Buddhist teacher Kunga Dawa, also known as Richard Arthure, died in Colorado on Monday at 78 years old. Dawa met the pioneering Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in England in 1966 and served as his private secretary for several years. In 1968, Dawa was with Trungpa Rinpoche when he composed the Sadhana of Mahamudra, an important contemporary Buddhist text. Dawa co-composed the text’s English language translation.
Dawa became the first westerner trained and authorized by Trungpa Rinpoche to teach meditation and Buddhism and was a co-founder of Karme Choling retreat center in Vermont.
A GoFundMe launched while Dawa was in hospice raised almost $3500 to pay for his funeral. A service is planned at the Boulder Shambhala Center.
