About My Teacher

Lama Sonam Tsering was born and raised in the Yolmo Region of Nepal.   He began his training in the arts and Buddhist ritual at an early age under the guidance of his father, Lama Tenzin Chopel.   At the age of 8, Lama Sonam's studies expanded when he began to receive teachings and study dharma with his guru, the great yogi Yedrol Dorje Rinpoche.    When Lama Sonam was 16, his father, having recognized his extraordinary potential for accomplishment in the arts, sent him to study with the master Bhutanese sculptor Cheku, who was a student of Lopon Omtong.   After 2 years of intensive study with Cheku, Lama Sonam began working on his own, utilizing both his painting & sculpting skills.   He worked primarily at monasteries in Nepal until 1993 when he was invited to the United States by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche and began working at Tashi Choling in Oregon.   Lama Sonam has worked continuously for the last 27 years building stupas and creating statues as well as painting thangkas and murals in Nepal, India, Mexico, Australia and the United States.

"In the realm of space which is unborn, unobstructed mind, forms arise through the dynamic play of creativity: Though these may come and go with the passage of time, to join in the artistic dance is magic unceasing!"
~ Gega Lama