He has been practicing and studying Buddhism since 1996, and became a student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 1998. An oral interpreter and literary translator of Tibetan, he was appointed by Ponlop Rinpoche as a Nalandabodhi teacher in 2005. As part of this appointment, he received the title Mitra, or “spiritual friend.” He has written for Buddhadharma, Bodhi, and the Shambhala Sun and published two volumes of translation, Trainings in Compassion (2004) and The Karmapa’sMiddle Way (2008), with Snow Lion Publications (now a division of Shambhala Publications). A faculty member and translator at Nitartha Institute, he is currently working on several translation projects and teaches regularly throughout North America and the world. Mitra Tyler is currently serving as Dean of the Nalandabodhi Mitra Council, which oversees the Three Paths of study, meditation, and mindful activity.