Samten Phuntchhok Rinpoche was born in the same village as His Holiness Norbu "Penor" Rinpoche was born - the Powo village of Kham, Eastern Tibet on August 12, 1946. His father's name is Pema Lama and his mother, Dolma. From an early age, his father taught him basic reading and writing. When he turned 12 years old, Samten Rinpoche entered Powo Fulung Monastery. There, he took refuge vows from his teacher Fulung Tulku Sangye Rinpoche and practiced the ceremonies, rituals and traditions of the monastery.

In the year 1961, Samten Rinpoche was forced to leave the monastery in Tibet to escape from communist occupation. He traveled through Pema Kod, Assam and finally arrived at Mysore, South India. At Mysore, he sought sanctuary at the Namdroling Monastery of the Nyingma Palyul Tradition which was under the guidance of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.

Samten Rinpoche received Getsul (novice) and Gelong/ Bhiksu (full ordination) vows from His Holiness Penor Rinpoche which he followed wholeheartedly. He also taught young aspiring monks at Namdroling Monastery's elementary school basic reading and writing in Tibetan, monastic duties and Buddhist teachings for four years. Samten Rinpoche received various teachings, empowerments and oral transmissions from prominent spiritual masters such as His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche Jamyang Dorje, Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, Khenpo Jigmey Phuntsok Rinpoche and many more. He also underwent a 3-year, 3-month, 3-day intensive retreat and meditation at the monastery.

In 1978, Samten Rinpoche entered the prestigious Ngagyur Nyingma Institute (NNI) to study in-depth Buddhist Philosophy as well as the traditional practices of Sutrayana and Tantrayana. NNI is a branch of Namdroling Monastery and a renowned center for advanced Buddhist education and research studies according to the Nyingma Tradition. After completing the nine-year course, Samten Rinpoche shared this precious knowledge with other monks by teaching at NNI for 5 years from 1987 to 1992. Throughout his 15 years at NNI, Samten Rinpoche was also in-charge of the discipline of the monks at the institute.

In 2003, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche sent Samten Rinpoche to the Philippine Tibetan Palyul Nyingma Buddhist Center to become its resident spiritual teacher and advisor. Indeed, we feel very blessed to have Samten Rinpoche in our midst to teach and guide us in our Dharma practice. We are most grateful to him for his clear and precise teachings and for his display of tremendous patience, wisdom, compassion and skillful means throughout his efforts to help us understand and incorporate the Dharma teachings into our daily lives.

Today, Samten Rinpoche is widely sought for prayers, forecasts and divinations on health, education, family, business and various other matters. He also accepts requests to perform on-site blessings and in some cases, on-site prayers to pacify spiritual disturbances in our homes and places of business.