Lama Osel Rinpoche

Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche was born on February 12th 1985 in Bubion, Spain, to Maria Torres and Paco Hita. His parents had been students of Lama Thubten Yeshe and in 1978 had established a Retreat Centre at Bubion near Granada. His Holiness the Dalai Lama had named the centre Osel Ling, meaning 'Place of Clear Light' while visiting in 1982.

Since the baby was so serene and his face seemed full of light, his parents gave him the name Osel Hita Torres.

From the time of Lama Yeshe's passing in 1984, Lama Zopa Rinpoche had been engaged in the search for his reincarnation, and from an early stage in this search had believed the baby Osel to be a possible candidate. Paco and Maria themselves had four other children, and had noticed that Osel was unlike the others. His birth had been remarkably quick and painless, and he was very peaceful, never crying even when he was hungry.

In 1985 Paco and Maria took Osel to Switzerland for the Dalai Lama's Kalachakra initiation, and later went to Germany for an annual FPMT meeting at Arya Tara Institute. The meeting was presided over by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. This was the first time that he had seen the child in person, and later in the meeting he remarked cryptically that "Lama (Yeshe) is very close to us at this moment. He might even be in the room with us." Nobody took this to mean baby Osel.

A few months later when Lama Zopa was giving teachings at Osel Ling, he asked Maria many questions about the young Osel, and without explaining what he was thinking, gave instructions for proper care of the child. In the meantime, he continued his search for Lama Yeshe's incarnation, finishing with a list of ten possibilities. He then sent this list to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who finally confirmed that Osel was the most likely candidate.

In May 1986 at Lama Zopa's request, Maria brought Osel to New Delhi to meet His Holiness. He was to undergo the traditional tests performed to check if a child is indeed the reincarnation of a Lama. His Holiness simply told Maria that Osel would give further evidence of his identity as he got older. Lama Zopa then travelled to Dharamsala with Osel and Maria to Tushita Meditation Centre which had been one of Lama Yeshe's favourite places to stay.

Once there, according to tradition, Lama Zopa tested Osel's ability to recognize Lama Yeshe's possessions, and when he passed all of the tests given, it was officially declared that Osel was indeed the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe.