Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche

Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche (1918-2003) was born and raised in Bhutan; he entered the Monastery of Punakha Dzong as a child. He became one of the greatest Karma Kagyü masters of this time and was widely regarded both in the Himalayas and in the West.

When he was 13, he left Bhutan for Nepal to study under the guidance of his uncle Lama Sherab Dorje and other great Buddhist masters, especially from the Karma Kagyü and Drugpa Kagyü school.

In 1944 he met the 16th Karmapa and became his close student. Karmapa once said: “If I am Buddha, then he is Ananda.“ Lopön Tsechu received all essential Karma Kagyü teachings from his root lama as well as teachings from other Buddhist traditions, e.g., from the Gelug, Sakya and Nyingmapas.

In the following years, Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche became a key figure for Dharma practitioners in Nepal. In 1987, invited by his western students Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah, he visited the West for the first time. Since then, Rinpoche traveled extensively through Europe, the Americas, and Australia, giving teachings and countless initiations.

He guided the Kalachakra Stupa project in Spain as well as 16 other stupas in Europe and Asia. Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche’s last project was the Enlightenment Stupa in the Spanish city of Benalmadena, the crown of his work.
Rinpoche passed away June 10, 2003 at 85 years old, four months prior to the inauguration of this
majestic monument. A symbol of the power of his compassion that people from multiple nationalities and cultures are still able to sense – it brings benefit to all beings.