Chögyam Trungpa was formally the 11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, born in Kham, Tibet in 1939. He was recognized as a preeminent teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, holding lineages in both the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions. As the 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, he held the position of supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries. Trungpa was a major figure in the dissemination of Buddhism in the West during the latter half of the twentieth century. He founded Vajradhatu, an organization dedicated to spreading Buddhist teachings, and Naropa University, an educational institution rooted in Buddhist principles. He also established the Shambhala Training method, which presented Buddhist teachings in a form accessible to Western practitioners. Beyond his role as a spiritual teacher, Trungpa was a scholar, poet, and artist. He was also recognized as a tertön, a revealer of spiritual teachings in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1987.