Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, one of Venerable Chodron's teachers, was born in Thami, Nepal, in 1946. At the age of three he was recognized as the reincarnation of Sherpa Nyingma yogi, Kunsang Yeshe, the Lawudo Lama. Rinpoche’s Thami home was not far from the Lawudo cave, in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, where his predecessor meditated for the last twenty years of his life. Rinpoche’s own description of his early years may be found in his book, The Door to Satisfaction (Wisdom Publications). At the age of ten, Rinpoche went to Tibet and studied and meditated at Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s monastery near Pagri, until the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 forced him to forsake Tibet for the safety of Bhutan. Rinpoche then went to the Tibetan refugee camp at Buxa Duar, West Bengal, India, where he met Lama Yeshe, who became his closest teacher. The Lamas went to Nepal in 1967, and over the next few years built Kopan and Lawudo Monasteries. In 1971, Rinpoche gave the first of his famous annual lam-rim retreat courses, which continue at Kopan to this day. In 1974, with Lama Yeshe, Rinpoche began traveling the world to teach and establish centers of Dharma. When Lama Yeshe passed away in 1984, Rinpoche took over as spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which has continued to flourish under his peerless leadership. More details of Rinpoche’s life and work may be found on the FPMT web site.

Geshe Jampa Tsondu

Geshe Jampa Tsondu is Resident Geshe of LDC from 2012 to present day. Born in Kham, Tibet, Geshe Tsondu is from a family of 3 brothers and a sister. His wish to become a monk began at the young age of 8, a wish that would only be fulfilled 9 years later at Chamdo Monastery, Tibet. A strong yearning to see His Holiness again and to pursue extensive monastic studies drove Geshela to join a group of 40 people “a mixed group of lay people and monks” to trek the punishing route of Mt Kailash into India, which took a few months. Finally, Geshela managed to enter Nepal and after being processed by the Refugee Reception Office in Kathmandu, was sent to Tsawa Khangtsen, Sera Je Monastery in South India. While at Sera, Geshela’s heartfelt wish to receive full ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama materialized.

This, Geshela says, is one of his life’s greatest joys. At Sera, Geshela completed the curriculum of the 5 great treatises (Logic, Perfection of Wisdom, Madhyamika “The Middle Way, Vinaya and Abidhamma) and progressed to the Gelug Exam (the Geshe Lharampa course) and passed with First Class Honours in 2006. A year at the Gyurme Tantric College followed and after that, Geshela returned to Sera and was soon approached by the late Khensur Lama Lhundrup to be the Teaching Geshe at Tsum’s Mu Monastery and Rachen Nunnery. Geshela consented and spent one and half happy years there, even though walking between the monastery and nunnery meant a 4 hour hike up the mountain to get there and a 2.5 hour trek down the mountain to get back! Strong legs were required! When Geshela was approached to be the Resident Geshe of LDC, Geshela says his first thought was on what the environment in Malaysia would be like but then he thought that as his main responsibility was to teach Dharma, it would be fine and that it was his way of fulfilling the wishes of his Gurus and be of benefit to those who came to the Centre. Geshela commented that he is impressed by the effort that LDC people put into Dharma study and practice. He says this has inspired him to contemplate even more on the teachings and work harder to benefit members.