Kalu Rinpoche
Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 in eastern Tibet. At age 15, he began studying at the Karma Kargyu Palpung Monastery. After 10 years there, he spent 15 years as a solitary yogi in the Tibetan forests. He returned to the monastery for final studies and began teaching in the 1940s. When forced into exile, he taught in India, attracting Western students, and eventually travelling to the West. He established the first Western three-year retreat center in France. During the 1970s, he introduced many Westerners to Tibetan Buddhism, founding centers in 12 countries and traveling to give teachings, empowerments and Refuge Vows. Kalu Rinpoche died in 1998 in his monastery in Sonada near Darjeeling, India.
