Tsewang DongyalVen. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal RinpocheKhenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche was born in the Dhoshul region of Kham in eastern Tibet on June 10, 1950. On that summer day in the family tent, Rinpoche's birth caused his mother no pain. The next day, his mother,Pema Lhadze, moved the bed where she had given birth. Beneath it she found growing a beautiful and fragrant flower which she plucked and offered to Chenrezig on the family altar.Soon after his birth three head lamas from Jadchag monastery came to his home and recognized him as the reincarnation of Khenpo Sherab Khyentse. Khenpo Sherab Khyentse, who had been the former head abbot lama at Gochen Monastery, was a renowned scholar and practitioner who lived much of his life in retreat.Rinpoche's first Dharma teacher was his father, Lama Chimed Namgyal. Beginning his schooling at the age of five, he entered Gochen Monastery. His studies were interrupted when his family had to escape to India. In India, his father and brother, Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche (1932-2010), continued his education until he entered the Nyingmapa Monastic School of Northern India, where he studied until 1967.He then entered the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, which was then a part of Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where he received his B.A. degree in 1975. He also attended Nyingmapa University in West Bengal, where he received another B.A. and an M.A. in 1977.In 1978 Rinpoche was enthroned as the abbot of the Wish-fulfilling Nyingmapa Institute in Boudanath, Nepal by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, and later became the abbot of the Department of Dharma Studies, where he taught poetry, grammar, philosophy, and psychology. In 1981, H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche appointed Rinpoche as the abbot of the Dorje Nyingpo Center in Paris, France. In 1982 he was asked to work with H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche at the Yeshe Nyingpo Center in New York. During the 1980s, until H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche's mahaparinirvana in 1987, Rinpoche continued working closely with him, often traveling as his translator and attendant.In 1988, Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche founded the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center (PBC) to preserve the authentic message of Buddha Shakyamuni and Guru Padmasambhava in its entirety, and in particular to teach the traditions of the Nyingma school and Vajrayana Buddhism. PBC includes over 20 centers in the U.S.A., India, Puerto Rico, Latvia, and Russia, as well as monastic institutions in India, the U.S.A., and Russia.As a holder of the complete Nyingmapa lineage, Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche is fully versed in the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools, and is a master of Dzogchen. He has co-authored over 35 Dharma books in English with Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, and has personally authored several books, including a biography on His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche named Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom, two books of poetry on the life of Guru Rinpoche, including Praise to the Lotus Born: A Verse Garland of Waves of Devotion, and a unique two-volume cultural and religious history of Tibet entitled "Expressing the Six Distinctive Greatnesses of the Ancient School by Recalling the Kind Legacy of the Great Masters, Translators, and Dharma Kings, Known as "Rejoicing Laughter of the Noble Beings," which details the historical bases of the Dharma in Tibet from the sixth through ninth centuries. At present, this is one of the only books written that conveys the Dharma activities of this historical period in such depth.Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche actively travels throughout the world giving teachings, empowerments, and personal guidance in fluent English at numerous retreats.The main monastery and retreat center of the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center is Padma Samye Ling Monastery and Retreat Center, located in Delaware County in upstate New York. Located in the western region of the Catskill Mountains, the outstanding facilities are contained within 500 a Read More Read Less