Life in the Monastery

When Ven. Thupten Donyo, was about twelve years old, his parents asked him if he would like to be a monk, and somehow without knowing anything about a monk’s life Donyo said yes. At the same time his younger brother Dhondup also said that he would like to go with him to become a monk and a few years later another younger brother Sonam joined them. This made Ven. Donyo’s parents very happy as they were very strong believers in the Buddha Dharma. As soon as Ven. Donyo agreed to be a monk his father took him and his brother to India to the Gyuto monastery in Dalhousie. On his way to the Gyuto Monastery he went with his family to visit His Holiness Ling Rinpoche who was the senior tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They met Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, on the very auspicious day of Saka Dawa, the Buddha’s birthday and Rinpoche gave him the name Thupten Donyo.

During his time in the monastery, Ven. Donyo had three different teachers who taught him different subjects based on the Monastery curriculum. One teacher was responsible for his spiritual training, one responsible for his welfare and health and one was responsible for his discipline and keeping his vows in proper orders. All three teachers were very kind to Donyo and they guided him for many years until he was confident with his studies and daily routine. However, one day Ven. Donyo became so worried that he would not be able to complete his studies that he planned to run away from the monastery. Fortunately, his teachers encouraged him and with their full support he remained and continued to follow their guidance. Because of his teachers, in 1985, Donyo was able to successfully sit for his final test in front of the vice abbot, the disciplinarian and the chant master. The test lasted for five full days. Ven. Donyo strongly believes that defining a goal is the most important thing for a student to motivate them to learn and lead a better life.