 Born in Katmandu, Nepal, in 1968, Yangsi Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of the Geshe Ngawang Gendum, a scholar from western Tibet, at the age of six. He trained in the monastic system for 25 years, starting his studies at age ten, and graduating in 1995 from Sera Je Monastery in South India.
After completing more studies, in 1998 he came to the West. Yangsi Rinpoche (whose name means "precious reincarnation") had the desire to teach and benefit Western students of the Buddha dharma, and since then he has traveled extensively in America and Europe.
For five years he was the resident teacher at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Yangsi Rinpoche was also the Spiritual Director for Ganden Shedrup Ling Buddhist Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Recently at that center, the first group of students completed the initial phase of a two-year program of study and practice. This program is based on traditional Tibetan curriculum, but it is tailored to modern students of the Buddha dharma. Yangsi Rinpoche is President of and on the faculty at the Maitripa Institute, a new Buddhist University in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches regularly.
Yangsi Rinpoche teaches in English, and has found a ready Western audience for his unique blend of the Dharma and of Western culture. His embodiment of the compassion and wisdom of the Buddhist path is obvious to all who he comes into contact with. Rinpoche has a deep understanding of the traditional teachings and a gift for explaining them in contemporary language. He also has a good understanding of Western metaphors and the Western mind.
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