At the age of 20, Ven. Tenzin Palmo left her home in London for India to pursue her spiritual path. There she met her guru, His Eminence the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche and became one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. In 1976, seeking more seclusion and better conditions for practice she found a cave in the Himalayan Valley of Lahaul where she lived for 12 years, the last three in strict retreat. In 2000, she founded the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery to give young nuns of the Drukpa Kagyu Lineage the opportunity to realize their intellectual and spiritual potential.