 She was the only child of Chieftain elder son Pomda Gonor of the Lemdha clan, of the Phomda Tsang line.Pachen took refuge in the Dharma when she was 8 years old and was subsequently initiated into the deity practice of Dorje Phurba, a Nyingma tradition.When she was 17, she discovered her father's plans to marry her off and attempted to run away to Gyalsay Rinpoche's monastery at Tromkhog.