Kathmandu, Nepal -- Nepal is again confronting the terrible power of the Himalayas. The catastrophic floods that struck on August 26, triggered by an ice-and-rock collapse in the high mountains near the Tibetan border, swept through communities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and surrounding districts, destroying homes, roads and bridges and leaving families searching for loved ones. By early September, more than 1,000 people had been reported dead and thousands remained missing, while the Nepalese government estimated that some 1.6 million people had been affected.


The Kudung Chorten (relic stupa) of His Holiness Drubwang Penor Rinpoche. The stupa was unharmed and left standing tall despite raging floodwaters destroying homes and lives around it in late August 2026

Amid scenes of devastation, however, one story has deeply moved Tibetan Buddhist devotees: accounts and images circulating within Buddhist communities say that a stupa containing sacred relics of His Holiness Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche - universally known as Penor Rinpoche - remained standing despite the destructive force of the floodwaters.

For devotees, its survival has become more than a story about a building that withstood a natural disaster. It is being regarded as a symbol of something far more enduring.

Who was Penor Rinpoche?

Penor Rinpoche was one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist masters of the modern era. The 11th throne-holder of the Palyul lineage of the Nyingma school, he belonged to a generation whose lives bridged the ancient Buddhist world of Tibet and the painful realities of exile. He was recognised as an incarnation while still a young child and received extensive training at Palyul Monastery in eastern Tibet, becoming a renowned master of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection teachings.


His Holiness Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche - universally known as Penor Rinpoche (1933-2009)

His life was itself shaped by extraordinary hardship.

As conditions deteriorated in Tibet, Penor Rinpoche fled in 1959 with a group of approximately 300 people. According to Palyul accounts, the journey was marked by hunger, danger and death. Only about 30 members of the original party eventually reached India.

Yet exile did not bring an end to the Palyul tradition. It became the beginning of its rebirth.

In 1963, with meagre resources, Penor Rinpoche began constructing what would become Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe in Karnataka, southern India. The monastery began humbly, with Penor Rinpoche himself working alongside other monks. From those beginnings grew one of the world's largest centres of Nyingma Buddhist learning, eventually accommodating thousands of monks and nuns.

His influence extended far beyond India. He transmitted Nyingma teachings internationally, established retreat centres and trained generations of monks, nuns, khenpos and lay practitioners. His activities helped preserve the Palyul lineage at a time when the continuity of many Tibetan traditions had been placed in jeopardy.

From 1993 until his retirement in 2003, Penor Rinpoche served as the third Supreme Head of the Nyingma tradition, becoming one of its most respected representatives in exile.

He died at Namdroling Monastery on March 27, 2009. Following his passing, his remains were placed in a cremation stupa. Palyul records describe the subsequent recovery and preservation of relics, which became objects of deep devotion among his disciples. A major reliquary stupa dedicated to him was later created at Namdroling.

Rinpoche's Connection with Nepal

Penor Rinpoche also left a significant spiritual connection with Nepal. Palyul institutions were established there under his guidance, including Nyingma Palyul Urgen Dorjee Chholing in Pharping, whose meditation centre traces its establishment in 1995 to his direction.

That connection gives particular poignancy to the story now emerging from flood-stricken Nepal.

In Buddhist tradition, a stupa is not regarded simply as architecture. It represents the awakened mind and serves as a receptacle of remembrance, merit and spiritual aspiration. When relics of a revered teacher are enshrined within it, devotees regard the monument as carrying a continuing connection with the teacher's blessings.


The Kudung Chorten (relic stupa) of H.H. Penor Rinpoche before the floods

Against that background, the reported survival of a stupa associated with Penor Rinpoche has acquired powerful meaning.

Despite floodwaters capable of tearing homes from their foundations and transforming entire settlements into fields of mud and debris, the sacred structure is said to have remained standing.

To devotees, it offers a striking image: impermanence everywhere, yet something sacred enduring at its centre.

The Symbolism of the Standing Stupa

Buddhism does not teach that faith makes human beings immune to suffering. Penor Rinpoche's own life demonstrated otherwise. He witnessed displacement, death and the destruction of the world in which he had been raised. His response was not despair, but reconstruction - rebuilding monasteries, educating a new generation and transmitting teachings that might otherwise have disappeared.

Perhaps this is why the surviving stupa speaks so powerfully at this moment.

For those looking upon it with faith, it may be understood as a reminder that compassion can survive catastrophe; that wisdom can survive displacement; and that amid circumstances human beings cannot control, the capacity to care for one another need not be washed away.

The greater miracle, perhaps, lies in what people choose to do after the waters recede.

May all those affected by the floods of Nepal find shelter, healing and the strength to rebuild their lives. May those searching for loved ones receive comfort and support. And for all those who have lost their lives, may they be free from suffering and find auspicious rebirth in the pure field of Guru Rinpoche.

In a country scarred by loss, a stupa standing above the devastation offers a quiet message: the flood may carry away what is material, but compassion, faith and the aspiration for peace can endure.