Ngawang Wangyal

Geshe Wangyal Ngawang Wangyal or (Tib. dbang rgyal dbang ngag; * 1901, † 1983), a Kalmyk Mongol, was a high Gelugpa monk and is considered America's first teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Agvan Dorjiev (1854-1938), the diplomatic representative of the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1958, he received the 14th Dalai Lama, the special permit, America's first temple of Tibetan Buddhism in New Jersey to set up. It was also the first Gelug temple in America.