Khenpo Khyentse was born June 17, 1964 in a very small village, Tukuche, located in the Mustang District in northwest Nepal. Khenpo was brought up in a quite prominent family in the village. He is fluent in 3 languages: Tibetan, English and Nepalese. In 1985 he entered into a well-known Buddhist college, the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, a Buddhist center for higher studies and research at the Namdroling monastery in Bylakuppe, Mysore District in south India. After he finished the nine-year program at the college, the late HH Penor Rinpoche conferred on him the title of khenpo (a title equivalent to a Ph.D. of Buddhist philosophy).

Khenpo was so moved by the late HH Penor Rinpoche’s unimaginable compassion that he took him his role model in founding the Padma Sambhava Charity Foundation in 2006. In 2011, he established the Shree Nalanda Buddhist School, which provides the students from Tulkue and the Himalayan region with education, housing, and food, just as his root teacher, the last HH Penor Rinpoche, had done for Namdroling monastery.

Khenpo Khyentse’s vision is to give the basic needs to people from the Himalayan region and to bring up the standard of living of those who have financial difficulty. He is also extremely compassionate toward the children among them, because he knows that these children can build a bright future for this world if the foundation can provide them with a good education and health care. He also hopes to bring the wisdom of Buddhism to those who are interested in learning and practicing Buddhism by establishing meditation centers in the modern world.