Acharya Lhakpa Tshering was born on
the 14th of March 1974, the Year or Wood Tiger, in the Goshi
village in the Dagana valley of Southern Bhutan. He went to Goshi
Junior High School and at the age of twelfth when he was in fifth
grade, left the school and entered the Drukpa Kagyu monastery known
as Tsirang Namgay Choeling Rabdey, which is in Southern Bhutan.
There he received the novice vow and spent seven years learning
monastic arts of torma making, ritual music, lama dance, and
chanting.
In 1993 he enrolled in the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute, at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, which is affiliated to Sampuranand Sanskrit University, HP, India. Three years later, before summer retreat, he received the vows of Gelong (bikshu)-the fully ordained monk from His Eminence Gyaltshab Rinpoche. Since then he has received many teachings, empowerments and transmissions from Rinpoche, and also received teachings from Sangay Nyenpa Rinpoche, and Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin.
After completing his studies in 2002, he received an Acharya degree from Karma Shri Nalanda Institute and Sampuranand Sanskrit University. After graduation, he served as co-librarian with Dilyak Dropon Rinpoche and as teacher in the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute. He worked for Nitartha Publication in Katmandu, Nepal as editor during summer and winter breaks, while studying in the Institute.
On March 20, 2006, he arrived to Nalanda West in Seattle Washington to help the center and learn the western culture. In February, 2010, under the direction of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Acharya Lhakpa arrived in New York to start his residency with the North East Nalandabodhi Consortium. As the resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa will spend eight months a year in New York and the rest of the year with the Connecticut and the Philadelphia sanghas.