Matthieu Ricard
Shechen, one of the six Mother monasteries of the Nyingma tradition, was founded by the Second Shechen Rabjam, Gyurme Kunzang Namgyel, in 1734 or 1735. It is located north of Dzogchen monastery in the Derge region of Kham. According to one monastic history (khams phyogs dkar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so so'i lo rgyus), in 1690 at the age of forty-one, the First Shechen, Rabjam Tenpai Gyeltsen, founded a monastery named Shechen Orgyen Chodzong, consisting of a monks quarters and main assembly hall, not far from Dzogchen. The Second Shechen Rabjam established an extension across from the original site that grew into the Shechen known today.