The founder, Tibetan Lama Guru Chhawang Thinlen (Chh’wang Thilen – sKu S’ogs- The Illustriious One), is believed to have been a Thak resident having come from the Kyirong monastery. Alternative stories state that he was the younger of two brothers who migrated to Chhairo from Dhakartas Pandrasaya Khola of Rasuwa district. The Padmasambhava chapel, Sanga Choling, the smaller chapel to the north east of the main shrine room is believed to have been built in the 18th century by Lama Sangye. Chhairo Gompa has its spiritual roots in the Jyangter Nyingma school of Buddhism which was first introduced in Kathok (Katok Monastery), Dorje Dhak (Dorje Drak) and Palyul monasteries in Tibet. Chhairo monastery contributed to the expansion of the Nyngma (Nyingma) sect in Nepal and the Thak region in particular, and appears to the first in Nepal to adopt Nyngma philosophy. Guru Chhawang Thinlen was a reputed Guru of the Bajrayana school of his time. During the tenure of the second incarnation, Chhairo Gompa flourished and the extent of the physical infrastructure can still be seen outside the grounds of the current gompa.