Bardor Tulku Rinpoche was born in 1950 in Kham, East Tibet. At a very early age, he was recognized as the third incarnation of the terton Terchen Barway Dorje by His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa.

As a small child, Rinpoche, his family, and his Dharma tutor maintained a nomadic life style. Rinpoche was six when he left East Tibet in the company of his grandparents on a journey that took him first to Lhasa, then Tsurphu, and then on to Drikung where Rinpoche was to remain for several years at the home of his grandparents. After Rinpoche’s grandparents passed away, his parents and siblings joined him in Drikung. When the political and social conditions in Tibet worsened as a result of the Chinese Communist occupation, Rinpoche and his family—then a party of thirteen—set out towards India along with many other Tibetans who were also fleeing the fighting. They traveled through Kong Po and crossed the Himalayan mountain range; braved 17,000 foot passes and descended into the hot jungles of Assam, India.

All of Rinpoche’s family members died during that time at the border of Tibet and India, unable to adjust to the tropical heat. When Rinpoche’s father—the last member of his family—died, Rinpoche left Assam with a twelve-year old friend and a group of other Tibetans who had also fled their homeland.

At the township known as Bomdila, where the borders of Tibet, Bhutan, and India meet, a bombing raid dispersed the group. Rinpoche and his young friend fled the attack and traveled westward, along the border of Bhutan and India, through Gohat and Siliguri to Darjeeling. When they arrived in Darjeeling, His Holiness the 16th Karmapa was notified that Rinpoche had safely made his way out of Tibet. Filled with joy at the good news, His Holiness arranged for Rinpoche to be brought to Sikkim, and for Rinpoche's friend to be taken care of. It was at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, under the tutelage of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, that Rinpoche's formal training as a tulku began.

After completing many years of study and practice, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche accompanied the 16th Karmapa on his world tours in 1974 and 1976. It was in 1977 that His Holiness asked Rinpoche to remain in Woodstock, New York, at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD). During his first two years at KTD, Rinpoche worked side-by-side with the staff to renovate and winterize the house and prepare for His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s last visit to the West. In 1980, during that last visit, His Holiness directed that his monastery and seat in North America be established at KTD, and performed the formal investiture. After the groundbreaking ceremony in May of 1982, Bardor Rinpoche directed the construction plans and activities, and labored each day to build the monastery. Later on, he assumed responsibilities as a teacher at KTD and its affiliates, Karma Thegsum Choling centers (KTCs).

In 2000, with permission from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa and His Eminence the 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche established Raktrul Foundation in order to help rebuild the Raktrul Monastery in Tibet and provide educational facilities for monks and the lay community. In 2003, Rinpoche established Kunzang Palchen Ling (KPL), a Tibetan Buddhist Center in Red Hook, New York. KPL is a religious organization that serves as a basis for bringing to the West and preserving the terma teachings of Terchen Barway Dorje.

Together with the Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, the abbot of KTD, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche tirelessly worked for thirty-one years to firmly establish KTD and its affiliates in the United States, along with a number of informal study groups.

In October 2008, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche resigned from his responsibilities of the treasurer, trustee, and teacher at KTD in order to focus his energy on the completion and development of Kunzang Palchen Ling. In August 2009, the KTD Board of Trustees issued an appreciation letter acknowledging Bardor Tulku Rinpoche's role in the establishment KTD and its affiliates in North America.

Bardor Tulku Rinpoche has been overseeing translation projects of terma texts of Terchen Barway Dorje. In addition to his activities at Kunzang Palchen Ling, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche serves as an advisor for Dharma TV, an online Buddhist television project.