His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche is the leader of the oldest sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Nyingma. He was born in China's Sikang Province (now part of both Sichuan and Tibet) in 1932 and was identified at the age of three as the third tulku (incarnation in Buddhism) of the ancient lama, Penor Rinpoche.
Pema Norbu Rinpoche left Sikang during the suppression of Buddhism in the region in 1959. He settled in southern India and began to work for the survival and spread of Buddhism in 1961.
Rinpoche built the Namdroling Monastery in India's Byalakuppe in 1963 in the hope of reviving the the Nyingma sect, which had all but disappeared. The monastery has become the largest Nyingmapa teaching center in the world and has more than 1,600 resident lamas, monks and nuns.
Penor Norbu Rinpoche has visited Taiwan almost every year since 1978. He arrived this year on Aug. 29 and plans to host around 30 Buddhist ceremonies until Oct. 22.
The biggest ceremony, which starts today, is a two-day event to remember those who died during last year's 921 earthquake. It takes place at National Taiwan Physical Education College in Taichung.
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