(TibetanReview.net, Jul27’25) – The head of the Thiksey Monastery in Leh, the capital of India’s Union Territory of Ladakh, has donated a sizeable area of 62 kanals (7.5 acres) of land to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) for the resettlement of Tibetans stuck in the inhospitable cold desert of Chumur in remote north and Tibetans lacking permanent residency living in Leh, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website Jul 26.
A delegation led by Sikyong Penpa Tsering paid a visit to the 9th Thiksey Rinpoche, the Venerable Ngawang Jamyang Chamba Stanzin, on Jul 25 to express heartfelt gratitude for the donation, said the CTA statement.
The delegation, which included Kalon Dolma Gyari (Department of Security), Kalon Norzin Dolma (Department of Information and International Relations), Secretary Palden Dhondup (Department of Home), Representative Jigme Jungney (Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Delhi), Additional Secretary Tashi Dickey (Department of Home), and Chief Representative Officer of Ladakh, Tashi Dhondup, as well former Delhi Bureau representative Lobsang Shastri, had a day-long engagement with Thiksey Rinpoche at his residence, the statement said.
The delegation accompanied Thiksey Rinpoche to the doated land which the latter consecrated and at which he also interacted with the Chumur Tibetan nomadic community members. Rinpoche has also hosted a luncheon for the visiting exile Tibetan officials.
In his address at an event held in the Sonamling Tibetan community hall in Leh, Sikyong Penpa Tsering has noted that Thiksey Rinpoche has also offered assistance to Muslim communities in the Union Territory and to others in need.
The CTA has presented a citation and several souvenirs to Rinpoche in recognition of his generous and compassionate support toward enhancing the well-being of the Tibetan people in the region.
In his address, Thiksey Rinpoche has recalled that when Tibet was independent, the Dalai Lama had extended special care and support to monks from Himalayan regions pursuing their Buddhist education in Lhasa. That tradition of compassion has continued even after Tibet’s annexation By China, with His Holiness consistently supporting Himalayan monks in their studies, he has noted.
“As His Holiness turns 90 this year, it is a moment of pride for us to reciprocate that compassion by donating land for the Tibetan community,” Rinpoche has said.
Calling the Dalai Lama his root guru, Rinpoche has said, “I have always been, and will remain, committed to fulfilling His Holiness’s noble guidance until my last breath.”