 Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel, the spiritual director of Land of Compassion Buddha and senior teacher of Land of Flourishing Virtue, was born in Lithang, Tibet, in 1931. At the age of five, he began, on his own initiative, to wear the maroon robes of a monk; he formally entered Lithang Monastery at the age of nine. Subsequently he entered Gaden Jangste Monastery and after 20 years of studying and practicing Sutrayana and Tantrayana, rinpoche was awarded the degree of Lhagrampa Geshe in 1976.
In 1992, he was awarded the degree of Ngagrampa Geshe from Gaden Monastery, a supremely high form of recognition within Tibetan Buddhism. He taught at Namgyal Monastery, Nechung Monastery, and the Tibetan Library in Dharamsala, and is currently the Abbot of Gaden Jangtse Monastery. In addition to becoming a highly recognized scholar and teacher, Khen Rinpoche has demonstrated an equally profound commitment to practice. Before the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he pledged to complete 100,000 full prostrations in front of the Natural Body of Lama Tsong Khapa at Gaden Monastery in Tibet, and completed them within one month. In a similar demonstration of his commitment to practicing Dharma, at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, rinpoche, at the age of 56, left India to teach in the United States, even though he spoke no English. In the United States, Khen Rinpoche has established centers in San Diego and Los Angeles, and travels to other states to teach as well. In addition, he has established dharma centers in Taiwan, Singapore, Costa Rica, Malaysia, New Zealand and Canada to benefit as many people as possible. In 2001, after becoming the abbot of Gaden Jangtse Monastery, he has set up a retreat facility for his students in India, and has personally leads Yamantaka and chittamani Tara retreats on a yearly basis since then.
As a teacher, rinpoche places strong emphasis on the practice of Dharma both "on and off" the meditation cushion. Students are advised to complete their Preliminary Practices, or Nungdros, and to maintain a disciplined daily practice, with equal focus on rejoicing in joyous effort. Equally emphasized is the practice of compassion in action towards others, with constant mindfulness and awareness of cause and effect. Rinpoche encourages his students to memorize texts, especially The Three Principal Path by Lama Tsong Khapa and The Heart Sutra, and to use these precious teachings to evaluate their daily activities.
As a master of Highest Yoga Tantra, rinpoche gives initiations as requested by his students; the initiations are from all classes of tantra, and can be accompanied by profound and detailed commentaries. As an example, out of his extraordinary kindness, rinpoche has offered the initiations of Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka, Cittamani Tara, Heruka Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini, along with lengthy commentaries and teachings on Guru yoga and deity yoga practices. In addition, rinpoche holds frequent retreats, which he personally leads, to give students the opportunity to learn the practices correctly and deeply. Regularly scheduled retreats include Yamantaka, Vajrasattva, Amitabha, Chittamani Tara, Avalokiteshvara, and Nyung-Ne.
Visitors to the Land of Compassion Buddha and Land of Flourishing Virtue will find that Khen Rinpoche is highly accessible; as one student has remarked, "Whether rinpoche is giving formal teachings or simply walking around, he is always teaching through his powerful compassion, immense wisdom and profoundly skillful means."
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