Lama Shenpen was born Susan Kathryn Rowan in Essex, England, in 1946. She first encountered Buddhism while studying Geography and Sociology at Reading University, where she became secretary of the University Buddhist Society and had early encounters with Sangharakshita and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche amongst others. Lama Shenpen has trained for over 50 years in the Mahamudra & Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. She has spent over 12 years in retreat and has been a student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the foremost living masters of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, since the late 70s. Lama Shenpen is fluent in Tibetan and has translated a number of Tibetan texts into English for her students. On Khenpo Rinpoche’s instructions she produced a seminal study of the profound Buddha Nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, published as The Buddha Within, and gained a doctorate in this from Oxford University. She is also the author of There’s More to Dying than Death. Shenpen is now the Spiritual Director of the Awakened Heart Sangha, and spends most of her time in semi-retreat at the Hermitage of the Awakened Heart (Fortress of Enlightenment - Changchub Dzong) her home and the retreat centre in North Wales, United Kingdom. She has students worldwide who are studying her Living the Awakened Heart Training, a structured learning programme in meditation, reflection and insight, devised especially for westerners, to transmit the most profound teachings of Mahamudra and Dzogchen in an accessible, experiential way. Khenpo Rinpoche has subsequently encouraged Lama Shenpen to develop her teaching activity further, and she is the author of the on-line teaching programmes 'Discovering the Heart of Buddhism' and 'Trusting the Heart of Buddhism'.