Latri Khenpo Geshe Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche is the Abbot and lineage holder of the La Tri Monastery in Kham/Dege, Eastern Tibet. His father was a lama of the Te-Wa monastery in Tibet and the third reincarnation of Tsultrim Phuntsok, a great Bon practitioner of Eastern Tibet. Early in his life, Rinpoche lived in Dorbatan, Nepal where he received his first instruction from his father and from Tsultrim Nyima Rinpoche, the Abbot and founder of Dorbatan Monastery.

Latri Nyima Dakpa entered Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India, the seat of Bon religion and education. There he was taught by His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizen receiving empowerment, transmissions and teaching instruction. He studied as well with Lopon Yongzin Tenzin Namdak, who held the position of chief teacher of all Bon education. In 1978 he joined the first graduating class of the Menri Bon Dialectic School in Dolanji where he completed his studies and received his Geshe degree in 1987.

Geshe Dakpa is the founder and Director of the Bön Children’s Home in Dolanji, where he is in charge of providing for the physical and educational needs of Bon orphan children. He is the founder of the Yeru Bon Center in Los Angeles; the Shen Ten Ling Bon Centre in Vienna; the Shen Chen Ling in Minsk (Belarus); and the Bon Shen Ling in Moscow, and travels regularly to these centers to give teachings. His organization Aid to Bon Children raises funds to assist with the needs of the Bon Children’s Home. Geshe Dakpa is tireless in his compassion for others, his care for the needs both of Bon orphan children and of Western lay spiritual seekers, and his devotion to spreading the teachings of Bon for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Latri Geshe Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche, in Opening the Door to Bon, has written a guide to Western students of Bon to prepare them to receive the Bon teachings. Grounded in an educational tradition that spans thousands of years, this book provides practical and explicit instructions for the student. The book covers both the outer and inner fundamental practices of Bon. Topics include the attitude the student should have, how to cultivate that attitude, virtuous acts to strive for, and non-virtuous acts to avoid. Latri Geshe Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche then teaches the Ngon Dro, or Nine Preliminary Practices, that a student should undertake in order to begin Bon practice and apply it to daily life. Writing in clear, simple language, Geshe Dakpa brings to this task not only his formidable knowledge of Bon, and his compassionate desire to share Bön teachings with others, but also his unique experience of having taught Ngong Dro and other Bon teachings to American and European students since 1989.