Namkhai Yeshi is the spiritual guide of the international Dzogchen Community and the holder of the transmission and lineage of his father and teacher, the Dzogchen master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu (1938–2018), who first brought the Dzogchen teachings to the West, opened numerous centers around the world, and founded Tsegyalgar in Conway, Massachusetts, in 1982, the first North American seat of the Dzogchen Community. Born in Italy in 1970, Namkhai Yeshi received both a Christian and a Buddhist education and studied filmmaking, philosophy, and computer science. His professional background is in information technology, where he worked for mid-sized companies and held positions of increasing responsibility.
As a child, he was recognized by His Holiness Sakya Trizin as the reincarnation of his maternal uncle, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Wangchuk (1909–1960), and was given the name Jamyang Chökyi Nyima. In 2007, he traveled to Tibet and visited his monastery.
At his father's request, Namkhai Yeshi has long been devoted to the future of the Dzogchen Community, bringing modernity and technology to bear on its natural evolution. He divides his time among family, professional, and institutional commitments.
His teaching carries a distinctly contemporary spirit. Alongside traditional instruction, he transmits the teachings through artistic work, awakening practitioners from within rather than changing them from the outside. Trained in electronic music at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, he composes electroacoustic sound to make ancient knowledge and meditative experience more accessible. Among these soundscape works is ATIMONLAM (outer, inner, secret), a guided meditation for discovering one's real nature, which can be experienced at Tsegyalgar.
Over the past several years, Namkhai Yeshi has given numerous Dzogchen teachings, both onsite and online. For news and upcoming teachings you can visit his page in the community's journal, The Mirror.