Activists, devotees gather to honor Tibetan Buddhist leader who died in Vietnam

[ad_1] DHARAMSALA, India — A whole bunch of Tibetans gathered on Friday on the Fundamental Temple in Dharamsala, India to supply prayers to mark 49 days for the reason that dying of Tulku Hungkar Dorje – the revered Tibetan spiritual chief and educator who died in custody in Vietnam in March 2025.

His followers say the Buddhist chief, who had been lacking for over eight months, had fled to Vietnam to flee Chinese language authorities persecution for his work as an educator and promoter of Tibetan language and tradition.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="A portrait Tulku Hungkar Dorje at the at the Main Temple in Dharamsala, India, May 16, 2025, on the 49th day after his death." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=800&height=533" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=400&height=266 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=768&height=511 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=1024&height=682 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/BES2VVVVVVCDRL74MY2SYPHHEA.JPG?auth=b73432e097fa3def99ab5320e65f7f5d15c2541074e3f4900e5ed0bc4b3f1a28&width=1440&height=959 1440w" width="800" height="533"/> tibet-buddhist-leader-china-vietnam A portrait Tulku Hungkar Dorje on the on the Fundamental Temple in Dharamsala, India, Could 16, 2025, on the forty ninth day after his dying. (Tenzin Woser/RFA Tibetan) Tulku Hungkar Dorje, who was the tenth abbot of Lung Ngon Monastery in Gade county in Golog, died, aged 56, on March 29, 2025, in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, his monastery stated in an announcement. Chinese language authorities forbid the monastery and native residents from holding public memorial companies and prayers for the abbot, sources instructed RFA.

The forty ninth day prayer service is especially vital in Tibetan Buddhism because it marks the top of bardo, or the interval between dying and rebirth. Elaborate rituals and prayer choices are made to information the consciousness of the deceased by way of bardo and into rebirth.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Tibetan monks pray for Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Dharamsala, India, May 16, 2025, on the 49th day after his death." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=800&height=533" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=400&height=266 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=768&height=511 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=1024&height=682 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HAZ2VQMJR5EKTE47LENICIVGEY.JPG?auth=237ed4f7f810bd65a2afa4ec17daa73718d3d5f680e023d44ad757e6b8fce612&width=1440&height=959 1440w" width="800" height="533"/> tibet-buddhist-leader-china-vietnam Tibetan monks pray for Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Dharamsala, India, Could 16, 2025, on the forty ninth day after his dying. (Tenzin Woser/RFA Tibetan) Rights teams and numerous Tibetan associations, together with the Dhomay Cholka Affiliation which is a non-governmental group representing Tibetans from the historic Amdo area, have decried the mysterious circumstances surrounding his dying whereas he was in Chinese language custody in Vietnam and have known as for an impartial probe.

A separate memorial service – titled ‘Tulku Hungkar Dorje Lives’ and arranged by Tibetan rights teams – was held later that very same day in Dharamsala to pay tribute to the Buddhist chief’s lifelong contributions as a spiritual instructor, philanthropist, educator, and environmentalist.

On the occasion, Tibetan students, activists, and former political prisoners highlighted Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s relentless efforts in making certain the preservation of Tibetan language, tradition, and faith, and vowed to proceed to induce the Vietnamese authorities to permit a clear and neutral investigation into the circumstances surrounding his dying.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="A memorial service ‘Tulku Hungkar Dorje Lives’ organized by Tibetan rights groups paid tribute to his lifelong contributions as a religious teacher, philanthropist, educator, and environmentalist." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=800&height=533" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=400&height=266 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=768&height=511 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=1024&height=682 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/NQ6F34GJO5ARRNVGDGH5VXA6HU.JPG?auth=23e120d49c352e9c17a580ea51f02d286af41c6c05f4fd9c646f7905b1fc134b&width=1440&height=959 1440w" width="800" height="533"/> tibet-buddhist-leader-china-vietnam A memorial service ‘Tulku Hungkar Dorje Lives’ organized by Tibetan rights teams paid tribute to his lifelong contributions as a spiritual instructor, philanthropist, educator, and environmentalist. (Tenzin Woser/RFA Tibetan) Edited by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington