By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, October 15: Tibetans in Golok Township in Lithang County in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on Sunday offered prayers for the ailed Tibetan religious leader Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
On October 12, Tibetans in the area gathered near stupa sites, displayed portraits of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, prostrated before the portraits and prayed for Tulku’s immediate release.
According to exile sources, many Tibetans got emotional and cried during the prayer service.
Every year, the local Tibetans hold a prayer service in honor of Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
Tulku Tenzin Delek is a highly revered religious leader and an outspoken admirer and follower of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Following a series of bomb blasts in 2002 in eastern Tibet, Chinese officials charged Tulku along with Lobsang Dhondup for carrying out the blasts.
Lobsang Dhondup was immediately executed after a closed trial while Tulku was also given the death sentence with a two-year reprieve. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment on January 26, 2005 after an international outcry. In 2011, reports emerged that Tulku was suffering from a heart ailment.
Tulku Tenzin Delek has a history of working for the welfare of local Tibetans in eastern Tibet. His initiations included improvement of healthcare, education and religious institutions. Tulku was also an ardent environmentalist and advocated for the conservation of the environment in the face of China’s rampant logging and mining in Tibetan areas.
