You will be guided by exceptional people from India, all of whom are eager to share and preserve their culture and ancestral knowledge. These include yogis, shamans, rinpoche and amchis (doctors of Tibetan medicine) – key players in their local communities.
The opportunity to experience such people’s inherent warmth, kindness and humanity is a treasure in itself and will make a truly positive impression on your life.
Aged 50, Geshe Tenzin is a Tibetan monk who has studied Tantric Buddhism for over 30 years. He holds the most important honorary title in the Gelukpa tradition, that of Geshe Ngarampa, which he obtained at a Tantric university in South India.
From an early age, Tenzin practiced traditional Tibetan sculpture, including butter for ceremonies, and refined his representation of mandalas in sand paintings. In addition to these artistic activities are the teachings on meditation and Buddhist philosophy that he has taught all over the world.
For Tenzin, it is important to share the beauty of the Buddhist spiritual tradition which is a way of life bringing peace and happiness to everyone’s life.
Tsering T. Drungtso is the former Chairman at the Central Council of Tibetan Medicine (CCTM) and a traditional Tibetan doctor graduated from Tibetan Medical and Astrological College (Men-Tsee-Khang) Dharamsala, India. He is well known author, teacher and healer. His 20 years of experience as a teacher and practitioner projects a deep understanding of modern and traditional medicines while he continues travelling extensively around the globe to heal through his seminars.
He has been the editor for many noted Tibetan magazines on themes of Health and Well-being.
He was awarded the status of Visiting Research Associate Scholar as a designated member at the Darwin College, Cambridge, UK in 2005. He has also given lectures on Tibetan Medicine at various international conferences and workshops in Europe as well as in India. He has been the editor for many noted Tibetan magazines on themes of Health and Well-being.
Tsering is a compassionate traditional practitioner while keeping in mind the values of a changing modern world. He believes that Tibetan Medicine, which is among the four famous traditional medical sciences in the world, has been revitalised in recent years through the support of the government as well as its innovative inheritance of practitioners.
Dr Chok is an accomplished teacher who has dedicated his career to the continuance of the Tibetan language in modern society. He has spent the last decade advancing his studies at a plethora of institutions and obtained his Ph.D at the University of Delhi.
Ordained by HH The Dalai Lama, he practiced as a Tibetan monk for 10 years before adopting the life of a practicing academic, teacher and healer. As the Head of the Research and Translation Department at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala, he teaches a wide range of modalities from Tibetan language classes to Tibetan yoga and Buddhist philosophy.
His passion however lies with Tibetan (lujong) yoga. This eastern style of yogic practice is exceedingly rare and few people, are qualified to teach it today.
Travelling with Dr Chok offers a unique opportunity to integrate these rare yogic practices with Buddhist philosophy; articulated in a way that seamlessly blends eastern thought with western context.
Leonie Blackwell is a passionate Naturopath specialising in emotional wellbeing. A diagnosis of Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity at the age of 24 sparked an extraordinary journey of self-discovery and self-healing both on the physical and spiritual level.
As the author of Making Sense of the Insensible, Leonie now provides personal development coaching to over two thousand clients and is an advocate of natural remedies as a healing modality.
As a woman of remarkable courage and determination, Leonie displays compassionate wisdom that can only come from personal experience and triumph.
Geshe Tsering teaches the Buddhist philosophy classes at Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, India since 2014.
He was born in Kham Drango, Tibet. He began his religious studies at the age of eighteen with his uncle at Rasang mountain retreat in Tibet. He then continued to study Buddhist philosophy in Drango Monastery for five years. He fled Tibet in 1988 and studied Buddhism for the next 25 years in Drepung Monastic University in south India. He received his Geshe Lharampa degree from the same university in 2013. After that he studied tantra at Gyume Tantric University for one year. He was invited to teach at the LTWA in 2014.
Geshe Lobsang teaches the Buddhist philosophy classes at Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, India for 11 years.
He was born in Reting, Ü-Tsang, Tibet. He began his religious studies at the age of twelve at Sera Monastery in Tibet where he continued to study Buddhist philosophy until he was forced to flee Tibet in 1985. He received his Geshe degree from Sera Monastic University in south India in 2003. After that he studied tantra at Gyutoe Tantric University for one year. He taught Buddhist philosophy to the nuns of Kopan Monastery in Nepal before joining the LTWA in 2005.
