Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel

Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel in Lerab Ling, in May 2009

Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel has studied and practiced the Buddhadharma for 25 years under the guidance of her teacher and husband, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.

After meeting Rinpoche in Nepal, she became his first Western student. She has been intimately involved with Rinpoche’s work in bringing Buddhist wisdom to the West, in particular to the development of Mangala Shri Bhuti, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. Elizabeth has an academic backround in both Anthropology and Buddhist Studies, but her learning is also grounded in practice. After many years of solitary retreat, Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, Mangala Shri Bhuti’s retreat center in southern Colorado. She has edited Rinpoche’s two books, It’s Up to You and Light Comes Through and is presently working on a book of her own, tentatively titled, The Power of an Open Question and teaching the Buddhadharma in the United States and Europe.

Elizabeth delights in wrestling with difficult and juicy ‘koans’ that tend to plague modern day practitioners, while maintaining a deep respect for the tradition she comes from.