ZATUL RINPOCHE

Zatul Ngawang Rinzin Kunsang Choekyi Gyaltsen was born in Lhasa in 1941. At the age of 4, he was recognized as the recognized as the reincarnation of the 10th Zatul Rinpoche by the regent Tagdrag Rinpoche. When he was 6 years old, he along with his parents moved to Rongbuk monastery in Toe (West Tibet). Rongbuk is based near mount Everest and its altitude is 5,000 metres above sea level.

Rinpoche studied Nyingma tradition education in Mindoling monastery in Lhokha. In March 1959, he escaped to Nepal with his parents and siblings through Khumbu Ghangla and stayed in Khumbu until September and later travelled to India. Rinpoche had the first audience of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in exile when he visited Sarnath. For a while rinpoche lived in Darjeeling before summoned to join a group of 10 Tulkus and 3 geshes in Dhamashala to learn English. Dagyab Kyabgon Rinpoche and Prof. Samdong Rinpoche were among them.

In October 1961, rinpoche was appointed to lead the first Tibetan settlement group to Switzerland. Switzerland was the first country to accept 1,000 Tibetan refugees. Besides his function as the leader of the first group, rinpoche helped as an interpreter for the groups 2 – 7. The group 7 was the last settlement group. After that people were no more required to live in a settlement group.

From 1966-1971, rinpoche studied Cultural Anthropology and Japanology at Leiden University in The Netherlands. From 1972 till 1996 rinpoche worked in the Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich. For two terms, rinpoche served as the president of the Tibetan Community Association in Switzerland in 1985-1987 and 1987-1989. From 1986-1989 rinpoche was the director of the Tibetan Dance Group in Switzerland and also worked as an advisor to the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe and Swiss and Tibetan
Friendship Association.

In 1996, rinpoche was elected to a member of the ATPD to represent the Tibetans in Europe. In 1997, rinpoche emigrated to Australia and resigned from the Chithue. From 1997-1999, rinpoche was elected as the president of the Tibetan Community Association of Sydney. In March 1998, rinpoche organized a preparatory peace march to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day with 28 people participated to walk 286km from Sydney to Canberra for 11 days. Again in 10 March 1999, 33 people walked from Canberra to Sydney arriving in Sydney.

From 2000-2003, rinpoche was appointed the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia. Since 2003, rinpoche is involved in giving talks on Tibet for schools and organisations, teaching Tibetan language and doing some interpreting work for the newly arrived Tibetans who come here under a special humanitarian visa for the former Tibetan political prisoners to Australia.