We are extremely pleased to announce that Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi, abbot of Kopan Monastery and member of the Board of Directors of FPMT International, has accepted our invitation to come to Italy to officially assume the role of abbot of Lhungtok Choekhorling Monastery, assigned by Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche last January.
Khen Rinpoche, accompanied by some monks from his monastery, will arrive in Pomaia as a guest of the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Monday 25 September at 19pm (approximately, we suggest arriving 30 minutes early), for a series of appointments that will see him personally involved.
We will find ourselves welcoming him in the main courtyard of the Institute to welcome him and offer him the katag.
Below we share the program of events open to the public.
Timetables may undergo changes which will be communicated promptly.
Wednesday 27 September Saturday September 30th – from 11:15 to 12:30 See the event page: https://monasterobuddhista.it/events/khen-rinpoche-ghesce-thubten-chonyi/ |
Finally, the conditions have matured for us monks and nuns to have the presence and qualified guidance of the Abbot, who will help us grow and keep the Sangha united in this extremely important moment for the constitution of the Monastery.
We are waiting for you to share this historic moment for the history of our Monastery.
KHEN RINPOCHE
Born in Nepal in 1962, Khen Rinpoche Geshe Thubten Chonyi joined Kopan Monastery after being ordained as a monk by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1974.
He also studied in Kopan for six years with Geshe Ciampa Gyatso: the mind and mental factors, the philosophical schools, terrains and paths, the 70 subjects, Pramanavartika and Tibetan grammar.
He was later admitted to Sera Je Monastery in South India where, after 18 years of intense study and debate, he was awarded the highest academic degree bestowed in the Gelugpa monastic tradition, Geshe Lharampa.
After completing his training in Sera Je, Khen Rinpoche studied and completed his tantra studies, finishing first in his class, at the Gyudmed Tantric College. Gyudmed Monastery is one of the two main monastic colleges specializing in the Buddhist Tantra teachings of the Gelugpa tradition.
Since 1999, on the recommendation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he has been the resident teacher of the Amitabha Buddhist Center in Singapore and since 14 July 2011 he has been appointed abbot of the Kopan Monastery and Nunnery in Nepal.
Since 2011 Khen Rinpoche has been on the board of FPMT Inc.
For those who want to learn more, Khen Rinpoche tells his story on the FPMT YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/vifeuuAMbzg
Translation into Italian by Ven. Siliana Bosa, Sangha Onlus Association.
Photo credits: Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi (right), May 2020.
Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.