My story

I was born in 1973 in a northwestern part of Nepal called Lime. I have no knowledge about my native place because when I was only a little child, my mother, elder sister and myself left Lime after my parents got divorced and still today I don't know what made my mother want to escape our native place. Then, until I was ten, my family lived in a place named Zang, which had a completely different culture than our homeland and there my mother had passed away. At end of the same year, my sister and her husband decided to move to Purang, inside Tibet and we did. At Purang, my sister and her husband worked for local Tibetans and soon when we settled there. I become a monk at Gongpur Gompa because the monastery is the same sect of my native religion, Kagyu pa, one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and for five years, I learned reading and writing in Tibetan from the eldest monk of my monastery called Phontsok. Mainly, we six novices spent our time studying Dharma scriptures, taking care of the monastery and performing the ritual services that we perform every day in the monastery. In Purang, monks are in great demand to re-build traditional religious ritual services in every household.

In 1990, I was expelled from my monastery by law of the Chinese government and by that time I was in a difficult situation. For a while, I stayed with my sister and husband. Fortunately, again I found a new monastery beside the holy lake Mansarovar called Sera Lung and the head Lama, Kochoe Phel asked me to help him to be in charge of the monastery. Although I missed Gongpur Gompa and escaping to the county of Purang, next to the monastery with my friends, I was happy having the privilege of conducting ritual activities inside monastery in his absence.

Sera Lung is one the five historical monasteries around the holy lake Mansarovar and in early Tibet there used to be at least thirty monks in the monastery. However, Lama Kochoe Phel built the present monastery on a new spot just below the old monastery and there were thousands of pilgrims and visitors coming continuously to the monastery on their circumambulation of the holy lake. Therefore, except for three months of winter season, I was meeting every day strangers from all parts and corners of the world.

During my two years in Sera Lung monastery, I made many friends in the nomads' camps close to the monastery and knew a number of people who regularly visited. Also, two local young men were ordained by Lama Kochoe Phel and joined our monastery and I had good relationship with them as well. Nevertheless, because of my background, I discovered there was no possibility for me to become a real monk at any monastery inside Tibet by the rule of the Chinese government and among local people. Therefore, I was searching for a community where I would be respected as an equal.

In 1992, I came to Purang on a vacation and at that time I heard a lot about India in general and especially about the Jangchub Ling Institute of Drikung Kagyu Sect from a Lime trader who goes to India every winter season. Also, two of my friends at Gongpur Gompa had already escaped. Fortunately, Lama Kochoe Phel came to Purang by the time I had made up my mind to go to India. So, I went to see him and I informed him about my plan. At first, he told me not to leave him. Later, as I pressed him to excuse me from the monastery. I saw with my own eyes that he was sad and a bit mad at me. In the end, I won his permission and in the same year, I came to India with some Lime people.

On my arrival in India, I went straight to Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehra Dun, and I was easily given entrance permission by the His Holiness the Drikung Chetsang. At D.K. monastery I studied for seven years in complex and profound Buddhist philosophies and after my graduation of the high school level from the monastery system.

I made my own commitment to receive Khenpo degree that allows me to be a teacher in Buddhist philosophy from the monastic rule. So, I joined Dzongsar Institute at Bir, near the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to pursue my higher studies and right now, I am in a higher level class five. After four years, I will have accomplished my wish.

I am putting all efforts toward become a teacher for younger generations in Tibet and Nepal in the profound teachings of Buddhism as I know there are only a few teachers in my native place and in the Kailash region inside Tibet.