Gungthang Rinpoche; Buddhist Monk

Gungthang Rinpoche, 74, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most popular leaders. As the second most senior religious leader at Labrang monastery, Gungthang Rinpoche spent more than 20 years in prison for his refusal to cooperate with Beijing after Chinese troops took control of Tibet in the 1950s. After his release from prison in 1979, he traveled to Tibetan communities in northwestern China, raising funds to rebuild monasteries destroyed during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution and setting up schools. Gungthang Rinpoche had been a member of the standing committee of a top government advisory group, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, but lost favor with the Communist leadership after he refused to accept its choice for another important Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Panchen Lama. The London-based Tibet Information Network reported his death Saturday. On Tuesday, at his monastery in northwestern China after returning from a hospital where he was receiving treatment for cancer.