Geshe Sherab Palden's Journey

From Menri Monastery to Chamma Ling Poland

In 2023, we published Geshe Sherab Palden's story about his journey from Dolpo to Menri. Since then a lot has changed: in 2023, Geshe-la was assistant to His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin, and traveled a few months through Europe. Now he lives as resident lama in Europe at the Chamma Ling Retreat Center in Poland. Ton Bisscheroux interviewed him again, and here is the latest in his story.

Ton: Geshe-la, first I want to ask you to clarify something you said in the 2023 interview. You said that in 1992, you received an ordination by His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, and in 2005 you became a monk. What is the difference between an ordination and becoming a monk?

Geshe Sherab Palden: Ordination means that His Holiness cuts the hair, and then at the ceremony you are given a name. I got my ordination and my religious name at Triten Norbutse Monastery, when H.H Menri 33rd visited us. However, I did not take any monk vows then.

Ton: When did you arrive in Poland, to live there as resident lama?

Geshe Sherab Palden: I came here at the Summer retreat in August 2024.

Ton: How did you become resident lama in Poland?

His Holiness 34th Menri and Geshe Sherab Palden in PolandGeshe Sherab Palden: In 2019, H.H. Menri 34th was invited to several countries in Europe. At that time I was his assistant, and I dealt with all the sangha members who wanted to make an appointment with His Holiness. That year, board members of Ligmincha Poland asked me if I wanted to come here as a resident lama. I politely turned down their request. In August 2023, I came here a second time, while travelling with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and they asked me again. I did not give them an answer. Back in India, I discussed the issue with His Holiness, because the service contract with Menri Monastery had almost expired. I also talked about it with my relatives, and asked Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for their opinion. When Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche agreed, I came to Poland.

Ton: What is your daily schedule now?

Geshe Sherab Palden: I wake up at 5 or 6 a.m., and I go to bed somewhere between 8 and 10 p.m., because there is no fixed time for me here. I have two scheduled practices. Every day at 10 a.m. I do the Sang ritual. We do it at that time, so sangha members can join us for this practice. At 7 p.m. I do the Sur Chod practice. In the morning, I do my personal meditation and daily prayers. I also study texts of rituals, because we did not learn the details in the monastery. Here I sleep more than I did in the monastery. I walk a lot, and sometimes I go cycling.

When Rinpoches come here for a retreat, I support them. And during the weekends, I sometimes do rituals, or make a small program with practice. I also watch broadcasts of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on a big screen together with sangha members.

Ton: Do you also teach at other places?

Geshe Sherab Palden: I gave teachings in Warsaw and Białystok. They always invite me, but because of my health issue, and appointments for the surgery and the doctor, I haven't been able to go there often. Also, other sanghas in Europa, like Germany, Hungary and Austria, have asked me to come. When my eyes are better, I will go there more often. Tenzin Wangyal and the Board told me that my health issue now has the highest priority, and when my eyes are good, then we can organize the programs.

Ton: Please tell us something about your health issue.

Geshe Sherab Palden: I've had a glaucoma eye disease since I was young. I was not aware of it, but in 2017 I had an issue. In 2023, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche advised me to do a medical check-up in a hospital in Poland, and I found out what the problem was: a nerve was blocked, and did not transmit the signal from the eye to the brain. They advised me to do a surgery.

Back at Menri Monastery, the doctors in India advised me not to do a surgery. They said, if something goes wrong, you will be completely blind. So, every month I went to Delhi for a doctor's prescription for eye drops. I had some pain, and my eyes were getting warm. Then I put a lot of water on my eyes. I don't know if it was a good idea, but I did.

In March 2025 in Poland, I first had a surgery on the worse eye, and after that went well, I also had a surgery on the other eye. The surgery was successful. Right now, I still have some difficulties because my sight is not good yet when I look far away, and I have some issues with the sunlight. So, traveling is quite difficult.

Ton: How has it been for you to come to Europe and be a resident lama? Because now you have a completely different task than you had at Menri Monastery, and you are living in quite a different society.

Geshe Sherab Palden: I have always lived in social communities, and I love socializing. When there are no retreats here, it is very quiet. So, after the summer retreat, during the first weeks it was quite difficult to manage myself. I had a lot of time to myself. In the monastery we work a lot, so there is very little private time. So now, I read books, practice more, learn Polish. Actually, I feel very good here, and the Board members take good care of me. I did one Namjom healing retreat for my eyes for one week in Wilga. Sometimes, when I do retreats for myself, I close the door, and don't want to talk to anyone, and do my practice.

Ton: Is it a scientific kind of study that you do?

Geshe Sherab Palden: I am not ready for doing scientific research at a university. I do a lot of research in the basic rituals from Tantra and Sutra. I order medicinal substances from Nepal for the rituals. For every ritual you need a lot of substances. In the West, people don't know about that, and it is difficult to collect them. In the monasteries in India, they prepare it themselves. So, I tell people how to make it, and that the ritual becomes more powerful when you do it the right way. It is like a medicine, when you want to make it, you need the formula. If you put the right ingredients in the medicine, the pill will be more effective. It is the same with rituals. When you participate in these retreats, and you buy the ingredients with Ligmincha Poland online or in the shop, there is a description in the box on how to prepare and use the substances.

Ton: Is there something else that you'd like to say to conclude this interview?

Geshe Sherab Palden: I want to add that even though I am living in Poland now, I still help H.H Menri 34th. This year His Holiness is coming to visit Europe, and I am in contact with him and the sanghas in different countries in Europe, and I communicate with the Office of His Holiness.