Venerable Steve (Gelong Thubten Sherab) was born in the UK, and has been studying Buddhism since 1977. He first met Lama Yeshe, the founder of the FPMT, and Lama Zopa, its current head, in 1978. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk by Lama Zopa in 1979 and received full ordination from Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche the following year. Venerable Steve studied for eleven years at Nalanda Monastery in France, and from 1993 to 2004 was one of only a handful of Westerners studying at Sera Monastery in South India. Since 1979 he was a student and subsequently interpreter of the late and revered abbot emeritus of Sera Je monastery, Geshe Jampa Tegchog. Ven. Steve currently teaches the Basic Program and leads a variety of retreats at Land of Medicine Buddha and interprets around the world.
