Buddha; Tara Abbey, which offers a full dharma education for Tibetan nuns leading to a khenpo degree; a school in Boudhanath for the general education of Tibetan children and young monks in Western subjects and Buddhist studies; and a free medical clinic in an impoverished area of Nepal. Thrangu Rinpoche recently completed a large monastery in Sarnath, India, overlooking the deer park where the Buddha gave his first teaching on the Four Noble Truths. The monastery is named Vajra Vidya in honor of the Sixteenth Karmapa. It is now the seat of the major annual Kagyu conference. Worldwide activities In 1976, Thrangu Rinpoche began teaching Buddhism throughout Asia and in the West. He founded Thrangu House in Oxford, England, in 1981, then in the United States and Canada, he established centres in Crestone, Colorado, Maine, California, Vancouver and Edmonton. He has another fourteen centres in nine other countries. He is the Abbot of Gampo Abbey, a Karma Kagyu monastery in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, founded by his dharma brother Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, reflective of his close ties the Shambhala Buddhist community. Rinpoche currently resides in Nepal where he serves as senior tutor to Urgyen Trinley Dorje. On 25 July 2010, Thrangu Monastery was opened by Thrangu Rinpoche in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is the first traditional Buddhist monastery in Canada. It contains a gold-plated statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, and the shrine hall can seat 500 people Bibliography Aspirational Prayer for Mahamudra of Rangjung Dorje (1999), Namo Buddha Publications. Buddha Nature (1988, 1993), Rangjung Yeshe Publications. Buddhist Conduct: The Ten Virtuous Actions (2001), Namo Buddha Publications. Creation and Completion (1996, 2002), Wisdom Publications. Crystal Clear: Practical Advice for Mahamudra Meditators (2003), Rangjung Yeshe Publications. Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata: A Commentary on the Treatise of Maitreya (2004), Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsal Publications. Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashila's Stages of Meditation (2002), Snow Lion. Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind (2004), Wisdom Publications. Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness (2002), Snow Lion. The Five Buddha Families and the Eight Consciousnesses (2013), Namo Buddha Publications. The Four Dharmas of Gampopa (2013), Namo Buddha Publications. Four Foundations of Buddhist Practice (2010), Namo Buddha Publications. A Guide to the Bardo (2004), Namo Buddha Publications. A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life of Shantideva (2002). A Guide to Mahamudra Meditation (2008), Namo Buddha Publications. A Guide to Shamatha Meditation (2001), Namo Buddha Publications. The Heart