Lama Padma Samten, formerly Alfredo Aveline, a physics professor at the Federal University in Porto Alegre, invited H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to teach in Rio Grande do Sul and facilitated Rinpoche’s purchase of the Khadro Ling land in 1994.
His organization, Centro de Estudos Budistas Bodisatva (CEBB), which he founded in 1986, organized Rinpoche’s early teachings in Southern Brazil. Lama Samten received training from teachers of various Buddhist traditions including Zen, and traveled to Asia on several occasions. He has contributed a tremendous effort to bring masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to Brazil.
Recognizing his qualities as a meditator, Chagdud Rinpoche ordained him as Lama Padma Samten at Khadro Ling in December, 1996. Since that time, Lama Samten has traveled and taught tirelessly, helping to structure and sustain practice groups throughout Brazil.
His teachings have been partially published in the following books: Meditando a Vida, Jóia dos Desejos, O Lama e o Economista, Relações e Conflitos, Mandala de Lótus, and Bodisatva magazine. Now he resides in the main center of Caminho do Meio Institute, at the Buddhist Study Center in Viamão, Rio Grande do Sul.
