Our Team

Oliver Leick was born in 1955 and lives with his family in East-Styria, Austria. For nearly forty years he worked as a schoolteacher for English and Sports in various Austrian schools.

In 1977 he met his Tibetan teacher Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and has followed him ever since, studying and practising under his guidance for more than 45 years. Since January 1st, 2000, Oliver has served as Director of the Shang Shung Institute Austria and has been responsible for financing the Ka-Ter Translation Project ever since.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Shang Shung Publications. In 2010 he became an authorized teacher of the worldwide Dzogchen Community and has given nearly 200 retreats all over the world.

Oliver has translated several texts and books from English into German and has compiled two books: Yantra Yoga, the Yoga of Movements (Edition Tsaparang 1988, out of print) and The Story Book (Shang Shung Publications 2024).

Jamyang Oliphant studied Tibetan religions, language, and culture at the University of Oxford, where his doctoral research examined rejuvenating practices within Tibetan medicine. He has headed and contributed to a range of research projects dedicated to Tibetan cultural heritage, with a particular focus on the documentation, study, and transmission of religious, medical, and historical traditions of the Himalayan world.

Besides helping fundraise and schedule activities for the Ka-Ter Translation Project, he is the Director of the Shang Shung Institute UK, where he coordinates lectures, seminars, and conferences, oversees research initiatives and publications, and organises travel groups to the Himalayas.

He is co-editor of Sharro: Festschrift for Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and About Padmasambhava: Historical Narratives and Later Transformations of Guru Rinpoche.

Adriano met Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in 1975 and received his first Dzogchen teachings in 1976 in Naples. That same year he joined the University of Oriental Studies in Naples, graduating in 1983 with a thesis on the Dzogchen Bönpo text Dran pa gser gdams by gShen sras lha rje (13th century).

He began working on translations of Tibetan texts by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, including Drung, Deu and Bön — for which he conducted extensive research in the ancient Bön tradition — and Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement. He compiled and edited Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State, and is the author, together with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, of The Supreme Source, a pioneering work on the Dzogchen Semde tradition focusing on the Kun byed rgyal po tantra.

He has translated the books of the Longsal cycle of teachings and of the Santi Maha Sangha training. Since 2003, Adriano Clemente has worked full time for the Ka-Ter Translation Project.

Elio was born in Varese, Italy, on 5 August 1954 and grew up in Como. He studied Arts, receiving a Master of Arts degree, before travelling to India to study Buddhism. On his return he moved to Switzerland, where for ten years he learned Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy under one of the Dalai Lama's philosophical advisers.

Invited by the late Kalu Rinpoche, Elio spent nearly twenty years in India working on the large Encyclopedia on Indo-Tibetan Knowledge (shes bya kun khyab) authored by Kongtrul the Great, published by Snow Lion Publications. He joined the Dzogchen Community in 1986, when he received teachings from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu for the first time, and was one of the founding members of the Shang Shung Institute in Italy.

Elio completed the Santi Maha Sangha training and became an authorized teacher at Base Level, First Level, and Second Level. Since 2003 he worked actively for the Ka-Ter Translation Project. On 27 November 2020, Elio passed away due to COVID-19.

Jim Valby was born in Rochester, New York, on 3 September 1946. He first studied Physics at Middlebury College before pursuing graduate studies in Tibetan Buddhism under Professor Herbert V. Guenther at the University of Saskatchewan, earning Masters and Doctorate degrees with research focused on the great Dzogchen masters Shrisingha and Vimalamitra. Before dedicating himself fully to Buddhist studies, Jim also worked as an engineer, computer programmer, teacher, and researcher, bringing to all his work the same precision, curiosity, and tireless commitment that later became the hallmark of his translations.

In 1982 Jim met his root master, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, at his first retreat, and from that moment dedicated his life to the Dharma. Since 1989 he lived in the Tsegyalgar area, translating Tibetan texts, preparing transcripts of Rinpoche's retreats, and supporting countless projects of the Dzogchen Community. As an authorized Santi Maha Sangha instructor at Base, First, and Second Levels, he travelled extensively, sharing the teachings with clarity, humility, generosity, and joy.

From 2003, Jim Valby was one of the most valued collaborators of the Ka-Ter Translation Project, generously offering his profound knowledge of Tibetan language and Dzogchen literature to the translation of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu's works. His meticulous scholarship and unwavering commitment helped preserve the precision and authenticity of these teachings for present and future generations.

Jim passed away on 22 June 2026. His legacy lives on in the many books he helped translate, the students he guided, and the countless practitioners who will continue to benefit from his life's work for generations to come.