 Geshe Sopa went in exile in India following the 1959 Tibetan uprising.In 1962, he was awarded the degree of Lharampa Geshe.At the request of Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, he moved to the USA with three other monks (Sharpa Tulku, Khamlung Tulku and Lama Kunga) that same year to learn English and to study American culture.