Thich Phap An
Thich Phap An Is the Resident monk at the buddha house. He has opened his home to us for our meditation practice, we are always grateful!
Geshe YongDong
Geshe YongDong became a monk when he was only seven years old. He entered the Nangzhig Bönpo Monastery, the largest Bön Monastery in Tibet. At fifteen Geshe YongDong began studying logic, Paramita (perfection), the middle way and traditional studies of Tibetan grammar, and poetry. At 16 years old, he took his "Gelong" monk's vow from his beloved root teacher,
Gyaltsap Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. His Dharma studies included Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, Hinayana, Mahayana, and all schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Bönpo, Nyingma, Sakya, Gelugpa, Kagyupa. He spent three years studying ritual and sacred dancing, and the flute. He is an accomplished flute player and had the honor to play for H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama in Tashi Kyal Monastery in India. In March 1992 at age 24, after debating on Sutra and Tantra for three days with hundreds of scholars; he was awarded the Rajampa Geshe degree, the highest academic degree awarded in Tibetan monastic education. It takes a minimum of nine years of study to receive the Geshe degree, the highest degree awarded in Tibetan monastic education. In the spring of 1992, Geshe YongDong escaped from Tibet into Katmandu, Nepal and then travelled to Dharamsala, India to meet with H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama. Once again, he began studying in the Tibetan Buddhist monastic universities of Sera and the great Bönpo Menri Monastery in India. Geshe YongDong did in-depth studies on Sutra and Tantra including Dzogchen, both intellectually and practically under His Holiness the Menri Trizin and the great master, Bönlop Trinlyi Nyima Rinpoche. In 2001, GesheLa moved to Courtenay B.C., Vancouver Island, Canada where he began teaching groups of students. H created the Tibetan Bon Centre known as Sherab Chamma Ling in 2003 and now travels regularly to teach in Vancouver, Quadra Island, Gabriola Island and Nanaimo. He conducts workshops and talks at VIU in Nanaimo B.C. and travels to teach at Bon centers in California, Texas and at the Ligmincha center in Charlottesville VA. The ancient Tibetan Yungdrung Bön Buddhist tradition is Tibet's oldest spiritual tradition. For centuries the Bön Dzogchen teachings were kept secret, accessible only to a very few. Yungdrung Bön is Geshe YongDong's lineage and he is one of only a handful of masters of the Bön Dzogchen tradition, living in the west qualified to give teachings and transmissions. |
