"You only need to meet a saint once.
You don't need to meet him for long;
It will make you, in any case, unbreakable."
Yataka Tales
KYABYE KHENSUR TAMDING GYATSO RIMPOCHÉ
Kyabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche, Root Guru of our Master and spiritual director, Ven. Geshe Tenzing Tamding. Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche was abbot of Ganden Shartse Monastery in India. He was born and lived in Tibet until his exile to India along with thousands of other Tibetans, monks and lay people, as did H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama after China's entry into his country in 1959.
After those years of exile in India in the service of the Dharma and the displaced Tibetan community, he arrived in Spain, where after living for many years he obtained Spanish nationality. When he was four years old he met his teacher, the Venerable Lama Geshe Kelsang Phuntsog, a great scholar and a highly realized being, bearer of the three qualities, great kindness, great heart and great wisdom. This meeting was, according to Khen Rinpoche himself, the auspicious result of all the supplications made in his previous life so that the karma and seeds accumulated in relation to devotion to his master would awaken in this life and he could always remain by his side.
In 1986 he traveled to Spain in response to the many requests that came from the Buddhist centers of this country and took up residence in Menorca, from where he spread the Buddha Dharma in Spain and other European countries such as Germany, England, Italy and Switzerland, conquering all beings who had the good fortune to meet him for his infinite kindness and wisdom, and because he always welcomed anyone who approached him with great kindness and unconditional love.
In 2001 he was appointed abbot of Ganden Shartse Monastery by His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, for which reason he returned to India, completing all the tasks of his position in an excellent manner.
On April 20, 2002, he passed into paranirvana in Ganden Monastery itself, giving the last great teaching on impermanence to all his disciples and showing numerous signs of his great realization.
On February 9, 2009, Kentrul Tenzing Samtem Rinpoche, son of Phurbu Dorje and Dechen Chodron, was born in the Dehradun refugee camp in India, and has been recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Kyabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche. His birthplace is a Tibetan refugee camp located in the mountain station of Mussoorie (Dehradun), on the slopes of the Himalayas; a place closely related to Kiabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche who was working there as a teacher of the first school established by the central Tibetan administration.
This child will continue the work of the great master Kiabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche.
VEN. LAMA GUESHE TENZING TAMDING
Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was born in Chitang, a village in the Tibetan region of Kham - Dagyab - in 1965, the year of the wooden snake. His paternal family name is Chu Sup Tsang, one of the most important families in the region. His father's name was Tamding Sonam, his mother's name is Tamding Yangzom and like the father she also came from a well-known and important family.
When China invaded Tibet in 1959, the family of Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding lost all their property. They went from wealth to poverty; their house, their land, all their possessions of several generations were expropriated by the Chinese communist government. The father of the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was arrested by the Chinese, for he was well known for his devotion to Buddhism and to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and he was also a supporter of the Tibetan Constitution.
In these circumstances Tamding Yangzom gave birth to her fourth son, the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding, in very precarious conditions, in her own stable, where she now lived with her eldest son Nyima and her two daughters, Yamyang and Tsering. In 1969, when Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was four years old, his father was released after seven years of mistreatment in a prison where his legs had been broken, leaving him unable to walk for life, and he now had to stay at home while his wife and three older children worked in the fields to support themselves.
All the monasteries in the area had been destroyed and there were no monks left, so every day Tamding Sonam taught the Dharma in his small house to the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding and the rest of the family, with much discipline and having to hide the texts due to Chinese surveillance. At the age of a few years, Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was already able to recite the Praises to the twenty-one taras and other Guelupa prayers such as Refuge, as well as different mantras, and he also learned the Tibetan language. The teachings he received clandestinely were so engraved on him that they would influence him for the rest of his life. Tamding Sonam, father of Lama Tenzing Tamding, passed away in 1976 at the age of 49 when Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was only eleven years old. A few months after the death of her husband, the mother of the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding decided to become a nun, being forced by political circumstances to hide her habits when she went out in the street.
In 1977 the now Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding, at the age of 12, together with a group of people fled Tibet on foot across the Himalayan Mountains to Nepal. After a two-month journey the group reached India. It was a very dangerous journey in which they were continuously risking their lives.
Kyabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche, Geshe Tenzing's uncle, was very happy that his nephew wanted to pursue the same studies as him, and in 1978 he brought him to Bodhgaya to receive, at the age of 13, monk ordination from His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. After taking the vows, H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama gave an interview to the new monks and when it was his turn to approach the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding he asked him what he wanted to do and he answered that he wanted to do Geshe studies at Ganden Monastery and H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama indicated him to start these studies at the Institute of Buddhist Philosophy in Dharamsala.
Thus, Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding left the security of his uncle's company and, at the age of thirteen, set out again to fulfill his aspiration to continue his Dharma studies. Once in Dharamsala he entered the Institute of Buddhist Philosophy where he remained for about five years.
As he was fluent in Chinese, when he was in Dharamsala he translated the teachings that H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama gave to his disciples in Taiwan.
Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding was very keen to complete his Geshe studies, and therefore requested permission from H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama to complete his training at the Ganden Monastic University, located in southern India. In 1982 he entered this prestigious monastery, entering directly into the tenth year. Geshe studies last about twenty years and Geshe Tenzing entered directly into the tenth year due to the high level he was already showing.
Upon completion of his studies in 1993, H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama himself instructed Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding to take the examination for the title of Geshe Larampa as soon as possible. Normally, candidates have to wait many years before they can take the examination for this title, however, Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding took the examination ahead of schedule, passing all the tests with excellent marks and thus becoming one of the youngest Larampa Geshes in the monastery.
