Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 19: A prominent Tibetan Buddhist scholar, Geshe Rachung Gendun was released from prison on November 16 after serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence. According to exile Tibetan government run tibet.net, his health has severely deteriorated during his imprisonment.
Gendun, a respected scholar at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County, was arrested on April 1, 2021, in a night-time operation at his monastery quarters. Sources familiar with the case reveal that the scholar was charged with sending monetary offerings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kirti Rinpoche, the exiled abbot of Kirti Monastery now residing in Dharamshala, India. Following his arrest, Gendun’s location remained undisclosed for several months, with authorities denying his family both information about his whereabouts and visitation rights.
While he was incarcerated, his 85-year-old mother, Norpo, passed away on June 10, 2024, without being able to see her son one final time. According to sources, she was subjected to intense government surveillance and harassment, which severely limited her access to medical care. Her situation reportedly deteriorated following a tragic incident involving her brother, Taphun, who died by self-immolation in front of the police station monitoring Kirti Monastery on March 27, 2022.
Gendun’s recent imprisonment is part of a longer history of confrontations with Chinese authorities. In 1998, he was detained during protests against the Chinese government’s “Patriotic Education Campaign” at Kirti Monastery. This campaign imposed severe restrictions on religious practice, including the forced removal of monks under 18 years of age, mandatory identification cards for all monks, reduction of the monastery’s population from nearly 3,000 to 1,500, and the prohibition of displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama.
Prior to his 2021 arrest, Gendun was on track to achieve his Geshe degree, the highest level of academic achievement in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship. His academic career included extensive study of the ‘Five Great Canonical Texts’ and participation in the challenging Geshe Kachu-pa debate tours across various Kirti monasteries. His studies encompassed complex philosophical works, including the Abhisamayālaṅkāra and Madhyamakāvatāra, demonstrating his scholarly dedication and expertise.
