Nyammed Sherab Gyaltsen

Nyammed Sherab Gyaltsen was born to Bonpo Lugyal and Tsangwas Rinchenmen, in the Gyalrong province of Tibet on January 5, 1356. At the age of ten, he was ordained as a novice monk by his teacher Cha lama Yungdrung Gyaltsen. He studied with many great bon masters. At the age of 31, he became a full-ordained monk and was given the name Sherab Gyaltsen. He did higher study and practice at Yeru Wensa Kha monastery, the main study center of Bon at that time. But Yeru monastery was destroyed by a flood and landslide. Later, Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen founded Menri Monastery in southern Tibet in 1405 AD, and adapted teachings and study similar to those of Yeru Wensa Kha. He became the first Abbot of Menri. He unified all three lineages of Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen of Yung Drung Bon. Menri became the mother monastery of Yung Drung Bon for centuries. In 1959, during the Cultural Revolution, Menri was destroyed. It was reestablished in northern India by Yongzing Tenzing Namdak Rinpoche and His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the current lineage holder and 33rd Abbot of Menri.