Lamas at Kathok Gonpa
Khenpo Panchen Dawa is the Abbott of Tra Ling monastery in Golok, Tibet. He is the personal tutor of Lingtrul Rinpoche and Karzang Rinpoche and also he was a student of both Rinpoches previous lives. He came to Tra Ling Monastery when he was 16 and is now in his early 80s. He has lived through intense periods of social change in Tibet and in spite of that he continously maintained great devotion and connection to his lineage. Khenpo Panchen Dawa is an amazing scholar and accomplished master but he lives a very simple life dilligently continuing in his daily practice. He begins his day meditating from about four in the morning and during the day he only engages in social contact if he has to give very important teachings. Otherwise he only does his four sessions of practice. His committment to his spiritual practice is very well known and is an inspiration to the people of Golok. He says instead of spending his time traveling and having social interactions the most beneficial offering he can make is to practice. So due to this recognition he has spent much of his life in mountain retreat and only has taken a few select, dedicated students. Lingtrul Rinpoche and Karzang Rinpoche are very blessed to be two of those few students.
View from the Top of the World!
Karzang Rinpoche is a recognized incarnation of a great yogi practitioner. He is also a student of Khenchen Munsel Rinpoche and a Dzogchen master in his own right, as well as maintaining his samaya with Lingtrul Rinpoche. Karzang Rinpoche is the resident lama at Kathok Gonpa and provides unlimited guidance and wisdom with much patience and endless humour! We are very lucky that Karzang Rinpoche wishes to stay in Coombs to help us develop our practice and that his English is excellent so we can all benefit greatly from his teachings.
Autobiography of Karzang Rinpoche's previous life as Lama Gugu
Karzang Rinpoche and Tulku of Khenpo Munsel Rinpoche