Author: Gampopa
Alternate names: Sgam-po-pa; Gampopa Sonam Rinchen; Je Gampopa; Gampopa Seunam Rinchen
Born: 1079
Died: 1153
Bio: Gampopa (Tibetan: སྒམ་པོ་པ་བསོད་ནམས་རིན་ཆེན; Wylie: sgam po pa sod nams rin chen; "Sonam Rinchen from Gampo") established the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism today, as an institution.
He was a physician from Dagpo region in Southern Tibet and was the foremost student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Milarepa. Gampopa was renowned for the clarity of his perception and his knowledge of both Kadampa and, later, Mahamudra methods.