Photos: Chögyam Trungpa © Michael Scott;   Dilgo Khyentse © Matthieu Ricard;   Reginald A. Ray © David Raccuglia

 Lineage

Trungpa Rinpoche

Dharma Ocean is the translation of Chögyam Trungpa's Tibetan teaching name, Chökyi Gyatso. This translates into Dharmasagara in Sanskrit.  Dharmasagara is the name given to Trungpa Rinpoche's lineage as transmitted by Dr. Reginald A. Ray and senior Dharma Ocean teachers. 

 

A person of incomparable energy, vision, and creativity, Chögyam Trungpa (1939-1987) is considered by many to be the single most influential force in bringing the Tibetan tradition West during the 20th century. Born in East Tibet, he trained with three primary teachers — Jamgön Kongtrül of Sechen, Khenpo Gangshar, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche — and came to hold the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, in which meditation was the centerpiece. Through a series of revelations, Trungpa later became a holder of the Shambhala lineage as well, a tradition that teaches the sacredness of all experience and a fearless embrace of life.

 

In North America from 1970 until his death in 1987, Trungpa Rinpoche established meditation and retreat centers, founded a Buddhist-inspired university, and brought his teachings into many areas of modern life, such as the arts, the healing professions, and business. At the core of these many activities lay an abiding confidence that modern people could realize the fullness of their human existence. Such confidence was perhaps most brilliantly revealed in Rinpoche's willingness to train his students to become teachers in their own right.

 

One such student is Reggie Ray. The guiding teacher of Dharma Ocean, Dr. Ray has practiced and studied in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa for four decades. During this time, he has served on the faculty of Naropa University, was appointed the first teacher-in-residence at Shambhala Mountain Center, designed the transformative Meditating with the Body® curriculum, and published six books — all while spending years in solitary and group retreat. A mentor to hundreds of students all over the globe, Dr. Ray passes on the "moving and remarkable trust" he received from his teacher. Under this guidance, many of Dharma Ocean's senior students are beginning to instruct others along the Dharmasagara path.