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About Khenpo Yeshi Rinpoche
Khenpo Yeshi
Rinpoche was born in Nakchu, East Tibet in 1969. Since early childhood,
he has shown a deep interest in the study of Dharma. At the age of
thirteen, he received empowerments, transmissions, and oral instructions
in the cycle of Longchen Nyingthig from Tibetan Dzogchen master, His
Eminence Lungtok Rinpoche, as well as His Eminence Nidrag Khenpo Konchok
Gyaltsen.
Arriving in
South India at the age of twenty, Khenpo Rinpoche studied at Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries belonging to a variety of Buddhist
traditions—Geluk, Kagyu, and Nyingma—namely Sera Monastery, Dzogchen
Monastery, and Drikung Jangchup Ling. He excelled in both sutra and
tantra trainings.
During this
time, Khenpo Rinpoche also studied closely with over two dozen eminent
Lamas, Khenpos, and Rinpoches, including His Eminence Khenchen Meiwa
Tubten Rinpoche, His Eminence Khenchen Pema Tsewang Rinpoche, and His
Holiness Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche. Moreover, he received empowerments,
transmissions, and oral instructions of both kama and terma of the
Nyingma tradition from renowned high Lamas such as His Holiness the 14th
Dalai Lama, His Eminence Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, His Eminence Dodrupchen
Rinpoche, His Eminence Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, His Holiness
Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, and His Holiness Kathok Moktsa Rinpoche.
In 1993,
Khenpo Rinpoche traveled to Nepal to undertake an intensive three-year
meditative retreat under the guidance of the renowned Dzogchen master,
His Eminence Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. At the time, His Eminence Tulku
Urgyen Rinpoche granted him special Dzogchen teachings and personal
instructions, placing him in retreat at Asura Cave Retreat Center in
Pharping, south of Kathmandu.
Upon
completion of his three-year retreat, in 1997, Khenpo Rinpoche was
invited by His Eminence Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche to teach at the
monastery’s Shedra (a program of advanced Buddhist studies). Teaching
the monks at Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling from the Basic Monastic Debate System
to Advanced Buddhist Epistemology, Khenpo Rinpoche designed a
curriculum involving topics such as Abhidharma, Pramana, and Madhyamaka,
systematizing an advanced-level monastic education that continues to
train monks today. At the same time, he taught the first group of
international students at the Rangjung YesheInstitute (RYI) in
Boudhanath, Nepal. As a faculty member at RYI, he both taught and helped
develop a new curriculum on the five major treatises: Prajñāpāramitā,
Madhyamaka, Pramāṇa, Abhidharma, and Vinaya. In doing so, he contributed
to the establishment of a system through which lay transnationals could
effectively learn essential texts of traditional Tibetan Buddhist
monastic education.
In 1998,
Khenpo Rinpoche received teachings and empowerments from His Eminence
Garchen Rinpoche in Nepal. In 2001, His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche
invited him to participate in the 49-day Yamantaka Retreat at the
Garchen Buddhist Institute in Arizona. Since then, Khenpo Rinpoche has
resided in the U.S. and received further personal teachings from His
Eminence Garchen Rinpoche.
Internationally,
Khenpo Rinpoche has taught at many Buddhist centers such as Rangjung
Yeshe Gomde Germany-Austria, Da-Yuan (Great Perfection) Buddhist Society
(Taipei, Taiwan), Ngedon Tengye Ling Buddhist Society (Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia), as well as Drikung Namgyal Ling (Tucson, Arizona), Drikung
Rinchen Choling (Arcadia, California), Drong Ngur Jangchubling (Tampa,
Floria), Dawn Mountain (Houston, Texas), Chicago Ratna Shri (Chicago,
Illinois), and Garchen Buddhist Institute (Chino Valley, Arizona).
Dr. Khenpo
Rinpoche received his PhD in South and Southeast Asian Studies from UC
Berkeley, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Ho Center for
Buddhist Studies at Stanford University.
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