Brief Biography of Guru Vajradhara His Holiness the 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa

In 1727 His Holiness the 8th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa the Great, popularly known as Situ Panchen founded the Mount of Excellence, a non-sectarian, multidisciplinary Palpung Institution which he established as Palpung Monastic Seat.

As the Supreme Head of Palpung Monastic Seat, His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa oversees 180 monasteries of Kagyu lineage, 300 Bon and Buddhist monasteries, over 1000 affiliated branch temples and eighteen monastic estates throughout Tibet.

The Current Guru Vajradhara His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa was born to a farming and nomadic family in the east Tibetan Kingdom of Dege in 1954.  He was enthroned to the Palpung Monastic Seat shortly afterward.

In 1959 at age of 5 he was brought by senior lamas of the Palpung Monastic Seat to the Kingdom of Bhutan and then to India.

Until 22 years of age, He grew up in Sikkim, Bhutan and West Bengal.  He received ordinations from His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and from a great number of eminent masters.  During the time, he received the entirety of basic and advanced studies and transmissions.

In 1976 at age of 23, Guru Vajradhara H.H.Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa established the Palpung Sherabling Monastic Seat in Himached Pradesh, India where he trains, educates, ordains and transmits precious teachings to the next generation of Buddhist Masters of present and future time across and beyond all denominations and ethnicity to this very day.

In 1984 Guru Vajradhara H.H.Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa founded the Maitreya institute dedicated to interfaith and interdisciplinary harmony based on love, kindness, compassion and wisdom through exchanges and exposure.

His Holiness has great concerns for the disharmony among people, religion, ideology throughout the world and environmental degradation.  He indicated a program “Pilgrimage for ACTIVE PEACE – ONE WORLD – ONE HUMANITY’ where he embarked on a world-wise journey in 1989.  Pilgrimage for ACTIVE PEACE _ ONE WORLD _ ONE HUMANITY” celebrated its silver jubilee in 2014.

His Holiness is a great scholar, philosopher, poet, artist, architect and geomancer; He is the author of more than 20 books in English.  His compilation in Tibetan language reaches over 200 volumes and his writing reaches over 15 volumes to date.

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