Venerable Pemba-la, was born in 1961 in Khumbu, Eastern Nepal.

By the end of 1982, he found a permanent job in the Kopan Monastery - cooking for Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Every time Lama Zopa stayed in Nepal, Pemba-la would do the cooking for him. Ever since he said 'yes' to Rinpoche's question of whether he would like to become a monk, his life has never been the same again. From then onwards, Pemba-la's time has been filled up with learning programmes one after another, ranging from learning Tibetan and English almost from scratch to serious Dharma practice and profound Buddhist philosophy. In later years, Pemba-la took up the duty in Kopan Monastery as a translator and interpreter in lectures and interviews for lamas and westerners. He has also worked as a secretary in the Kopan Office for four years. Day in, day out, he had to perform his manifold duties in Kopan and therefore he could only study in night time. He has to reserve night time for his studies as he has to work during daytime. Compared with other monks in those days, Pemba-la was a mature student. He had to put his shoulders to the wheel and admittedly he learned the hard way.

At the beginning of 1991, Lama Zopa asked Pemba-la to come to Hong Kong and be the translator for the centre for about six months. At that time, the centre was still located at McDonald Road where many Geshes were invited as resident teachers. In mid-1993, Pemba-la was asked to go to India by Lama Zopa being the attendant of Lama Osel. His task was well-laden with meaning as he had to make sure that the boy lama was behaving well and observing monastic rules and discipline. His performance proved that Rinpoche's trust in him was not misplaced.

Then in 1996, Lama Zopa asked Pemba-la to come back to Hong Kong to be the translator of the centre for about two months. Towards the end of the 2 months, many people requested Lama Zopa to allow Pemba-la to stay in Hong Kong for a longer period of time. Since then, Pemba-la has been staying in Hong Kong.

At present, Pemba-la is the director of MBA. Not only does he give teachings two times a week, but he also manages and organises activities for MBA guiding us in Dharma practices in every possible way. Besides, Pemba-la also gives advice and teachings to individuals and some private groups. He is not sure whether people have learnt from his teachings, but he reckons that he is learning a lot by giving teachings to others. This is because before each teaching commences, he will read many Dharma books which has in turn helped deepen his understanding of Dharma knowledge.

Under Pemba-la's kind guidance, MBA has made many major accomplishments. At long last, the dream of many a member has realised. A BIGGER space for the Centre has finally been found through thick and thin. This is no small achievement if one considers that our Centre has only been run under Pemba-la for just a few months. Another significant project is the production of Loving Kindness & Wisdom - Lama Zopa Rinpoche first two precious CDs of the first rate. Under Pemba-la's supervision, a prayer book has also been published. What is more, Pemba-la is able to perceive the importance of promotion. With better promotion network, for the very first time, hundreds of thousands of people flock to Lama Zopa Rinpoche's teaching and initiation. Last but surely not least, we have drummed up support not only for local dharma projects but also for those initiated by centres in other parts of the world, namely, projects by FPMT Central Office, light offering festival in India and some projects of Kopan Monastery in Nepal, to name just a few. We, members of MBA, could never thank Pemba-la enough for his acumen and leadership, for his kindness and patience for all of us.

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