6th July 2025 — On the auspicious occasion of the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, at Sabu Gompa with Ven Thupten Konchok le, aged 97
Ven Thupten Konchok is perhaps the only living person in all of Ladakh who holds the rare distinction of having attended the very first Kalachakra initiation conferred by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, in May 1954, at Norbulingka Palace in Lhasa.
He was around sixteen years old when he left Ladakh to pursue higher studies in Tibet. “When I departed,” he recalls, “India was still under British rule. But by the time I returned thirteen years later, India had become an independent country and both His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama were visiting as state guests.”
He remembers the historic Kalachakra initiation vividly—a momentous occasion attended by the leading lamas of all the major Buddhist schools of Tibet. One detail stands out in his memory with clarity: His Holiness wore a unique ceremonial robe known as the Rusgyan (from rus, meaning ‘bone’). Ven Thupten Konchok notes that he has never seen His Holiness wear that sacred attire again in any subsequent Kalachakra initiation.
Among other cherished memories, he recalls the grand Togo celebration of Sras Rinpoche in Tibet, an elaborate and joyous event attended by the 19th Bakula Rinpoche. At that time, Lhasa was a thriving spiritual and cultural hub, regularly visited by Ladakhi pilgrims during both summer and winter seasons. The Kalimpong route was commonly taken in winter, while in summer, pilgrims traversed the Changthang plateau, often accompanying the triannual trade mission known as the Lopchak. Ven Thupten Konchok is possibly the only living Ladakhi today to have witnessed the arrival of the Lopchak missions in Lhasa.
He recalls that the Leh Kalon family, the Sra Nyar family, and the Khoja family were the key households entrusted with leading these diplomatic-commercial missions. In particular, he remembers the Kalon family’s head and Dawa Shah, who would enter the Potala Palace wearing tall ceremonial hats made of makhmal (velvet). The mission leaders were permitted to bring four to five attendants to the audience with His Holiness. From one such attendant, Ven Konchok learned that His Holiness often inquired about the well-being of the Ladakhi royal family.