Ven. Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche is a master of Buddhist meditation and philosophy under the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions. A Lama of the second generation, he was born in Odisha, India in 1970. Rinpoche attended primary school in Darjeeling. He received a traditional Buddhist education under prominent Masters and later he earned a Master’s degree in Buddhist Philosophy. He is the heir of the Ripa lineage, a spiritual lineage of reincarnated lamas that dates back to 17th century in Eastern Tibet. He is currently the head of two monasteries in India and Nepal where he oversees a monastic community of over 400 monks; in addition, he is the spiritual leader of a Tibetan community in exile residing in Chandragiri, in the state of Odisha, India, where he founded the Thubten Mindrolling Nyingmapa Society. The society manages the twin structure of Buddhist philosophy and culture education under the Padmasambhava Mahavihara, including socially beneficial projects. Since 1996, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche has travelled extensively in Asia, Europe and the USA, giving lectures and seminars to a lay audience on topics as varied as meditation for the modern world, Eastern wisdom for modern chaos, secular ethics, values in education, authentic presence for leaders, etc. At the request of his Western students, Rinpoche founded the Ripa International Center in 2012. Located in the outskirts of Bern, Switzerland, it hosts annual meditation retreats, events and conferences and serves as the international seat of the Ripa lineage in the West. In 2014, at the request of his Russian students, Rinpoche founded the Ripa Center in Moscow. He is known to connect with people deeply and his compassion has touched us in the deepest and simplest way to change our many lifes.
