Ribur Rinpoche was born in the Kham region of Tibet in 1923, and was recognised by the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the head lama of Ribur Monastery. Rinpoche received his Geshe degree in 1948, at Sera Me Monastery.

Following his exile to India in 1985, Ribur Rinpoche wrote numerous biographies of great lamas such as the 13th Dalai Lama and an extensive history of Tibet, which includes his autobiography. Ribur Rinpoche spent many years living in northern California, USA, where he gave teachings and led retreats, before returning to Sera Monastery in South India, where he passed away on 15 January 2006.

“The Relic Tour makes these relics so easily accessible; so many relics that you can meet and see and receive the blessing from, for as long as you want, at leisure. And this is only exclusively because of the kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche – because of his Maitreya Project and because Rinpoche is really quite out of the ordinary.

“So do not make any mistake. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is going through a great deal of difficulties and hardships in order to be able to have, for the benefit of all sentient beings, this Maitreya statue. The amount of activities and projects that he undertakes in relation with this very project and the amount of responsibility that he carries around is not to be underestimated."

Relic and Source

Ash relics of Ribur Rinpoche were added to the collection by Lama Zopa Rinpoche who was present at Ribur Rinpoche’s cremation in India in 2006.