one listener, I would exert myself to benefit him with Dharma till my last breath.”
Dharma propagation
In 1987, Khenpo accompanied Kyabje Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche to make a pilgrimage to the holy Wutai Mountain and began to receive Chinese disciples of the four types (monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners).
From 1990 to 1999, Khenpo accompanied Kyabje Rinpoche to give Dharma teachings in many countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.
In 2006, Khenpo began to use modern media, such as Internet and DVD, to spread his teachings; allowing more followers to receive systematic Dharma training and benefiting a wider base of fortunate beings.
In April 2013, Khenpo was invited to give lectures in prestigious universities in the United States and Europe.
In November 2013, Khenpo was invited to give lectures in prestigious universities in southeast Asia.
In November 2014, Khenpo was invited to give lectures in Dharma centers and prestigious universities in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Starting from late 2015, he has instructed his students to offer open online courses on Buddhism in English.
Charitable activities
In 2007, Khenpo inaugurated his charitable project-Initiation of Loving Heart and encouraged Buddhist practitioners to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion in daily life and stop ignoring the needy. As an example, he started Wisdom and Compassion Elementary Schools, the Novice Monk Schools, nursing homes and accommodation to support the practice of the senior lay practitioners. From Feb 2011, Khenpo has served as the Honorary Chairman of Shanghai Kindness & Wisdom Public Foundation.
Publication introduction
Khenpo tirelessly teaches and translates the Dharma day and night. Presently, more than 100 Dharma books have been published through Khenpo's unfaltering efforts. All his translations (from Tibetan to Chinese) are collected in the “Treasure of Sutra and Tantra”, his compositions are collected in the “Treasure of Supreme Dharma”, and his oral teachings in the “Treasure of Wisdom and Compassion.”
Academic activities
Due to his productive works, Khenpo has become acknowledged in the academic field and has been invited to give talks in over 100 universities around the world since 2010. Both faculty and students found great benefit from Khenpo's visits.
World University Lecture Tours from 2010 to present: