Dragutin Šmalcelj

Dragutin Šmalcelj - Upasaka Lobsang Norbu, founder and president of the Padmasana Croatian Buddhist Society, was born and educated in Zagreb, where he attended high school and studied economics. Very early on, he began to travel the world, often dangerously and arduously, through the countries of North, East and Central Africa and through Asian countries, all the way to Sri Lanka and Tibet, getting to know different peoples, cultures and worldviews.

In 1981, during one of his earlier trips, he met His Holiness XIV in Dharamsala on the slopes of the Indian Himalayas. The Dalai Lama. It is an encounter that will determine his future life. In 1989, he returned to India to begin his Buddhist studies in 1990 at the "Library of Tibetan Works and Archives" in Dharamsala.

After three years of introductory studies in the class of Tibetan teachers Geshe Dawa and Geshe Sonam Rinchen and private study of the Tibetan language in the Namgyal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and at the time when Geshe Wangyal was the abbot of the monastery, Dragutin Šmalcelj meets His Holiness again. St. Dalai Lama and receives personal instruction and advice from him. The recommendation of Mr. St. The Dalai Lama opens the door for him to study Buddhist philosophy at the "Institute of Buddhist Dialectics", an institution where only Tibetan monks study and only occasionally a foreign student who meets all the requirements for admission to dialectics.

Dragutin Šmalcelj is a member of the International Buddhist Council based in Bodh-Gaya, India. He is the founder, spiritual instructor and president of the Padmasana Croatian Buddhist Society in Zagreb, founded in 2001 with the blessing of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama. He advocates cooperation between Buddhist traditions and is an advocate of interreligious dialogue and mutual religious respect, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes.