| About Us • Biographies |
Venerable Lama Konchok Sonam |
An unbroken master-to-disciple relationship, from Buddha Shakymuni up until the present day, is embodied in the Venerable Lama Konchok Sonam. He is the Spiritual Director, Resident Lama (teacher), and Retreat Master at the Drikung Mediation Center in Arlington, MA, as well as the Spiritual Director of Katsel Dharma Center in Tampa, Florida and is Co- Spiritual Director at Katsel Shenphen Dhargye Cho Ling in Clearwater, Florida.
Lama Konchok Sonam began his Buddhist training when he was very young. A fully ordained Gelong (monk) at the age of 18, he completed retreat on Ngondro (Common and Extraordinary Preliminaries), and the Fivefold Path of Mahamudra under H.H. Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche and Gelong Yeshe. He served as personal attendant to
H.H. Chungtsang Rinpoche, H.E. Drubwang Rinpoche, Tongkar Tulku, and H.E. Thritsab Rinpoche, and tutored American tulku Thadag Rinpoche (Jack Churchward).
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| Lama Sonam received teachings and blessings from more than 25 great masters, including Nyatak Rinpoche, his beloved main teacher, [and the Most Venerable Pachung Rinpoche, the renown scholar and retreat master at Drikung-Til monastery. Pachung Rinpoche was the teacher of the late H.E. Drubwang Rinpoche. Lama Sonam was the disciplinarian at the famous monastery Jang Chub Ling, in Dehra Dun, India. This difficult position required an extremely vast knowledge of the Buddha-Dharma, and inspirational deep inner qualities. On June 9, 2003, Lama Sonam arrived in Boston to be the Resident Lama at the Drikung Meditation Center. The stream of blessings has not stopped since. Lama Sonam is expert in both the theoretical and practical aspects of training the mind through meditation, and other Vajrayana methods for awakening the Buddha Nature inherent in all sentient beings. |
In the fall of 2005, Lama Sonam started the Jowo Rinpoche Statue Project to benefit the United States and the world. Lama Sonam's vision was to bring the blessings of Buddhism to the United States by creating a pilgrimage site featuring a nine-foot tall bronze statute, the Jowo Rinpoche. In May of 2008, Jowo Rinpoche was completed in Nepal, shipped to Boston, and currently resides at the Drikung Meditation Center in Arlington, MA. This magnificent statue is an emanation replica of the famous Jowo Rinpoche statue of Lhasa, Tibet. The U.S. Jowo Rinpoche is available to be visited. Visit Jokhang.org. for more information on the statue and the pilgrimage site. Lama Sonam is currently raising funds for the purchase of a permanent home for the pilgrimage site.
Please support this building fund by purchasing a raffle ticket
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Khenchen Rinpoche |
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Khenchen Rinpoche Konchog Gyaltsen is the founder of the Drikung
Meditation Center. He was born in Tsari, Tibet in the spring of 1946.
After escaping from Tibet, he received his Acharya degree at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies at Varanasi, India a nine year program. He then studied for years with many highly realized masters of the different Tibetan Buddhist lineages. While completing the traditional three-year retreat he studied the Five-fold Profound Path of Mahamudra,
the Six Yogis of Naropa and other teachings.
In 1982, he came to the USA
and established the Tibetan Meditation Center in Maryland. Since then he has devoted himself to establishing and teaching at various centers, writing, and translating texts. In January of 2001, Rinpoche was honored with the title "Khenchen", which translates roughly as "Great Abbot". It is so rare to meet a Lama with extensive training in Buddhist Philosophy as well as profound meditation experience.
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In addition, Rinpoche's complete fluency in English makes him exceptionally capable of communicating the profound meaning of the teachings.
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Weekly Schedule |
• Sundays
10:00am - 12:00 noon:
Meditation Practice
• Tuesday
7:00pm - 8:30pm:
Introduction to Meditation
• Wednesdays
7:00pm - 9:00pm:
Ngondro Practice
• Wednesdays
6:00pm - 7:00pm:
Tibetan Language Class
All practices are open to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend. |
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The Golden Raffle
Excellent Odds
Great Prizes! |
| For more information, please visit the Causes for Merit page |
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