Fionnuala Shenpen Daffy first met Mingyur Rinpoche and Tsoknyi Rinpoche in Kathmandu in 1999. Since then she has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism under both of them as well as other Nyingma and Kagyu masters. She completed a three retreat at Chanteloube France under Tulku Pema Wangyal Rinpoche 2008- 2012. From 2013 to 2020 she set up and ran Tsoknyi Gechak School for the school aged nuns at Tsoknyi Gechak Ling Tibetan Buddhist Nunnery Chobhar, Kathmandu. During this time she got involved with Tergar and with friends began running a practice group. She has now returned home to Ireland and is continuing her involvement with Tergar and creating community there.

Jess has devoted much of her adult life to practicing and studying Buddhism. After completing  both  Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Earth Systems at Stanford University, she moved to Zen Mountain Monastery, where she trained for over three years. During that time she completed over 40 week-long sesshins (silent retreats) and studied many Buddhist topics. She then decided to pursue Tibetan Buddhism, and was ordained as a monastic by Thrangu Rinpoche in 2015. She met Mingyur Rinpoche shortly afterwards at Tergar Monastery in Bodhgaya, India, and knew immediately he was her main teacher. Under Mingyur Rinpoche’s guidance, she completed two months-long solitary retreats in Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo’s cave in the Himalayas, including a five-month retreat over winter where she saw no one. After completing her solitary retreats, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin to participate in the Tergar community and the Center for Healthy Minds. In 2018, Jess chose to return to lay life and  her homeland in Alberta, Canada. Over the past few years, Jess has continued to study with Mingyur Rinpoche and Tsoknyi Rinpoche, while discovering both the joys and rich opportunities for practice that lay life offers. She serves as a Tergar Facilitator and host for online retreats, and supports a local practice group. Jess currently works as a website designer and meditation coach. In her downtime, she loves to backcountry ski, run, and bike in the mountains with her dog Pema.