Anyen Rinpoche was born in Amdo, Tibet. His lineage can be traced back directly to the renowned Dzogchen master Patrul Rinpoche, author of Words of My Perfect Teacher. Anyen Rinpoche's training included more than fourteen years of intensive study combined with solitary retreat before he obtained the degree of khenpo (master teacher) and became the head scholar of his monastic university in Kham, Tibet. Rinpoche is known for his profound understanding of the scriptures as well as his easy-to-understand interpretation of them. He has taught extensively in Tibet and China and now mentors students throughout Southeast Asia, Japan and North America.

Tulku Thondup Rinpoche was born in Golok, Eastern Tibet, and recognized as a reincarnate lama at age five. He left Tibet as a political refugee in 1958 and taught at Lucknow University and Visva Bharati University in India before coming to the United States as a visiting scholar at Harvard University in 1980. Since then, he has lived and worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts, engaged in translation and writing projects on Tibetan Buddhism, focused particularly on the teachings of the Nyingma school. He is the author of numerous books on history, literature, mind, and meditation.