Khenpo Tsering Samdrup was bto a family of Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India. In his early teens Khenpo moved to Rumtek Monastery, the seat of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism in Sikkim, India and began his spiritual training as a monk. Over the next 10 years Khenpo underwent a rigorous educational program where he studied all the major texts of Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan literature, grammar and history at Rumtek’s monks’ college – the Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. In 1992, he was awarded the 'Khenpo' degree (equivalent to a PhD) and has been teaching the Dharma ever since.

Well appreciated for his warmth, openness and delightful sense of humor, Khenpo serves as the educational director of the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi and is the headmaster of the monks' college Shri Diwakar Vihara Buddhist Institute in Kalimpong, India. For the past 10 years, Khenpo has taught Buddhist philosophy at numerous centers throughout Southeast Asia, Europe, the US and South America.