Tsurphu Monastery
Pema Tönyö Nyinje was born in 1954 in the village of Palmey, Palyul, Derge, Kham into a farming family named Liyultsang. He was enthroned at the age of 18 months as the 12th Tai Situ by Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa. At the age of 5 he was brought to Tsurphu Monastery. At the age of six he left Tibet for Bhutan, where King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck had been a disciple of the 11th Tai Situ. Later he was cared for at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India, where he received his formal religious training from the 16th Karmapa.