Khenpo

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Khenpo (Tib. མཁན་པོ་, Wyl. mkhan po) — the term has different meanings:

  • It is a title given in the Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu schools to a monk who, after completing a nine year course in Buddhist philosophy in a shedra, has attained a proven level of knowledge and, in some schools, also of discipline and benevolence. In the Nyingma school, after their studies are completed students are required to teach for a further three years in a shedra before they can be awarded the title of khenpo.
  • It can also refer to the abbot of a monastery and to the preceptor from whom one receives ordination.