Rinpoche - an honorific title used in Tibetan Buddhism
My boyfriend and his family are very sincere buddhists, and if I'm not mistaken, his dad has been practicing Buddhism for more than 10 years at least. So I've actually heard a lot about world-renowned Buddhist monks from Thailand, Vietnam etc, and how close their relationship with these monks. They actually know them in real life, and believe it or not, they even had these monks stayed over at their place (Msia and Aus).
I'll tell you more interesting stories next time but today, for the first time, I've actually met a well-known Tibetan buddhist monk, Ven. Choden Rinpoche who gave us some oral transmission and personal blessings which I thought was quite cool!!!
Cant tell you too much now because work starts at 7.30am tomorrow =.= but I'll show you an article..
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Born in 1933 in eastern Tibet, Choden Rinpoche was recognized at age three as the reincarnation of the previous Rinpoche, who himself had been one of the candidates for the twelfth Dalai Lama. At age eight he entered Rabten monastery, and at age fifteen he went to Sera Je monastery, where he studied the five main texts.
Although Rinpoche studied through the Lharam class and could have become a geshe, his teacher asked him not to take the exams yet. Choden Rinpoche decided to study the teachings on Vinaya – monastic discipline – and is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the subject. Choden Rinpoche was one of the two Sera Je lamas selected to debate with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during His Holiness's geshe exams.
During the communist Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche stayed in Tibet and went into solitary retreat for 19 years. He never left his tiny, dark room in Lhasa from 1965 to 1985, and was virtually unknown in his monastery for this reason. In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India, and has since taught for many years to thousands of students at Sera Je monastery in South India. At the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche has now visited the west several times to give teachings and lead retreats.
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