Karl Brunnhölzl

Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, PhD, was originally trained as a physician. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, as well as the Nitartha Institute, founded by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Karl also studied Buddhism, Tibetology, and Sanskrit at Hamburg University, Germany. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. Karl is a senior teacher and translator in the Nalandabodhi community of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, as well as at Nitartha Institute. He is the author and translator of numerous texts, including The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition (2004), Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions (2007), Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature (2009), Gone Beyond: The Ornament of Clear Realization and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyü Tradition, 2 vols. (2010–11), When the Clouds Part (2014), A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart (2018), and Luminous Melodies: Essential Dohas of Indian Mahamudra (2019). He lives in Munich, Germany.

Karl has set some of the songs of realization in this and the other volumes to contemporary melodies; recordings can be accessed at https://mindwithoutme.com.