Lama Lobsang at his rented home at Mcleod Ganj
Photo: Tenzin Samten / Contact
Since 2019, Lama Lobsang has been a regular on the circumambulation route around His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s temple in McLeod Ganj. He hauls his big muscular frame along the route nine times a day, all the while greeting friends and saying his prayers.
When India closed its borders in March 2020, Lobsang was left stranded. He had been scheduled to return to Wales in the United Kingdom, where he has been living as a refugee since 2006. In Wales he is known locally as somebody who is always willing to help people in distress. In 2014 he featured in a Welsh newspaper after he took a German teenager, who he found sleeping rough, into his home. He said in an interview at the time that “as a monk, I support people who experience difficult circumstances.” As COVID-19 has ravaged India, he has brought this philosophy of helping others to the community in Dharamsala.
Lobsang of Sera Mey Monastery in South India frequently provides food to needy individuals and families and has helped many daily wage workers who famously became stranded far from home at the beginning of the lockdown in March 2020. He has paid rent for over 200 people that have found themselves jobless since the pandemic struck. He also distributes masks to people and donated 50,000 INR worth of PPE kits to frontline workers at the DTR hospital in Mundgod; 50,000 INR for meals, sanitisers and masks for Khangtsen monastery; 108,000 INR for medical resources at Sera Monastery in Bylakuppe settlement and 300 kg of tsampa to the children and staff at TCV Gopalpur along with 11,000 INR worth of meals for the children spending lockdown at the school. The Tibetan Settlement Office has acknowledged his “great contribution” to the local population during this difficult time, noting another donation he made to sponsor four months’ salary for two nurses employed in Dharamsala.
Some photos of Lama Lobsang’s charity work
Photo: Lama Lobsang / Facebook
Throughout the pandemic, Lobsang has helped with performing the last rites for the bodies of many who have passed away. Families have been reluctant to get close to their deceased relatives for fear of contracting COVID-19, but Lobsang has made sure that these victims of the disease have had a proper send off. “My health is good so I can help, I have been feeling healthy for these past two years. Now I have taken both shots of the vaccine so I am free to assist the community.”
Lobsang keeps simple accommodation in Amdo Village, McLeod Ganj. It’s one room with an attached bathroom and kitchen. He serves black tea and delicious Tibetan breads. “Having negative thoughts about the past or the future serves no purpose…Helping others and being compassionate brings its own benefits. It creates positive thoughts.” Compassion in action is a fundamental part of Lobsang’s Buddhist practice, “it is not enough to simply discuss compassion as an abstract theory, practitioners must perform compassionate acts in their daily lives.” Lobsang extends his compassion to all human beings, regardless of their religion, colour, race or creed, “We are all human beings first; these other labels, like Buddhist or Tibetan, are of secondary importance. There is not a difference whether high name or low name. I help anybody I can.”
Some in the community are cynical about Lama Lobsang and feel he promotes his good deeds too much on social media. He says that he maintains a strong social media for three purposes:
1. It raises awareness of those who are suffering and people can pray for them or offer their assistance.
2. For transparency purposes: Lama Lobsang can show those who have donated to him that he is putting their money to good use.
3. Lama Lobsang hopes his social work will inspire young people to follow in his footsteps.
The group Hong Kong Dharma Friends contributes greatly to Lama Lobsang’s social work and he wishes to thank them for their assistance from the bottom of his heart. He also receives support from other people around the world. Over the years, Lobsang has hosted meditation retreats across Wales and in Italy.
Lama Lobsang with Ben Byrne, Contact’s writer at his home in Mcleod Ganj
Photo: Tenzin Samten / Contact
Beneficiaries of his teachings have rallied to donate to him during this difficult time. They are confident that he will put their money to effective use. “I have many friends because of my loving actions,” Lobsang says. As I interview him, he receives a donation from a follower in the UK. This follower received a monthly bonus from his boss and decided to give some of it to further Lama Lobsang’s charitable activities. Lama Lobsang replies with an audio message thanking the person for their kind contribution. Many Tibetans are also contributing financially and engaging directly in helping Lama Lobsang with his work.
Sitting alongside me is a young man named Tenzin who is deeply grateful to Lama Lobsang and his compassionate approach. Tenzin’s mother recently suffered a ruptured appendix and needed urgent hospital treatment. The hospital, however, refused to treat her until they received payments upfront. The family asked Lobsang for help and he provided the financial assistance necessary to save Tenzin’s mothers life. He also found appropriate blood donors for Tenzin’s mother. “Lama Lobsang has changed many lives,” Tenzin tells me, “His work sends a message to be kind to others.”
To follow Lobsang’s charity works or to contact him for support, here is link to his Facebook account : https://www.facebook.com/lamalobsang
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