Mitra Tyler was born and grew up in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. He met Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 1997, just one year after beginning his journey of practicing the dharma. Through an auspicious coincidence, he learned the Tibetan alphabet that summer and soon after formed the conviction to serve the dharma through translating Tibetan into English. He became a formal student of Rinpoche's in 1998 and began translating for Rinpoche's organizations, Nalandabodhi and Nitartha Institute, in 2000.
In 2001 he became the regular translator for Acharya Sherab Gyaltsen Negi at Nalandabodhi Seattle. From that point onward, Tyler has traveled extensively with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche on Rinpoche's teaching tours, translating for the Tibetan segments of Rinpoche's teachings and occasionally presenting aspects of Rinpoche's teachings himself.
In 2003 Nalandabodhi welcomed Acharya Tashi Wangchuk as a
resident teacher; Tyler served as Acharya's oral interpreter and
also worked closely with Acharya on the translation of several
texts from the philosophical and intuitive traditions of Indian and
Tibetan Buddhadharma. Tyler has served as a secretary in the Office
of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche since 2002, and has felt enriched by
the opportunity to support Rinpoche's teaching activity from many
perspectives.
In terms of his formative dharma training, Tyler completed two
dathuns (month-long intensive meditation retreats) in the late 90s
and resided for one year, 1997-1998, at Gampo Abbey Monastery in
Nova Scotia, Canada, practicing intensively, participating in
several study curricula, and attending in-depth seminars by Ani
Pema Chödrön on Mind Training. He has attended Nitartha Institute's
summer program since 1999 and has been a faculty member since 2000,
translating for such courses as Collected Topics, Abhidharma, Mind
Only, and Madhyamaka. He has attended every annual Nalandabodhi
Sangha Retreat since 2001.
Mitra Tyler currently serves as a literary translator and oral
interpreter, and as Calendar Secretary in the Office of Dzogchen
Ponlop Rinpoche.
Two books of Tyler's translations have been published by Snow Lion
Publications: Trainings
in Compassion: Manuals on the Meditation of
Avalokiteshvara (2004) and The
Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate (2008), a
translation of a major philosophical work by the Ninth Karmapa,
Wangchuk Dorje.
The "Mitra" title: In 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche appointed a group of his long-time students to be senior Western teachers of Nalandabodhi. He gave each of them the title Mitra, or 'spiritual friend.' The Mitras teach in Nalandabodhi centers throughout North American mainly, and provide continual guidance and leadership for the practice and study paths of Nalandabodhi.