Rinpoche was born in Bhutan in 1918. As a small boy he became a monk in Phunaka Dzong, the biggest Bhutanese monastery. When he was 13 years old he left Bhutan and went to study and practice under the spiritual guidance of his uncle, Drukpa Rinpoche Lama Sherab Dorje, in Nepal. There he received full training and meditated under severe conditions in the caves of Milarepa and in the power places of Guru Rinpoche. In 1944 Rinpoche met the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa in Bum Tang in Bhutan and received most of the teachings and transmissions of the Karma Kagyu Lineage from him.

In the years to follow, Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche became the key figure for dharma practitioners in Nepal. In 1987, at the invitation of his first western students and close friends Hannah and Lama Ole Nydahl, he visited Europe for the first time. Since then he has travelled extensively in Europe and around the world, giving teachings and countless initiations in the Buddhist Centers founded by Hannah and Lama Ole. He directed the building of a Kalachakra Stupa in Spain in 1994, one of only two outside Tibet, followed by a string of stupas in Europe and in Elista, Kalmykia. Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche's last project, the Enlightenment Stupa in Benalmadena, Spain is the crown jewel of his life's work. Rinpoche passed away on June 10th 2003 at the age of 85, four months before the inauguration of this magnificent project. The immense power of his compassion is felt by people of every background and brings benefit to all beings.