Born in New Mexico in 1971, Dorje Kirsten~Shinno grew up in Seattle. As a child, he listened to many wonderful and enriching tales of Japan and Asia told by his grandfather, Richard Daiensai Kirsten.  Adjacent to the house in which Dorje was raised was the Kirsten Gallery, curated by his uncle and his father, who is himself a tremendous visionary painter.  The artist tradition, the mystical legends of Japan, and the practices of Buddhism have been part of Dorje’s life for as long as he can remember.

At the age of 18, Dorje received his first initiation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Since then, he has had the good fortune to study under the guidance of many great and realized Nyingma Buddhist masters, including His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche and Lama Drimed Norbu. Trained extensively in the ritual arts of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism as a “chopen,” (ritual shrine assistant), Dorje lived at a Buddhist retreat center for more than ten years.

Master Daiensai Kirsten decided to train Dorje in Sumi-e painting over seven years ago.  Dorje furthered his studies under Master Shozo Satsereo.  According to Daiensai, who has traveled extensively throughout Japan for over 40 years, there is not another living being in Japan who continues to unite Buddhist spirituality with serpent painting.  Daiensai thus feels strongly that Dorje is the only current living “Serpent Painting master,” and has urged Dorje to sustain the life force of the sacred serpent lineage.  Daiensai conferred the Japanese name of “Shinno” upon Dorje, meaning “King.”

Dorje painted over a thousand serpents before offering a single serpent painting for sale, and continues painting the serpents as a regular practice. The paintings presented to the public are chosen for their quality of spirit and brush work, and about only one out of a hundred are placed on the market.

Dorje now lives with his family on the coast of Northern California, near the grace and beauty of the majestic redwoods and the Pacific Ocean, and practices meditation, astrology, and feng shui, as well as sacred art.