Khenpo Pema Wangdak, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, was sent to the West in 1982 by His Holiness the Sakya Trizin, as the first of the younger generation of Tibetan teachers in America from the Sakya lineage. In 1989 Pema founded the Vikramasila Foundation, which encompasses the Palden Sakya Centers in New York City, Woodstock, NY, Philmont, NY, Englewood, NJ, Springfield, VT, Portland, ME, and Dayton OH. The Palden Sakya Centers offer courses in Tibetan Buddhist studies and meditation.
The creator of Bur Yig (Tibetan Braille), he is founder of Pema Ts’al (English for Lotus Grove) Schools in Mundgod, India (for Tibetan lay children); Pokara, Nepal (monastic schools for boys); and Pema Ts’al School in New York City, with a curriculum modeled on that of Sakya College, India.
Pema was recognized with the title of “Khenpo” by His Holiness Sakya Trizin in 2007. He received the distinguished Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethical Coalition of Organizations in 2009 at Ellis Island for his humanitarian work around the world. He is the first Tibetan to have received the award.
Khenpo Pema Wangdak has been guiding Western students for 35 years, and he continues to travel and teach extensively to dharma centers around the world.