Michael Wong

Michael was born in East Los Angeles, California, and raised in the San Gabriel Valley.   He graduated from UCLA with an undergraduate degree in psychology and a Master’s in Social Welfare.  After graduate school, he worked as a children’s social worker for a few years.

While working as a children’s social worker, Michael read the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying in 2004.  It resonated with him more powerfully than any other book he had ever read.  After realizing that he needed to find an authentic teacher to show him how to apply the teachings, he attended his first retreat with the book’s author, Sogyal Rinpoche, at Clear Lake in the same year.  Meeting Rinpoche for the first time has proven to be a profound and life-changing experience.

In 2006, inspired to devote more time to the spiritual path, Michael resigned as a children’s social worker and traveled to Lerab Ling, Rigpa’s Tibetan Buddhist center in southern France, for the first time in 2007.

In January 2009, he moved to Berne, New York to live and work at the retreat center at Tongnyi Nyingjé Ling (Center for Wisdom and Compassion) for over five years.

In 2014, he moved back to the West Coast to live in Berkeley, California and work together with the National Team based in San Francisco.

Through Rigpa, Michael has received training in the areas of shrine and Tibetan Buddhist ritual activity.  In 2022, Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindrolling Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche entrusted him as a practice holder in Rigpa.  As a part of the National Team, he currently serves as the US National Director.

Michael still currently resides in Berkeley, California.  He enjoys watching movies and TV shows, listening to music, and occasionally making music mixtapes. He’s also a fitness enthusiast.