Susan Kathryn Hookham (née Rowan), known as Lama Shenpen Hookham is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher who has trained for over 50 years in the

Mahamudra Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...

and

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Biography

Lama Shenpen was born Susan Kathryn Rowan in

Essex, England Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, in 1946. She first encountered Buddhism while studying Geography and Sociology at

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

, where she became secretary of the University Buddhist Society and had early encounters with

Sangharakshita Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood; 26 August 192530 October 2018) was a British spiritual teacher and writer, and the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, which in 2010 was renamed the ''Triratna Buddhist Commun ...

and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. amongst others. In the early 1970s, on the advice of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Lama Shenpen went to India where she lived as a nun for six years, ordained by the 16th Karmapa. There she studied and meditated in retreat under the guidance of Tibetan teachers such as

Karma Thinley Rinpoche Karma Thinley Rinpoche ཀརྨ་འཕྲིན་ལས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ (born 1931), is an important master of the Kagyu Mahamudra, Sakya Lamdré and Chod traditions of Tibetan Buddhism active in the west and Nepal. He is ...

, Bokar Rinpoche and

Kalu Rinpoche Kalu Rinpoche (1905 – May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist lama, meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. Early life and teachers Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Woo ...

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajra ...

, the 16th Karmapa and head of the Kagyu tradition of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, subsequently instructed her to return to the West to teach

. She met her main teacher,

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche () is a prominent scholar yogi in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He teaches widely in the West, often through songs of realization, his own as well as those composed by Milarepa and other masters of the ...

, in Europe, and he encouraged her to teach and transmit Mahamudra, the innermost teachings of the Kagyu tradition. On her later return to England, she met and married

Rigdzin Shikpo Rinpoche In Dzogchen, ''rigpa'' (; Skt. vidyā; "knowledge") is knowledge of the ground. The opposite of ''rigpa'' is ''ma rigpa'' ('' avidyā'', ignorance). A practitioner who has attained the state of ''rigpa'' and is able to rest there continuously i ...

(Michael Hookham), an early pupil of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dharma Director of the Longchen Foundation (formerly the Chöd Group) since its inception in 1975. Lama Shenpen is fluent in Tibetan and was the translator for many Tibetan teachers, including Gendun Rinpoche. In 2020 Lama Shenpen's autobiography
Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting & Other Stories - An English Woman's Journey to Becoming a Buddhist Lama'
was published, which describes her introduction to Buddhism, her time in India with her teachers, and her path to becoming a lama. The book has had many recommendations from other esteemed teachers, including

Khandro Rinpoche Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche (birth name Tsering Paldrön; born August 19, 1967) is a lama in Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Kalimpong, India and the daughter of the late Mindrolling Trichen, Khandro Rinpoche was recognized by Rangjung Rigpe Do ...

and Ringu Tulku Rinpoche.

Awakened Heart Sangha

Shenpen is the Spiritual Director of the Awakened Heart Sangha, and spends most of her time in semi-retreat at th
Hermitage of the Awakened Heart
(Fortress of Enlightenment - Changchub Dzong) her home and the retreat centre in North Wales, United Kingdom. She has students worldwide who are studying he
Living the Awakened Heart Training
a structured learning programme in meditation, reflection and insight, devised especially for westerners, to transmit the most profound teachings of Mahamudra and Dzogchen in an accessible, experiential way. Regular teaching days, meditation and study retreats are held at the Hermitage. According to Shenpen, Under Lama Shenpen's guidance, in 2011 the Awakened Heart Sangha built an Enlightenment stupa at the Fortress of Enlightenment (Changchub Dzong), the Hermitage at Ynys Graianog, Criccieth, Gwynedd, in North Wales containing a small

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

consecrated by

. Lama Phuntsok from Nepal directed the construction and came to consecrate it formally in October of that year. Khenpo Rinpoche and

have subsequently encouraged Lama Shenpen to develop her teaching activity further, and she is the author of the distant learning (online and in person) teaching programm
Living the Awakened Heart Training
which includes the structured, experience-based courses 'Discovering the Heart of Buddhism' and 'Trusting the Heart of Buddhism'.

Works and translations

;Works * S. K. Hookham: 'Buddha Within, Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga', SUNY Press, (1991) * Lama Shenpen Hookham: 'There's More to Dying than Death, a Buddhist Perspective', Windhorse Publications (2006) *Lama Shenpen Hookham: 'The Guru Principle: A Guide to the Teacher-Student Relationship in Buddhism', Shambhala Publications (2021) ;Editor * Rigdzin Shikpo & Shenpen K. Hookham (ed): 'Openness Clarity Sensitivity', Longchen Foundation, Wisdom Books, (2000) ;Translations * Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated and arranged by Shenpen Hookham: 'Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness', Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsal Publications (2001)

References

External links

* Lama Shenpen Hookham
Buddha Within
*Awakened Heart Sangh

* Wisdom Books: 'Teaching Fish About Water – An Interview with Shenpen Hookha

* Maurizio Viana: 'The Making of a Great Western Lama', The Pocket Roa

* The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: 'A letter from Shenpen Hookha

{{Authority control Lamas Shentong English Buddhists Converts to Buddhism Converts to Buddhism from Christianity 20th-century Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists