Spiritual Leader

Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT's Spiritual Director, was the reincarnation of the Sherpa Nyingma yogi Kunsang Yeshe, the Lawudo Lama. Rinpoche was born in 1946 in Thami, not far from the cave Lawudo, in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, where his predecessor meditated for the last twenty years of his life. He began teaching courses on Buddhism to Westerners in 1965, along with Lama Yeshe. They founded several centers that eventually became the building blocks of the FPMT. As of December 2001, there are 132 FPMT centers and projects worldwide.

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Teaching Role(s): 
Spiritual Leader

Lama Thubten Yeshe

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935. At the age of six, he entered Sera Monastic University in Tibet where he studied until 1959, when as Lama Yeshe himself has said, "In that year the Chinese kindly told us that it was time to leave Tibet and meet the outside world." Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, together as teacher and disciple since their exile in India, met their first Western students in 1965. In 1974, the Lamas began touring and teaching in the West, which would eventually result in the FPMT. Lama Yeshe died in 1984.

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Teaching Role(s): 
Spiritual Leader

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He is recognized throughout the world as a leading proponent of human rights and world peace. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and accepted it on behalf of the oppressed everywhere, and all those who struggle for freedom. His Holiness follows the life of a Buddhist monk, often saying "I am just a simple Buddhist monk - no more, nor less." He is an outstanding example of how to live a simple, happy, spiritual life in these complicated, stressful times.

Find out more about His Holiness and the people of Tibet.

 

 

Teaching Role(s): 
Spiritual Leader