Thubten

Gelong Thubten is a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author. He was educated at Oxford University, and then became an actor in London and New York. At the age of 21, severe burnout led him to join a monastery. He ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in 1993 at Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. He has spent over 6 years in meditation retreats, the longest of which lasted four years.
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Thubten specialises in teaching mindfulness meditation internationally, in a diverse range of settings that include businesses, hospitals, schools, universities, prisons and addiction counselling centres. He gives keynote speeches at major events around the world and has been teaching for over 20 years. He is a world pioneer in the mindfulness movement, a leading voice in this field many years before the current trend emerged.
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Thubten’s book, A Monk’s Guide to Happiness, became a Sunday Times top ten bestseller in the UK and is now published in more than 12 countries worldwide. His latest book, Handbook for Hard Times, was published in 2023, and has also become a bestseller.
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He is now regarded as one of the UK’s most influential meditation teachers and has lectured at Oxford University and for large organisations such as Google, LinkedIn and The United Nations. He is also a director of meditation centres and charities and regularly leads retreats internationally.