In 1997, Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding came for the first time to Spain to visit his uncle Kyabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche and to give teachings in the centers under his guidance. In 1999 he made another trip to Europe and gave several courses in Spain, England and Germany.
After the passing to paranirvana in 2002 of his uncle and Master, Kyabye Khensur Tamding Gyatso Rinpoche, founder of the Ganden Choeling Buddhist Center of Menorca and at that time abbot of the Ganden Shartse Monastery, the Venerable Geshe Tenzing Tamding assumed the position of spiritual director of all the centers that his uncle had founded during the last few years in Spain.
Since then, under his compassionate care and spiritual direction, many other centers have sprung up around the world where it is possible to study and practice the teachings of Buddha and everything related to Buddhist philosophy. Also under his direction was built in 2009 the Chu Sup Tsang Monastery, in the village of Ventoselo-San Amaro (Ourense), the first Buddhist monastery in Galicia and the only one in Spain where a complete Buddhist Philosophy Study Program is offered according to the tradition of Nalanda (India). In this monastery, current place of permanent residence of monks and nuns from India and Spain, different activities of meditation and introduction to Buddhism are offered throughout the year.
Currently, Geshe Tenzing Tamding's main residence is divided between this Monastery of Chu Sup Tsang (Ourense) and the Ganden Choeling Center (Menorca), although most of the year he is traveling around the world attending the different centers and thousands of disciples in Spain, Europe, Asia and America.
All his disciples highlight his special way of transmitting the Dharma, with a clear and direct style, his warmth, compassion and sense of humor, being his teachings easily understood and applicable in daily life.
H.E. NYARI TRITUL RIMPOCHE
He was born in 1977 in Mundgod, South India. He is the third reincarnation of 89 Ganden Tripa. In 1980, the present Nyari Tritul Rinpoche was formally recognized as the third Tritul Rinpoche.
Following the custom, he joined Ganden Shartse Monastery in 1981, under the tutelage of the former Abbot of Gyuto Tantric Monastery, Reverend Nyari Gen Lobsang Tempa, starting under his charge the main monastic studies.
In 1992 he was officially enthroned in the Ganden Monastery, as one of the highest reincarnations of the monastery. Since 2004 he is the resident teacher of the Chakrasamvara Center of Seville.
Three times a year he travels to Chu Sup Tsang Monastery in San Amaro (Ourense) to attend courses and retreats given at this monastery under the direction of its spiritual director, Venerable Lama Geshe Tenzing Tamding.
VEN. LAMA GUESHE LOBSANG YESHI
Venerable Geshe Lobsang Yeshe was born on February 2, 1971 in Dagyab, in the Tibetan province of Kham. At the age of eight he was ordained as a monk in Tibet, beginning his studies in grammar, philosophy, art etc.
In 1990, at the age of 20, he fled Tibet to live in exile in India, where he joined the Ganden Shartse monastery, one of the most renowned monastic institutions in the world.
For 23 years he studied all the subjects of the five great treatises of the Buddhist philosophical system, completing his studies satisfactorily and graduating with honors. In 2011, he finished his studies with which he obtained the title of Geshe Larampa, equivalent to Doctor of Buddhist philosophy.
During 2012 she completed her Tantra studies at the Gyuto Tantric Monastery.
In 2013 he received studies in modern science fields coordinated by renowned international institutions and during 2014 he was sent as the main Master of the Nyare Khangtsen Tour in Europe touring several countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal.
At the end of the tour, he joined the monastic community of Chu Sup Tsang Monastery in Galicia (San Amaro, Ourense) under the spiritual direction of Ven. Lama Geshe Tenzing Tamding.
At present he continues as one of the resident Lamas of this Monastery in Galicia, giving teachings there and occasionally traveling to other Centers throughout Spain, also under the direction of Geshe Tenzing Tamding.
VEN. LAMA GUESHE JAMPA NGODRUP
Geshe Jampa Ngodrup was born in Kyil Thang in the province of Kham in Tibet on July 11, 1974. At the age of 11, he was ordained as a monk at the shrine in the same village of Kyil Thang by his first teacher, the Ven. There, in Kyil Thang, he began his basic studies, reading and writing Tibetan and memorizing texts. Later he began his studies of Buddhist philosophy and logic with Geshe Jampa Chodak at Chab Dhö Monastery, near his hometown, and in 1995 he moved to Ganden Sartre Monastery in India to formalize and complete Geshe's studies, deepening in the five great texts of Buddhist philosophy: Tsema Namdrel, Parchin, Uma, Dzo and Dulwa, and also Nga.
He has had many masters throughout his life, among them the one who was the abbot of Gänden when he arrived in 1995, Ven. Geshe Kenzur Jampa Yeshe, or Ven. Geshe Kenzur Lati Rinpoche, among others.
Since 2014 he became part of the monastic community of Chu Sup Tsang Monastery in Galicia (San Amaro, Ourense) under the spiritual direction of Ven. Lama Geshe Tenzing Tamding.
He currently divides his time between the Chu Sup Tsang Monastery and other Geshe Tenzing centers in Spain, such as the Shantideva Buddhist Center in Novelda or Ganden Choeling in Gandía.
MONKS AND NUNS OF THE CHU SUP TSANG FOUNDATION
Ven. Lama Gueshe Tenzing Tamding
H.E Nyare Tritul Rimpoche
Ven. Lama Gueshe Lobsang Yeshe
Ven. Lama Gueshe Jampa Ngodrup
Guen Dakpa Metruk
Anilä Tenzing Kunzang
Anilä Puntsok Palmo
Anilä Tenzing Lobsang
Anilä Tenzing Palmo
Anilä Tenzing Ngeyung
Anilä Tenzing Jamyang
Anilä Tenzing Lhasam