The Teacher

The Venerable Lama Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche was born on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar in 1941. The morning he was born, a light snow fell with flakes in the shape of lotus petals. Among his ancestors were many great scholars, practitioners and tertons.

He was raised in the village of Joephu in the Dhoshul region of Khampa in eastern Tibet near the sacred mountain Jowo Zegyal. The family was semi-nomadic, living in the village during the winter and moving with the herds to high mountain pastures where they lived in yak hair tents during the summers.

At seven he began studying at the monastery and started ngöndro practice. Later that year, he went on his first retreat for one month. At the age of twelve, he went to Riwoche monastery, one of the oldest and largest monastic institutes in eastern Tibet. There he was trained to be the next abbot at Gochen.

He completed his studies just as the Chinese invasion of Tibet reached that area. In 1960 he and his family were forced into exile. They left in the middle of winter and were captured and escaped three times during the journey. His sisters died during the escape and his mother died shortly after reaching India. He and his father and younger brother lived in refugee camps until he was appointed to teach at Sanskrit University in Varanasi. He was also a founding member of the Institute for Tibetan Higher Studies, where he was head of the department of Nyingma studies.

In His Own Words

My own education began when I entered the great college at Do-Kham Riwoche Drukpa Khang... At first my behavior was wild, despite very strict rules. I was far away from home, and poor in supplies and clothing. I did not study, and failed the first examination. My teacher, the Khen Rinpoche, kindly and frequently offered his advice, but I did not listen until I was harshly criticized and punished by the Dharma disciplinarian.

After that day, I recognized my faults. I began to listen and think without break, studying even at night by moonlight and, when the moon was gone, by the light of a burning stick of incense. Thus studying the great root and commentarial texts with care and diligence, I earned the praise of my teacher and the reputation of being the smartest among my peers.

When the Red Chinese barbarians came to destroy the Buddha's teachings and the culture of Tibet, I decided to leave. I gave away my every last possession, offered a communal tea, and, in front of Khen Rinpoche, offered a mandala as a prayer for his long life. On the night of my departure I went to see Rinpoche to offer a last white scarf.

It was 1961 when I arrived in India. On the way, I had encountered great difficulties, exhaustion and danger, but I always held his words closely in my mind. To those Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan, and other people having faith in and connections with me, I have taught whatever Tibetan Dharma and culture I know.

Arrival in the West

1980: Khenpo Palden made his first trip to America.
1984: He moved to New York to work closely with H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche.
1985: He founded Dharma Samudra Publishing to publish an eleven-volume edition of the termas of Tsasum Lingpa in Tibetan.
1988: He and his brother, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, founded the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center.
1996: They opened a small monastery-temple in Sarnath, India.
2001: The first teachings were given in the new temple at Samye Ling in upstate New York.

KPSR Teachings

The Four Immeasurables The Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava The Seven Treasures The Seven Treasures of the Noble Ones A Dzogchen Approach to Meditation Kinder than the Buddha Devotion The Three Kayas Padmasambhava and Ngöndro Blazing Light of the Sun and Moon First Encounters Dzong-Treng

PDF Resources

Heap of Precious Jewels Dakini Teachings Ngondro Practice KPSR's commentary on the Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro Zhi-Khro Teachings Karma Lingpa's terma on the six bardos

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