His Eminence Garchen Rimpoche, was born in Nangchen Kham, east of Tibet, in 1936. He is one of the most famous masters of the Drikung Kagyu lineage. Recognized as the reincarnation of Siddha Gar Chodingpa, one of the main disciples of Kyobpa Yigten Sumgön, founder of that lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. In ancient India, he is said to have incarnated as the Mahasiddha Aryadeva, the disciple born of the lotus of the great Nagarjuna. In the seventh century, he was known as Lonpo Gar, the minister of the great King of Dharma, Songsten Gampo. Garchen Rinpoche was recognized and enthroned in eastern Tibet by the previous Drikung Kyabgon Zhiwe Lodro. At the age of seven, he was taken to the Lho Miyal monastery, which he administered from the age of eleven. He studied and practiced under the direction of Siddha Chime Dorje, receiving vast and profound instructions on the preliminary practices (ngöndro), the practice of the five folds of Mahamudra and the six yogas of Naropa. At age 22, after two years of retreat, he was imprisoned for 20 years as a result of the Chinese invasion of his country. In the labor camp he met his root teacher, the lama nyigma, Khenpo Munsel, and practiced in secret, enduring all difficulties, until he achieved high levels of realization. Since his release in 1979, he has dedicated himself to recovering his lineage, restoring teachings, rebuilding monasteries and building schools in eastern Tibet. Currently, Garchen Rinpoche travels all over the world spreading the teachings of the Dharma. He is the Spiritual Director of the Garchen Buddhist Institute in Chino Valley, Arizona; Garchen Institute in Munich. He has founded centers in a large part of Europe and South America, such as Poland, Austria, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, Spain and Chile, among other countries