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International
Tibet
Independence
Movement
PO Box 194
Fishers, Indiana
46038-0194
United States
e-mail:
rangzen@aol.com
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Who is Thubten Jigme Norbu?
Tashi Tsering was born
approximately 75 years ago in a small, peasant, mountain
village in the Amdo Province of Eastern Tibet. Born on the
16th day of the 8th month of the Water-Dog year, Tashi spent
only a brief part of his life in his home village Taktser.
Taktser means "place on the heights." At the age of three,
Tashi was recognized by the 13th Dalai Lama (Thubten Gyatso)
as a very famous reincarnate Lama, known as Taktser Rinpoche
or Taktser Tulku. The 13th Dalai Lama bestowed on Tashi the
name Thubten Jigme Norbu. Jigme means "fear not." Norbu
means "jewel." At the age of eight, the 23rd incarnate of
Taktser Tulku was taken to his spiritual home of previous
lives, Kumbum Monastery in Amdo; the birthplace of Lama
Tsong Kapa who is the founder of the Gelugpa sect (Yellow
Hat) of Tibetan Buddhism. Historically, Kumbum was also the
frequent residence of previous Dalai Lamas and
Panchen Lamas.
At Kumbum, Rinpoche began his training as a Monk and he received the respect paid to a High Lama, Rinpoche, or Tulku. Rinpoche means "a precious one." Tulku means "a living Buddha." At the young age of 27, Rinpoche was selected to serve as the Abbott of Kumbum Monastery. As the Abbott, Rinpoche was the highest authority in the Monastery both in ecclesiastical affairs and all matters of administration; Not an easy task considering that Kumbum housed over 4000 monks. At that time, Kumbum was thought to be one of the largest, most important, Monasteries in Tibet, particularly Eastern Tibet.
Unfortunately, after a very brief period of time as Abbott, Taktser Tulku was forced out of Kumbum. Located in Eastern Tibet, right next to China's border, Kumbum was one of the first areas to be invaded by the army of The People's Republic of China (PRC). When The PRC arrived in 1949, few people in Lhasa knew of the invasion. The PRC held Rinpoche under house arrest in the Monastery, sleeping in his room and following him 24 hours a day. The PRC demanded that Rinpoche travel to Lhasa, denounce the Tibetan Government, and denounce his younger brother, His Holiness The Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) who was then about 15 years old. Moreover, The PRC demanded that Rinpoche kill his brother, The Dalai Lama. In return for these actions, The PRC promised Rinpoche that he would become The PRC Government leader of Tibet.
After months of denying their request, Rinpoche recognized that someone needed to go to Lhasa to inform The Dalai Lama of the fact that The PRC had invaded Tibet. So, Taktser Tulku pretended to agree with The PRC's demands and set off (with 1000 Tibetans and over 10,000 animals) for Lhasa, hoping he could escape his captors. Sure enough he was successful and he was one of the first Tibetans to inform His Holiness The Dalai Lama of the seriousness of the Chinese invasion. Sadly, when Taktser Tulku pretended to agree with The PRC, he had also broken his vows as a Monk; a consequence he had already accepted before informing The PRC of his decision. Because of this, he gave back his vows as a Monk.
Unfortunately, neither His Holiness The Dalai Lama nor the Tibetan officials accepted the seriousness or urgency of RinpocheUs report. As a result, Rinpoche decided in 1950 that he would leave Tibet and attempt to educate the world about the atrocities in Tibet and the actions of The PRC. As one of the first, if not first, high profile Tibetans to go into exile, Taktser Tulku traveled the world meeting government and United Nations officials to establish support for Tibet. Sadly, no one listened and the situation in Tibet worsened. Taktser Tulku was also the first Tibetan to settle in the United States after The PRC invasion in 1949.
Since leaving Tibet, Taktser Tulku has continued to be a loud, strong, steady, and outspoken voice for Tibet's independence. As a Tibetan refugee, Rinpoche has served as His Holiness The Dalai Lama's Representative and a Tibetan Government In-Exile Representative to Japan and North America. He has also served as a Professor of Tibetan Studies at Indiana University (IU). Since retiring from IU, Rinpoche founded the Tibetan Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana; a center devoted to preserving Tibetan culture and religion. This past July, His Holiness The Dalai Lama visited this Center to place and bless the cornerstone for the first international, interdenominational, Buddhist Temple. His Holiness named this Temple, "Chamtse Ling," a Temple of Love and Compassion.
Taktser Tulku was one of the founding members of the organization known as the "Committee of 100 for Tibet." More recently, Rinpoche cofounded a new organization that, not surprisingly, is much closer to his core views about Tibet. This organization is called the International Tibet Independence Movement. Not counting his journey from Kumbum to Lhasa, to date, Rinpoche has led two walks for Tibet's Independence. In 1995, he led a walk from Bloomington, Indiana to Indianapolis, Indiana (80 miles in 7 days). In 1996, Rinpoche along with Palden Gyatso led a 300-mile walk for Tibet's Independence from The PRC Embassy in Washington, D.C. to the United Nations in New York City (a 45-day walk). Rinpoche will continue to walk until Tibet is Independent.
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PO Box 194 Fishers, Indiana 46038-0194 United States
e-mail: rangzen@aol.com
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