The July-August issue of Mandala Magazine included a series of articles on Ven. Choden Rinpoche, from his early years at Sera Je Monastery in Tibet, through his years as a "hidden meditator" after the Tibetan uprising in 1959, to his emergence to India in 1985:
The Life of a Hidden Meditator
Debating with the Dalai Lama
In Meditation for Nineteen Years
The Benefit of Learning Poetry and Grammar
A Subtle Form of Revolution
Meditation: Making the Mind Positive
You may also learn more about Ven. Choden Rinpoche by visiting the FPMT website, and you can listen to some of his teachings on Lam Rim radio.
Born in 1933 in eastern Tibet, Choden Rinpoche was recognized at age three as the reincarnation of the previous Choden Rinpoche, who had been a candidate for the Twelfth Dalai Lama. At eight he entered Rabten Monastery, and at fifteen he went to Sera Je Monastery near Lhasa. Choden Rinpoche was one of the two Sera Je lamas selected to debate with the Dalai Lama during His Holiness's geshe exams.
Following the Communist Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche stayed on in Tibet, going into solitary retreat for nineteen years. He never left his tiny, dark room in Lhasa from 1965 to 1985, pretending to be an invalid and thereby avoiding the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. All the while, without texts, ritual implements, or an altar, he meditated, profoundly deepening his realizations of Buddhism's core insights. In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India, where he has since taught thousands of students at Sera Je Monastery in South India. Regarded as one of the foremost experts on the Vinaya (the monastic discipline), Rinpoche has inspired many Tibetans and Westerners to ordain. Choden Rinpoche has visited the United States previously to give teachings and lead retreats.
