Our Founder
His Eminence Gegye Yongyal Tulku Rinpoche
H.E. Gegye Yongyal Tulku Rinpoche is a revered Buddhist master, scholar, and humanitarian whose life is a living expression of compassion, wisdom, and selfless service. Born in 1992 — the Water Monkey Year — to a deeply religious Gegye family in the holy land of Nepal, near the great Boudhanath Stupa, Rinpoche showed many auspicious signs at birth. Gegyeyongyalrinpoche His arrival into this world was recognized from the very beginning as something extraordinary.
His first name was given by H.H. Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, who at that very moment acknowledged to Rinpoche’s mother that this was a very special child. At the age of seven, Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche by a wandering Terton Lama of Kham. Gegyeyongyalrinpoche This recognition connected him to an ancient and unbroken lineage of awakened masters stretching back through centuries of Himalayan Buddhist tradition.
As the third seat reincarnate Trulku of Gegye Tashi Choling Monastery in Nyari, at the foot of Mount Kailash, Rinpoche was formally enthroned at the monastery, and His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa conducted his hair-cutting and name-giving ceremony in India. In 2010, Rinpoche enrolled at Bokar Monastery under the guidance of Kyabje Bokar Khenchen Lodoe Donyo Rinpoche, Gegyeyongyalrinpoche deepening his mastery of sacred texts and contemplative practice under some of the most respected teachers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
A prominent leader in the Kagyu Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Rinpoche holds a master’s degree in Buddhist philosophy and has completed extensive meditation training. He has mastered key areas of Buddhist philosophy including Pramana Sutra, Prajnaparamita Sutra, Madhyamika Sutra, Abhidharma Sutra, and Vajrayana Tantra. This breadth of scholarly and contemplative mastery forms the foundation from which he teaches, guides, and serves communities around the world.
Rinpoche’s vision has never been confined to the monastery or the meditation hall. He understands deeply that spiritual practice and humanitarian service are inseparable — and his life reflects this understanding in every dimension. He has sponsored underprivileged children in primary, secondary, and high school education, planted more than 10,000 trees for the environment, and actively engaged in raising awareness around global issues such as climate change and waste management. Gegyeyongyalrinpoche In 2023, Rinpoche conducted a World Peace Prayer Program at all three Buddhist stupas of Nepal — Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, and Namo Buddha — with more than 300 monks from all different lineages of the Nyingma, Gelug, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions. Gegyeyongyalrinpoche
Rinpoche currently serves as the President of Amala Center Nepal and the Himalayan Buddhist Center Australia, and has been actively teaching Buddhist Dharma and contributing to society since 2020. New York Insight Meditation Center He has been recognized by civic and spiritual leaders alike — receiving citations and honors from institutions across the United States, presenting Buddhist prayers at interfaith gatherings convened by New York City’s mayor, He has been recognized by civic and spiritual leaders alike — receiving citations and honors from institutions across the United States, and presenting Buddhist prayers at interfaith gatherings including the Annual Interfaith Breakfast convened by New York City Mayor Mamdani, where he stood as a voice for compassion and interfaith harmony. He has also taught at the New York Insight Meditation Center, building international partnerships that extend the reach of his peace and meditation work across continents. and building international partnerships that extend the reach of his peace and meditation work across continents.
At the heart of everything Rinpoche does is a single, unwavering aspiration — to be of benefit to all sentient beings without exception. Whether teaching meditation in New York, organizing world peace prayers at Boudhanath Stupa, supporting monks and children in Nepal, or standing alongside civic leaders in the United States as a voice for compassion and interfaith harmony, he brings to every endeavor the same quality of presence: warm, wise, generous, and entirely devoted to the service of others.
Amala Center Nepal is blessed and honored to have been founded under his vision and to carry forward, in every program and initiative it undertakes, the spirit of boundless compassion and purposeful action that defines his extraordinary life and legacy.
Recognizing H.E Gegye Yongyal Rinpoches generosity by Rotary Club of Queens New York
Generosity, in its truest form, is not simply the act of giving material things — it is the expression of a heart that sees the needs of others and responds without hesitation or condition. H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche has embodied this quality throughout his life, extending his support to countless organizations, communities, and causes across boundaries of religion, culture, and geography. His donations, offerings, and acts of both material and spiritual support have touched a remarkable breadth of institutions over the years, reflecting the Bodhisattva ideal of caring for all beings without discrimination.
In December 2025, when the Rotary Club of Queens, New York — a chapter of one of the world’s most respected humanitarian service organizations — reached out to Rinpoche with a request for support, his response was immediate and characteristic. Without hesitation, he not only committed his own support but turned to his community, inviting and inspiring those around him to participate in this act of giving, demonstrating once again that true generosity is not solitary but communal and expansive. What Rinpoche offered was remarkable not only in its monetary value but in its cultural depth and spiritual significance.
He generously contributed five preciously blessed Thangkas — sacred Buddhist scroll paintings of extraordinary artistry and devotional power, painstakingly created by skilled artisans and imbued through prayer and ritual with profound spiritual energy — along with a carefully chosen art piece, together valued at between $6,000 and $7,000. To receive a blessed Thangka is to receive not merely a beautiful object, but a living spiritual treasure and a vehicle of blessing connected to an ancient and unbroken lineage of wisdom.