Born in the isolated hamlet of Shachukul, near the Ladakh-Tibet border, Atak Rinpoche is an important spiritual master. He is the head of Choeling Orgen monastery and school and is dedicated to the promotion of both modern and traditional teachings. The Rinpoche is also a diviner and healer and often busies himself with protection rituals.
Travelling with Atak Rinpoche offers an opportunity to learn about Buddhist philosophy and its applications in modern life. He will give you advice on your spiritual path and the magic of the inner search, and invite you to participate in healing, purification and protection rituals.
In Tibetan tradition, ‘yogi’ means an exceptional person who has full control over the five elements. At 50 years old, Yogi Dawa has spent half his life in retreat at the sacred site of Lamayuru, Ladakh, and is now a spiritual master to other monks.
A man of charisma, Yogi Dawa has been especially inspired by the life and practice of Milarepa – the ascetic and mystical poet of miraculous powers who lived as a hermit in the heart of the snowy Himalaya. He enjoys sharing Milarepa’s sacred songs with travellers and inspiring them to interior meditation.
Travelling with Yogi Dawa, you will experience the yogic tradition under the guidance of a compassionate human being who is devoted to the happiness of others.
Tsepel is a hermit and ordained monk – a yogi who lives in Dharamshala under the patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Over the past 20 years, he has dedicated his life to meditation and solitary retreat in the foothills of the Himalaya, near Dharamsala. His work focuses on experiential realisation of Indo-Tibetan philosophy as taught in the ancient Nalanda tradition.
Tsepel was born in Basgo, Ladakh, to a family of amchis (doctors of Tibetan medicine). He attended Likir monastery in Ladakh and later Ganden monastery in south India. After studying Buddhist philosophy for 15 years at the Tibetan Buddhist University in south India, he became a hermit.
Hermit Tsepel is an expert on Buddhist holy sites and has wide experience of leading pilgrimages. He is currently researching sites in India and Nepal and is soon to publish his first guide book. An experienced teacher, he has a deep desire to share his spiritual knowledge and its practical applications in daily life. The ultimate goal of his meditation is to achieve nirvana for himself and others, whilst sharing insights into the nature of the mind and how to live a happier life.
Lhamo Tsewang is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary destiny. Born into a nomadic family in Ladakh, she grew up as a shepherdess but, one day, at the age of 30, entered into a trance whilst in the mountains with her livestock and became the first female shaman in her ancestral line.
A Tibetan lama initiated Tsewang into the use of her gift of healing for the good of others. Today she is respected across the Indian Himalaya and much sought after by people of all faiths.
A woman of remarkable generosity, Tsewang is also an inspiration on the path to enlightenment. During her shamanic sessions, she will offer you a sacred space for healing and divination, as well as guidance on the spirituality of Ladakh.
Tsering Wangmo is a passionate Tibetan artist, chef and activist. Having studied traditional Tibetan music, dance, and opera in the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts founded by HH the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, northern India, she then went on her maiden performance tour with Sonam Tashi and Tashi Dhondup to nine different cities in the US.
Thereafter, the trio has set up “Chaksampa”, a San Francisco-based non-profit organization dedicated to preservation of traditional Tibetan performing arts. In 1995, Tsering opened a one of a kind Tibetan restaurant, Lhasa Moon, in San Francisco and five years later received prestigious awards for her culinary book.
Currently she serves as an artistic director of the Chaksampa dance and opera company and works as a private chef in San Francisco.
Tashi is passionate about Himalayan civilization – his aim in life is to share Indo-Tibetan culture and its rich philosophy of living with the world.
He descends from a family of Tibetan nomads who lived in the shadow of sacred Mount Kailash. His parents moved to India in 1962 to live on the high plateaux of Ladakh, at an elevation of over 4,500 meters. Growing up in the vast Himalayas and coming from a long line of shamans and amchis, doctors of Tibetan medicine, Tashi has had an affinity for spiritual matters from an early age. When he was 20 years old, he left Ladakh for the first time to study history at the University of Delhi. With a degree, a growing interest in Buddhist thought, and a mastery of five languages, Tashi became an interpreter for Tibetan masters and yogis, traveling with them as a young man across Europe and the USA.
His heart lives in India, where he has worked as an assistant and coordinator for various documentaries and research projects about Himalayan traditions and spirituality. He also became a guide, facilitating the exploration of Himalayan wisdom for Western travellers.
