Khensur Rinpoche Tenpa Gyaltsen was born Nyima Wangdu in 1932 in the village of Kyinag near Lhasa, Tibet. When he was 11 years old, he became a monk at Drepung Gomang Monastery where he studied and taught until 1959. At that time at the age of 27, he escaped from Tibet with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and went to India where he continued teaching and studying.
In 1966, Rinpoche obtained His Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest level of achievement in the study of Buddhist philosophy. In 1979 at the request of His Holiness, Khensure Rinpoche went to Japan to teach at the Tibetan Research Library in Tokyo. He also taught at Kyoto University and Moroyoka University. In 1986 he returned to Drepung Gomang in India where he served as Abbot for the next three years. In 1989 he returned to his teaching duties in Japan.
In 1994, Khensure Rinpoche began preparation for a
six-year retreat. For the first two years of his retreat, he lived at
Tashi Gomang Monastery in north India and for the last four years, he stayed at
Drepung Gomang Monastery. During this four-year period, he completed a
three-year, three-month, three-day retreat -- a special retreat period.
In November 2001, Khensure Rinpoche returned to Japan to resume teaching.
He was the President of the Mahayana Manjushri Buddhist Association located in
Japan, currently Rinpoche is residing at Drepung Gomang Monastery, south India
and undergoing medication for his illness.