By offering these precious pieces, Rinpoche gave the Rotary Club of Queens a gift that transcended ordinary philanthropy — a bridge between two worlds, and a symbol of the shared human values of compassion and service that unite the Himalayan Buddhist tradition and the Rotary movement across all differences of culture and creed. Amala Center Nepal is deeply honored to recognize and celebrate H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche’s extraordinary generosity — to the Rotary Club of Queens, to the many organizations he has supported over the years, and to all those whose lives have been touched by the warmth, wisdom, and open-handed giving of this remarkable spiritual leader.
Award of Citation to H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche by President Bruce Blakeman of Nassau County, Long Island, USA
Recognition, when it comes from the highest levels of civic leadership, carries a particular weight and meaning — not only for the individual being honored, but for the community and values they represent. In a moment of profound significance for both Amala Center Nepal and the broader community of practitioners and peace-seekers connected to H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche, Nassau County President Bruce Blakeman of Long Island, USA, formally presented Rinpoche with an Award of Citation in honor of his instrumental role in organizing the World Peace Prayer Day on October 21st, 2025.
The World Peace Prayer Day was a landmark event, brought to life through the collaborative vision and organizational efforts of Zero Point Meditation Center and the Planting Fields Foundation — two organizations united by a shared commitment to contemplative practice, community service, and the cultivation of inner and outer peace.
Held on October 21st, 2025, the event brought together practitioners, community members, and peace advocates in a collective dedication of prayer and meditation for the healing and harmony of the world. Its scope, sincerity, and impact were felt well beyond the immediate gathering, resonating with all those who understand that peace is not simply a political aspiration but a spiritual practice — one that must be actively cultivated, collectively held, and ceaselessly renewed.
President Bruce Blakeman’s decision to present Rinpoche with a formal Citation was a powerful acknowledgment that the work of peace transcends the boundaries between spiritual and civic life. It was a recognition that the kind of leadership Rinpoche embodies — rooted in compassion, expressed through service, and oriented always toward the wellbeing of others — is precisely the kind of leadership that communities, at every level, most need. The Citation honored not only the specific achievement of organizing the World Peace Prayer Day, but the decades of dedicated spiritual leadership, humanitarian service, and cross-cultural bridge-building that made such an event possible in the first place.
For Amala Center Nepal and the wider community connected to Rinpoche’s work, this award carries deep meaning. It is a reminder that the prayers offered, the events organized, and the values upheld within this community do not go unnoticed — that their ripples extend outward in ways both seen and unseen, touching lives and earning the respect of leaders and communities far beyond Nepal’s borders. Amala Center Nepal warmly celebrates this well-deserved recognition of H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche and remains inspired by his tireless example of compassionate, peaceful, and purposeful leadership.
Interfaith Breakfast for Faith Leaders
In a city as magnificently diverse as New York — where countless languages are spoken, countless traditions are practiced, and countless communities weave together the extraordinary tapestry of urban life — few moments carry more symbolic and practical power than those in which leaders of different faiths come together in a spirit of mutual respect, shared humanity, and collective purpose. The Interfaith Breakfast for Faith Leaders, organized by Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City, was precisely such a moment — and H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche’s presence and participation as a Buddhist Faith Leader representing New York’s Buddhist community gave the occasion a depth and richness that reflected the very best of what interfaith dialogue can offer.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision to organize this Interfaith Breakfast spoke to a vision of civic leadership that recognizes faith communities not as peripheral to public life, but as essential contributors to the social, moral, and spiritual fabric of a city. By bringing together faith leaders from diverse traditions under one roof, the Mayor created a rare and genuinely valuable space — one in which differences of doctrine and practice were set aside in favor of the deeper commonalities that unite all sincere spiritual paths: the commitment to compassion, the pursuit of justice, the care for the vulnerable, and the longing for a world in which all people can live with dignity and peace.
Within this gathering, H.E. Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche was invited to present the Buddhist Prayer — an honor that placed him at the heart of the event’s spiritual program and recognized his standing as one of New York’s respected and trusted Buddhist Faith Leaders. The prayer Rinpoche offered was not merely a ritual formality. It was a genuine and heartfelt offering — carrying within it the full weight of the Himalayan Buddhist tradition’s ancient wisdom, its boundless compassion for all beings, and its unwavering aspiration for the peace and flourishing of the world. In the context of an interfaith gathering, such a prayer becomes something even larger than itself — a bridge between traditions, an invitation to shared stillness, and a reminder that beneath all the beautiful diversity of human spiritual expression lies a single, unifying longing for goodness, meaning, and peace.
Rinpoche’s participation in this event was a reflection of the remarkable journey that has brought his work and influence from the monasteries and communities of Nepal to the civic and spiritual life of one of the world’s greatest cities. It was a testament to the universal relevance of the values he embodies and the tradition he represents — and a source of deep pride for Amala Center Nepal and all those connected to his mission and legacy.