A note for The Buddhist Center Family from Director Nina Highfill:

First, A Farewell and A Dream Coming True

As many of you know, our precious Geshe Thubten Sherab has decided to embark on a world tour to share the Dharma with students across the globe, after which he’ll fulfill a long-held dream of entering extended retreat. While we’re deeply sad to lose his daily guidance, kindness, wisdom, and presence that have blessed our center since 2001 and our Santa Fe home since 2013, we’re also genuinely thrilled for him. 

This is HIS time, and we couldn’t be happier to support his journey. 

Geshe la’s last teaching at The Buddhist Center will be on November 16th, 2025. Please mark the date and join us to receive the last precious Dharma teachings from Geshe la and to make this day a celebration of gratitude for a million ways Geshe la touched and changed our lives! More information will be coming soon.

And Now… The Big News!

I am so excited to share with you all that Charok Lama Rinpoche has accepted our invitation to become The Buddhist Center’s new resident teacher!

For those who met Rinpoche during his February 2025 visit, you KNOW. You know his incredible energy, his joyful laugh, his ability to make the Dharma feel both profound and accessible. 

For those who didn’t meet him, let me share a bit about who he is.

Who Is Charok Lama?

Charok Lama was recognized as a reincarnation of the previous Charok Lama Kusho Mangden, a revered Sherpa lama and terma lineage holder. From a very young age, he would write letters in charcoal on plastic noodle wrappers saying he wanted to go to the Kopan Monastery, then Sera Monastery, then to the West to teach.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Rinpoche received his education at Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, followed by Sera Je Monastery in South India, completing rigorous philosophical training in the four main treatises (Pramanavartika, Prajnaparamita, Madhyamika, and Vinaya). In 2020, he made the decision to live as a lay person and has since been teaching in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia.

Rinpoche is young, energetic, fun, down-to-earth, and he makes the Dharma feel alive, relevant, and genuinely exciting. He’s trained in the most rigorous Buddhist philosophical traditions, yet his main message is pure joy: developing happiness in our practice so we can share peace with others and continue this amazing journey together. 

The Reality Check

Now, here’s where I need you to sit with me in that space of hopeful uncertainty. While we’re celebrating, we also need to be realistic, because everything depends on Rinpoche’s visa approval.

We’ve submitted the visa application and expect to hear back by the end of 2025 or early 2026. If approved, Rinpoche would move to Santa Fe in March 2026.

But visa processes are complex and unpredictable. So, while we’re keeping our hearts open and hopeful, we can’t count this as a done deal just yet.

Here’s Where YOU Come In

This is where our community’s collective power matters. We’re asking from the bottom of our hearts that everyone help create the causes and conditions for Charok Lama to arrive at The Buddhist Center without obstacles.

Buddhism teaches us about interdependence: that everything arises from causes and conditions. Together, we are part of those causes and conditions. Our collective positive energy, our merit, our prayers matter!

Here’s what you can do to help:

• Make dedications and prayers that any obstacles to Charok Lama’s visa approval are cleared
• Do your daily practices and make offerings with this intention
• Dedicate your merit toward this aspiration
• Hold and communicate to others the hope that Rinpoche’s path to Santa Fe will be smooth and swift

Our strong newsletter community has real power when we work together. Let’s use it!

Standing Strong Together

So here we are, saying goodbye to our beloved Geshe Sherab (though not yet, we still have precious time with him!) and opening our hearts and arms to welcome Charok Lama. This is a moment to use the power of our loving, warm, and supportive community. We can support each other in this time of transition, creating merit and knowing that together we can handle whatever the future has in store for us.

Let’s make this happen together. Let’s pray, practice, and prepare our hearts for what we hope to be another wonderful chapter in The Buddhist Center’s history.

With so much love, excitement, and hopeful anticipation,

Nina Highfill

Executive Director

On behalf of the Board of Directors of The Buddhist Center, Thubten Norbu Ling

PS: Stay Connected: Watch for updates on the visa process and more ways you can support Rinpoche’s arrival. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest news from the center.

Registration for the Nepal & India Pilgrimage with Charok Lama closes November 8th