Renowned photographer Don Farber, one of the most important chroniclers of Buddhism today, brings the face and the spirit of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism alive with this remarkable book. Portraits of Tibetan Buddhist Masters—a collection of superb color photographs presented with brief biographies and teachings from each master—is a vibrant work, a testament to the compassion and wisdom that lies at the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Farber felt compelled to record the last of the living Buddhist masters who received their training in Tibet and then fled the country following the invasion by China, as well as other masters who survived many years of imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution. He has worked with a sense of urgency to photograph and interview these extraordinary beings who have been the custodians of this endangered Buddhist tradition. His collection of portraits also includes some of the bright lights of Tibetan Buddhism, the younger masters who will carry the tradition into the future. As a photographic archive of Tibetan Buddhist masters, this book plays an important role in preserving Tibetan culture, in all its richness and complexity, through the words and faces of its esteemed masters.

Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche
Acknowledgments
Introduction

PORTAITS OF THE MASTERS

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The Spiritual Leader of Tibetan Buddhism

MASTERS OF THE NYINGMA SCHOOL
His Holiness Mindrolling Trichen Rinpoche
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche
Trulshik Rinpoche
Rabjam Rinpoche
Dzogchen Rinpoche
Minling Khenchen Rinpoche
Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
Sogyal Rinpoche
Khandro Tsering Paldron Rinpoche
Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Dzatrul Rinpoche
Gyatrul Rinpoche
Khamtrul Rinpoche
Anzin Rinpoche
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche
Khenpo Thupten Mewa Rinpoche
Sakyong Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche
Adzom Paylo Rinpoche
Kunsang Dechen Lingpa Rinpoche
Lama Tharchin Rinpoche
Tulku Thubten Rinpoche
Khempo Yurmed Tinly Rinpoche

MASTERS OF THE KAGYU SCHOOL
Karma Kagyu

His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoche
Tai Situ Rinpoche
Gyaltsab Rinpoche
Kalu Rinpoche
Bokar Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche
Tenga Rinpoche
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche

Drukpa Kagyu

Choegon Rinpoche
Khamtrul Rinpoche
Adeu Rinpoche
Togden Atrin
Togden Acho

Drikung Kagyu

The Drikung Kyabgon, His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche
Garchen Rinpoche
Drikung Ontul Rinpoche
Ayang Rinpoche
Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche

MASTERS OF THE SAKYA SCHOOL
His Holiness Sakya Trizin
His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya Rinpoche
Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
Luding Khenchen Rinpoche
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk Rinpoche
Dagmo Jamyang Sakya
Khandro Tsering Chödrön
Jetsun Chimey Luding
Gona Tulku Rinpoche

MASTERS OF THE GELUG SCHOOL
The One Hundredth Gaden Tri Rinpoche
Ling Rinpoche
Lati Rinpoche
His Holiness the Ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dampa
Khyongla Rato Rinpoche
Arjia Rinpoche
Tara Tulku Rinpoche
Ribur Rinpoche
Kangyur Khensur Rinpoche
Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche
Samdhong Rinpoche
Gehlek Rinpoche
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Geshe Lhundub Sopa
Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen

Credits

Inspired by Buddhism early in his career as a professional freelance photographer, Don Farber became a disciple of the late Vietnamese Zen master and scholar Thich Thien-An and in 1977 embarked on a ten-year photographic study of life in a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. Following the publication of Taking Refuge in L.A. (1987, with text by Rick Fields and an introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh), Farber set out to photograph Buddhist life internationally and, to date, has carried out this work in eight Asian countries and the United States. His travels resulted in his critically acclaimed book Visions of Buddhist Life (California, 2002; foreword by Huston Smith) and Tibetan Buddhist Life (2003). This Fulbright scholar's photographs have been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Asia Society in New York, have appeared in magazines such as Life and Time, and are often published in the Buddhist magazines Tricycle and Shambhala Sun. His photographs have been featured on the covers of many books, including the international best-seller The Art of Happiness (1998) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler. Sogyal Rinpoche is a world-renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and the author of the best-selling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (1992). Rebecca McClen Novick is the author of Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism, cowriter of Tibetan Buddhist Life, and the editor of a number of books on Tibetan Buddhism.

"Don Farber's book of photographs is a beautiful work of exquisite art and profound discovery. His artistry, skill, and approach to these wonderful subjects bring us to a place whereby lama, photographer, and reader merge into one contemplative, heart opening experience. These teachers are remarkable."—Robert Thurman, author of Essential Tibetan Buddhism

“An exquisite collection of photographs of some of the most influential contemporary masters of the Tibetan tradition.”—José Ignacio Cabezón, University of California, Santa Barbara

“An inspiring book of heart-warming photographs of leading Tibetan lamas with pithy, provocative teachings from each, at once thought provoking and deeply moving.”—Jeffrey Hopkins, author of Cultivating Compassion: A Buddhist Perspective