Losang samten biography of christopher

When Losang Samten was about 6 years old, his family fled Chinese Communist domination of their nativeTibet along with many others, including the Dalai Lama. After the family settled in India, Samten studied at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, then entered Namgyal Monastery, the Dalai Lama’s monastery.

Samten was ordained as a monk in 1967.

Losang samten biography of christopher

Among the subjects he studied at the monastery was mandala painting, an ancient and demanding ritual art that originated in India 2,500 years ago and has been practiced in Tibet for 1,400 years.

In 1985, Samten received his Master of Buddhist Sutra and Tantra degree and began three years of service as the Dalai Lama’s personal assistant.

Sand mandala painting had not been seen outside monasteries for centuries, but in 1988, the Dalai Lama asked Samten to create a mandala at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Samten remained in the United States, living in Philadelphia, where he became spiritual director of the Tibetan Buddhist C