Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche was born in 1961 in India to a family of Tibetan refugees. From the age of eleven he began monastic training at Menri Monastery, where he was recognized as the reincarnation of the celebrated master Kyungtrul Rinpoche. His education was guided by the outstanding teacher Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, who became like a second father to him. In 1986, Rinpoche completed an 11-year course of study and received the degree of geshe (Doctor of Philosophy), after which he worked in Dharamsala and represented the Bön tradition in the Tibetan government in exile by appointment of the 14th Dalai Lama.

In the late 1980s, Rinpoche's international activity began: at the invitation of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu he first visited Europe to give teachings, and in 1991, supported by a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship, he moved to the United States for research work. In 1992 he founded the Ligmincha Institute (now Ligmincha International), which has grown into a global network of retreat centers and practitioner groups around the world. Rinpoche became one of the first teachers to successfully adapt the profound wisdom of Bön for a Western audience, making it accessible and comprehensible to the modern person.

Today Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is recognized as a leader in the use of modern technology for Dharma transmission: since 2009 he has been conducting large-scale online broadcasts and courses available in 18 languages. In addition to Ligmincha Institute, he founded the secular organization Three Gates for deep self-inquiry and Lishu Institute in India for the academic study of the tradition. Combining the experience of monastic education with the life of a householder, Rinpoche teaches in a warm, living style, helping students integrate spiritual practice into everyday life.