David Blake came to the Caribbean from Yorkshire, England when he was 22 and lived in the Leewards during the 70s and 80s working in the islands and living the life of a lay Buddhist.
He then joined Throssel Hole Soto Zen Abbey in the UK to train as a monk and teacher, supporting the Portobello Buddhist Priory in Edinburgh, and later returning to the West Indies to teach in 2002: starting groups in Trinidad & Tobago and Antigua. During this time he held the monastic name Lewyn.
However he also developed a particular affinity with Vajrayana Buddhism, and its non-sectarian Rimé approach, attending teachings and events in Europe and beyond, given by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche.
In 2009 in Bodhgaya, India, he requested that Ringu Tulku ordain him in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, taking the name Karma Sonam Rinchen and becoming one of his monks.
He then returned to the Caribbean and continued to teach and support the multi-racial and inclusive sangha of practitioners in Trinidad and Antigua. He taught in groups and visited jails as a Buddhist chaplain, sailing between islands in his boat.
Rinchen retired to the UK in 2022 and began to undertake a light solitary retreat in Sheffield, commencing in 2023.
He was diagnosed with advanced cancer in January 2025, resulting in him passing away on Sunday 8 June 2025, during the month of Saga Dawa.
The Buddhist practitioners of the Caribbean remain profoundly grateful for his years of dedication to them and his wisdom and guidance in their progress on the Buddhist Path.
It’s probably fair and accurate to say that Rinchen was one of the main facilitators for bringing the Buddhadharma to the Caribbean/ West Indies.
Following Karma Sonam Rinchen’s passing, Ringu Tulku has stated that:
“He was a genuine monk and sincerely worked for the people and dharma all his life”.
Dr Conrad Harvey
(with thanks and acknowledgement to Bodhicharya Caribbean)
