“In the early 90s, former monastics were quite rare in my region. Society did not perceive ex-monastics in a good way. They were seen as failures that could not fulfil their commitment. These days it’s accepted. You don’t need to be a monastic to help the Dharma.” In telling me this, Choje Lama has highlighted […]
Life Religiously Lived
Choje Lama’s biography
Answering the Conch Shell’s Call: Schooling and the Religious Life
This is the second instalment of Life Religiously Lived, a biography of Choje Lama. We opened with the birth circumstances of the boy then-known as Wangchuk Topden, and in this chapter we look at how his school years shaped his life in preparation for his growing religious vocation. * Each human life is an open […]
Life Religiously Lived: A Biography of Choje Lama
Preface This series of articles belongs to a biography I am writing of Choje Lama Wangchuk Topden. Formally, “Choje Lama” is a rare title bestowed upon him by His Holiness the Karmapa, and he has been given the task of realizing Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche’s vision for the monastic community of the Vajrayana Kagyu school. It […]