He was a prince, scholar, politician, teacher, and diplomat, but much more than that he was a great monk acknowledged for his erudition, deep learning and for his wonderful sense of compassion. People who had the honor and the pleasure to meet Rinpoche where touched by his simplicity and sincerity. From the Queen of England to a herder in the remote areas of Mongolia, he seemed to somehow connect with everyone he met. Rarely one encounters the story of such a remarkable figure
Kushok Bakula Rinpoche was born a prince in the royal family of Ladakh in 1917. It was there that Rinpoche was recognized by the 13th Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of Arhat Bakula, one of the disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni. But soon he chose the same path as Buddha Shakyamuni. Instead of looking for fulfillment in the worldly pleasures of the royalty, he took the spiritual path. Already at the age of nine he had studied at several monasteries and made his way to Drepung monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. But Rinpoche was committed to the Middle Way. This Buddhist teaching inspires the Buddhist clergy to not completely recline from worldly life, but to bring Buddhist teaching into practice in daily life. Rinpoche didn’t forget his background and saw the potential of combining Buddhism and politics. On the one hand he could contribute to policy and diplomacy by offering different views and vocabulary. On the other hand he was able to be an advocate for Buddhism and for the two states he turned out to love the most: his homeland Ladakh and the land of Blue Heaven: Mongolia. In 1969 he visited Ulaanbaatar for the first time and although Mongolia was still suffering from religious repression, he even was able to give some teachings to the eager few who had the courage of being affiliated with the opium of the people, as religion was perceived in communist philosophy.
Bakula Rinpoche was the first Buddhist monk to have been able to visit communist stronghold of USSR, Mongolia and China. Earlier, in the 1930s Rinpoche had learnt about the horrors and destruction which took place in USSR and Mongolia from his fellow monks of Mongolia and Buriyat while studying in Lhasa, Tibet. He, therefore, had a strong desire to do something for those people. When the opportunity came, he visited these countries and comforted the people and helped in bringing succor to them. At a time when other Tibetan Buddhist masters were heading to the West to spread Buddha Dharma there, Bakula Rinpoche chose to go to East where he felt he was most needed. Since 1968, he regularly visited Buriyat in USSR and Mongolia. As it later turned out, Bakula Rinpoche single handedly laid the foundation for the Buddhist revival in the region. There is an interesting coincidence. The Soviet revolution took place in 1917 and the same year Bakula Rinpoche was born. In 1968 Rinpoche became one of the founders of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) with its headquarters in Mongolia. For many years he was the only high lama who could enter the Soviet Union and teach Buddhism.
The Buddhist Temple in St. Petersburg called 'Gunzechoinei' was built by Buryat lama Agvan Dorjiev (1853 -1938), who was a personal tutor of the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1919, the Temple was vandalized by the Red Army. It later housed some laboratories of a zoology institute. Bakula Rinpoche in his meetings with the Soviet leaders, appealed to them to return the monastery to the Buddhist community of Russia and eventually the request was granted. In 1989 the Buddhist community in St. Petersburg was officially recognised. That year a service was held by Bakula Rinpoche, the first service in 50 years.
Rinpoche was also the first among high lama who visited Kalmykia, the Eurasia land whose people suffered immense persecutions at the hands of Stalin after the Second World War. Rinpoche laid the foundation of a first post-communist monastery there. His regular visits to China during his decade long stay in Mongolia benefitted many people there.
After returning almost every year, it was in 1989 that Bakula Rinpoche became the Indian ambassador to Mongolia. A Buddhist monk had become ambassador in a communist country. Soon after, the single-party system collapsed and Mongolia entered a new era. The country opened up to the world, adopted a new constitution and religious practice revived. Bakula Rinpoche used his position as ambassador to travel all over the country and visit many of the newly established temples. Rinpoche understood that the repression had not extinguished the fire of belief, but had wiped away the knowledge of how to practice Buddhism. Thus Rinpoche focused on training. He gave regular teachings in Ulaanbaatar and became an inspiration for many. In 1999 he founded Pethub Stangey Choskor Ling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar. The monastery became a well visited place of training and worship. Expansion came when after several years a medical clinic was opened.
He was a man of vision and his prime focus was on promoting spiritual values and reviving Buddhism in countries where political systems had denied that right to the people. Rinpoche was a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament, inter-communal harmony and peaceful reconciliation of conflicts in the world. During many years of public engagements, he met leaders of all faiths and political affiliations including Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union. He was the first ever Buddhist monk to have been invited by the Queen of England for a discussion over a dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2002. He received high State awards from the President of India and President of Mongolia. Such was Rinpoche’s versatile personality.
Rinpoche was greatly inspired by the words of Shantideva:
“For as long as peace endures,
and for as long as living beings remain,
until then may I too abide,
to dispel the misery of the world”.
On November 4, 2003, Bakula Rinpoche peacefully left the physical world, but his legacy lives on. We pray for his early return. Under the spiritual guidance of Most Venerable Jangtse Choje Rizong Sras Rinpoche and Venerable Jhado Rinpoche, Sonam Wangchuk, Bakula Rinpoche’s loyal assistant has continued the work on the monastery and all the other projects that Rinpoche was involved.
Kushok Bakula Rinpoche 
