Lama Michel Rinpoche was born in 1981 in Sao Paulo, Brazil in a Christian-Jewish family. At the age of five his connection with Tibetan Buddhism became evident when he met Lama Gangchen Rinpoche during his first visit to Brazil, organized by his parents and their friends Monica Benvenuti and Claudio Bianchi.
In the following years, Lama Gangchen Rinpoche and other masters recognized Lama Michel as a tulku, a reincarnation of a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Great lamas like Zopa Rinpoche, Dagyab Rinpoche and Ghelek Rinpoche have confirmed that Lama Michel is the reincarnation of Drubchok Gyawal Sandrup, a Lama of Gangchen Chöpel Ling, a monastery in Tibet. During the fifteenth century at the time of the first Dalai Lama and the beginning of Lama Tsong Khapa’s Gelugpa school, Panchen Zangpo Tashi, one of Lama Gangchen’s incarnations, founded Gangchen Chöpel Ling monastery. His successor, the second regent of the throne, was Drubchok Gyawal Sandrup, a great yogi and master who gave many philosophical teachings.
At the age of twelve, Lama Michel decided spontaneously to abandon a ‘normal’ life to undertake a monastic life in southern India. He went to live at Sera Me Monastery – a monastic university with four thousand monks – and for twelve years he received the traditional training that is provided to lamas.
Since 2004 he lives in Italy with his master Lama Gangchen Rinpoche. From 2006 up to 2015 Lama Michel spent two months a year studying at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Tibet, under the guidance of the abbot, Kachen Losang Puntsok Rinpoche, one of the main living masters of Tibet. He studied philosophy, tantra, medicine and astrology, and completed his training in Buddhist Philosophy, meditation practices, Lam Rim, Lo Jong and Vajrayana.
His Tibetan name is Chang Chub Chopel Lobsang Nyetrab, which means ‘Wise and Famous Mind of Enlightenment which Spreads Dharma Successfully’.
From an early age, Lama Michel has travelled the world with Lama Gangchen Rinpoche giving speeches and teachings to his friends and disciples in a very loving and kind way. Nowadays Lama Michel dedicates his life to sharing his knowledge and experience worldwide in all kinds of formal and informal contexts such as conferences, speeches, teachings, retreats, in schools and universities, through social media etc. With his clarity, compassion and wisdom he shares the profound and vast Buddhist philosophy in an excellent way, perfectly adapted to the needs of people in our contemporary society.
Lama Michel guides various Buddhist Centres worldwide, such as Centro de Dharma da Paz in Brazil and Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre in Italy.