The Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak

The Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak was born in Purang in Western Tibet in 1954. His family escaped from Tibet in 1959 and eventually resettled in a refugee camp in Mundgod, South India. He is the only child of five in his family to have survived the escape.

Lama Pema has been a monk since he was 7 years old. He is a student of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and other great masters from the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a graduate of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Benares, India, in 1980 where he received his Acharya (master) degree.

He was sent by His Holiness the Sakya Trizin in 1982 as the first of the younger generation of Tibetan teachers in America from the Sakya School. In 1989 Lama Pema founded the Vikramasila Foundation. This foundation encompasses the Palden Sakya Centers in New York City; Woodstock, NY; Philmont, NY and Cresskill, NJ. These centers offer courses in Tibetan Buddhist studies and meditation.

Lama Pema is the creator of "Bur Yig"--Tibetan Braille and the founder of The Pema Ts'al Monastic Institute in Pokara, Nepal, and the Pema Ts'al School in Mundgod, India. Lama Pema has been guiding western students for the past 20 years. He continues to travel and teach extensively to Dharma centers around the world. His marvelous command of the English language and excelled wisdom and compassion make him and outstanding model in today's world.

Articles and Interviews
Information and interviews with and about Lama Pema.

Available Teachings by the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak