Everything is Light

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Radical Dzogchen

Keith Dowman, born in 1945, is a distinguished English Dzogchen teacher and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. His journey began in 1966 when he traveled to India and Nepal, where he practiced Kriya Yoga and vipassanā meditation. Deeply immersed in Tibetan Buddhism, he trained under masters, including Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje and Kangyur Rinpoche, while living in Darjeeling for many years. Dowman's contributions to Tibetan culture and Buddhism include numerous books and translations with his work first published in 1973 at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, California. 

He lived near these masters in Darjeeling, West Bengal, for many years. He studied Classical Tibetan at Queens College, Sanskrit University, in Varanasi, India, under Lama Jamspal. In 1973, at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, California, his translations were first published under the auspices of Tarthang Tulku, while he taught on Tibetan language at Sonoma State University.

Dowman has written books and translations focusing on various aspects of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture including travel literature in particular on Vajrayana and Dzogchen. In his later writings, he has focused increasingly on Dzogchen and in particular on the works of the 14th Century Nyingma master scholar Longchenpa.

Since 1993 he has been teaching and leading retreats on Vajrayana and Dzogchen throughout the world.