Moreover, Tashi has a great knowledge of shamanism which has been passed down to him from his ancestors. He is an exceptional guide who will offer you a unique perspective of the wisdoms of India and the Himalayan mysteries. Through personal sharing and exchange, he will adapt his knowledge to your unique personal questions or challenges, making this journey a life changing experience for you.
A highly respected healer in the Zanskar valley, Dolma always dreamed of becoming an amchi, doctor of Tibetan medicine. As a teenager, she could be found shepherding in the mountains whilst working on her notebooks. During this time, she healed her sick sister and went on to spend four winters studying traditional medicine in Phuktal Monastery. Upon completing her training, Dolma studied to become a nurse and now combines ancient and modern knowledge in her work.
Travelling with Dolma is an opportunity to see Ladakh and Zanskar through the eyes of a local. She featured in the French documentary ‘Rendez-vous en Terre Inconnue’ with Gilbert Montagné, who remarked, “I saw in her something unforgettable which will be marked in my mind forever.”
Rabsel hails from a long line of rinpoches, spiritual masters, and amchis, doctors of Tibetan medicine. As a child he harvested medicinal plants in the Himalaya and prepared valuable remedies under his father’s tutelage. Rabsel went on to a career at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Leh – one of the highest seats of learning in India – and has developed a specific approach to Buddhist philosophy which, along with his medicinal knowledge, he shares with precision and intensity.
Born in 1989, Phuljung left Chinese-occupied Tibet at the age of six, making the long trek to India. He was educated at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) school in Dharamshala and, in 2004, was recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Rinpoche Yeshi Chophel, who dedicated his life to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan Buddhism.
After his education at TCV, Phuljung became a monk and studied Buddhist philosophy for six years in southern India. Upon giving up his orders, he discovered a passion for the arts – particularly cinematography – and is renowned for his films on the Tibetan community. Phuljung is an exceptional guide – young, jovial and eager to share his philosophical knowledge.
“I want to continue to make films,” he says, “not only in Tibet but also to promote spiritual values. Individuals around the world sentence themselves to suffering because of their negative thoughts and actions. I believe that exposing them to a different, probably more liberating way of thinking will benefit everyone and ultimately the whole of society.”
Geshe Dakpa is a scholarly monk who has close ties with the Dalai Lama. As a political prisoner in Chinese-occupied Tibet, he endured difficult, sometimes inhumane conditions, but decided to view his incarceration as a spiritual retreat during which he could develop his compassion.
The Geshe studied at Ganden Monastery in Tibet and later in southern India. Today he teaches philosophy at the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery, as well as giving revitalizing Sunday teachings to monks and laypersons in Dharamshala.
With his deep understanding of Buddhism and his air of peace and serenity, Geshe Dakpa is superbly placed to introduce travellers to Tibetan philosophy.
Born in Leh in 1987, Tempa is a student of Tibetan medicine who also works as a guide. He studied at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) school – founded by the Dalai Lama – and, at the age of 15, left Ladakh for two years to finish his schooling in Dharamshala. Tempa is currently studying at the Buddhist Institute in Leh, where his intensive six-year medicine course is complemented by teachings on Buddhist philosophy. In 2015, he will qualify as an amchi, a doctor of Tibetan medicine.
Tempa’s passion for travel has led him to explore southern India, where he has befriended monks from the great Buddhist monasteries and spent much time debating Buddhist philosophy. His thirst for knowledge has also drawn him to study Tibetan ethnology, as well as attend many Buddhist teachings, including the Kalachakra, as taught by the Dalai Lama.
Tempa is an extremely friendly and open guide who loves to share his personal experiences, together with his cultural and spiritual knowledge.
Geshe Jamyang Norbu grew up in Tibet, where he joined a monastery at the age of 13. When China occupied his native land, he went into exile in southern India and continued his studies at Drepung Loseling, the largest Buddhist university. A brilliant and passionate student, he devoted 20 years of his life to Buddhist philosophy and, in 2005, received the highest monastic title – Geshe Lharampa.
Geshe Jamyang also has a passion for modern science and its applications in the study of the mind – always in the context of spirituality and philosophy. His modern take on tradition and ancestral knowledge allows him to apply Buddhist philosophy to the 21st century.
An exceptional, highly approachable guide, Geshe Jamyang will impress you with his ability to answer your questions on the inner self.
