Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche is the abbot of KTD, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery in Woodstock, New York. KTD is the North American seat of His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1924, and has been a Buddhist monk since the age of twelve. He received extensive scholarly and retreat training in Tibet before escaping the Chinese invasion in 1959. In 1978 he was sent to the United States as the personal representative of His Holiness Karmapa. Since then, he has taught continuously and guided countless students in the study and practice of Buddhism.