How to Practise Dzogchen in Daily Life

Drubdra Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin was born in Yetha, Hor, East Tibet, in 1968 to a Bönpo family of nomadic cattle herders. He entered Lungkar Monastery at the age of nineteen, then Menri Monastery in Central Tibet. In 1993 he joined Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he studied Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen with his root master Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. In 2001 he obtained his Geshe degree (PhD) there. 

In 2002, Yongdzin Rinpoche appointed Tsultrim Tenzin as Abbot of the Meditation School in Triten Norbutse, where he teaches Dzogchen and other subjects.

Alongside teaching, Khenpo Rinpoche practices Dzogchen meditation and Magyu tsalung, thrulkhor and tummo for two hours every morning. He also travels widely to teach Bönpo Dzogchen, Tantra and tsalung.

A qualified translator with over 20 years' experience, Carol Ermakova works from Russian, German, Italian and French into her mother tongue, English. After graduating in Russian and German with First Class Honours from St. Andrews University, Scotland, Carol moved to Russia where she worked as a teacher, IELTS examiner and free-lance translator. In 2007, she gained an MA in Translation and Interpreting from Bath University, later acting as an external examiner there for two years. Ms. Ermakova has worked on the European Union's Tacis projects as well as for various international bodies, including the United Nations. Carol has completed internships with UN (Vienna), WMO (Geneva) and Intertext (Dresden).

With a recent focus on contemporary Russian literature, Carol has worked with acclaimed authors such as Booker Prize Winner Elena Chizhova, EBDR Prize Winner Hamid Ismailov and PEN Award Winner Anatoly Kudryavitsky. Her shorter translations have been published in journals such as The London Magazine, Litro, Cardinal Points and Asymptote. 

Ermakova has been practising Yungdrung Bon since meeting Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche in 1995, and has co-edited over 100 transcripts of his teachings. In 2012, with his blessing, Ermakova and her husband, Dmitry Ermakov, founded Foundation for the Preservation of Yungdrung Bön (Registered Charity no. 1173639).

Dmitry Ermakov, b. 1967, Leningrad, USSR, began studying music at the age of six. Two years later he enrolled for art and archaeology classes with B. Piotrovsky (Director, Hermitage Museum) and G. Mezentzeva (Prof. Archaeology, Kiev University), going on to participate in archaeological digs in Ukraine and Khakassia. He has studied Tibetan Buddhism since 1989, Bon since 1995, and began fieldwork on Bѳ Murgel religion in Buryatia, 1990. Author of a monograph Bѳ and Bön: Ancient Shamanic Traditions of Siberia and Tibet in their Relation to the Teachings of a Central Asian Buddha, (Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2008), he has worked on and published over 100 edited transcripts of teachings by Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak, as well as Masters of the Zhang Zhung Nyengyud, The Heart Essence of the Khandro and several other public books. Research Assistant to Charles Ramble, Oxford University (2009-10). With the blessing of Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak he and his wife, Carol Ermakova, established Foundation for the Preservation of the Yungdrung Bön (Registered Charity no. 1173639) in 2012, of which Dmitry is the Chairman.