Tenzin Kunzang Jigme Rinpoche, the seventh Taklung Ma Rinpoche, was born in 1977 to Ngawang Tendar and Deden Zangmo. In 1987, the 14th Dalai Lama formally recognized him as the reincarnation of the sixth Taklung Matul Thupten Jigme Choechog Rinpoche. He spent a few years in Namgyal Monastery studying Buddhist philosophy and practice. In 1991 he entered the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala to learn both the Sutra and Tantra teachings of the Buddha and completed his studies in 2003.