Name: Kunchok Paksam
(Alias: No)
Gender: Male
Interview Age: 81
Date of Birth: 1929
Birthplace: Chashi - Markham, Kham, Tibet
Year Left Tibet: 1959
Profession: Monk
Monk/Nun: Currently
Political Prisoner: No
Interview No.: 27M
Date: 2010-04-10
Language: Tibetan
Location: Doeguling Settlement, Mundgod, Karnataka, India
Categories: Buddhist Traditions
Keywords: childhood memories, Chinese -- first appearance of, escape experiences, Kham, March 10th Uprising, monastic life, refugee in India -- life as
Summary:
Kunchok Paksam's father had passed away before his birth and his mother died when he was 14 years old. Despite his mother's plans to have him marry, he was determined to become a monk so he sold his family's possessions after his mother's death and traveled to Lhasa. He relates the long journey of over two months to Lhasa, the tremendous hardships he and his companions faced due to the severe cold weather and scarcity of food. He vividly recounts his feeling of happiness on seeing Lhasa and his subsequent enrolment in Drepung Monastery.
Kunchok Paksam recounts his life in the monastery, his religious education and his close relationship with his teacher, Tara Rinpoche. He also talks about the mismanagement of the food supply for the monastery by two monk officials and the reforms started by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama was 16 years old he implemented changes in taxes and loans.
Kunchok Paksam talks about the shelling of Norbulingka in March 1959 in Lhasa. He escaped from Tibet through Bhutan and into Buxa, West Bengal, India. He tells about the training her underwent to become a teacher and different Tibetan schools in India where he worked. Later he served three years as the abbot of Drepung Loselling Monastery in Mundgod.
Interview Team:
- Marcella Adamski (Interviewer)
- Tenzin Yangchen (Interpreter)
- Pema Tashi (Videographer)
