Losang Thonden

Early life and education

Losang Thonden was born on May 23, 1942 in Lhasa, Tibet, to a Wangdue Khangsar family to father Pasang Tsering Khangsar and mother Kungchok Dolma. Dolma was the daughter of Sherpa Gyalpo, a prominent businessman and one of the richest Tibetans in Lhasa in the early 1920s. Gyalpo was commissioned by the Tibetan Government and had traveled extensively in India, Nepal, China, and Mongol.

From 1946 to 1957, Thonden attended Jarpakhang High School in Lhasa. His family hired an officer, Darma Bhabu, from the Nepalese Embassy in Lhasa to teach Thonden English, math, and Nepali. He graduated high school at the age of 15 with top honors. He was then selected among few other students in all of Lhasa by the Tibetan Central Government in conjunction with Beijing government as an elite student ambassador to study at Beijing University to promote bilateral cultural brotherhood. But his family, particularly his mother who was a strong Tibetan nationalist, refused that her son be sent to Communist China. Thonden was disappointed by the objections of his mother and decided that he would go on his own.

Soon his uncle Lobsang Tenzin, the executor of the Ladang Estate, requested that his sister send Thonden to Dakyap JangshupLing Ladang (pronounced Laprang), part of Sera Mey Monastery. Wangue Khangsar had been the patron of Sera Mey Monastery for many generations, so Thonden was accepted right away. Dakyap Ladang was north of Lhasa in Penpo region of Tibet. There he studied under the tutelage of Dakyap Rinpoche (Nawang Losang Yeshi), who was the direct lineage of Dakyap Tulku, a part of Sera Mey Monstery.

Later, Thonden attended non-monastic Sera University to study Tibetan Buddhism, language, and calligraphy under Geshe Lama Tenzin Gyalsten. In 1959, he escaped from Tibet, after the invasion along with the 14th Dalai Lama.

When he arrived in India, he was very keen on improving his English language skills, so he studied English under a retired British officer, Major Ken. His cousin sister Kalsang Yangki Talka (former Tibetan Education Minister and Representative of the 14th Dalai Lama in the Office of Tibet London location) also taught him English, since she was going to an English convent school in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India.

1960–1970: Government career and advocacy

From 1960 to 1963, Thonden served the Council for Tibetan Education and became a prominent member scholar in the Tibetan Literary Committee. He was later selected for the Central Tibetan Administrative for Higher Studies, a joint collaboration with Delhi University to further advancement and education for the success of upcoming Tibetan government officials.

In 1963, he was appointed as the Education Officer for the Tibetan Bureau in New Delhi, India, for three years.

The Council for Tibetan Education asked Thonden to move to Kalakshetra Institute in South India in 1966 to help with the Tibetan education and planning of curriculum for Tibetan children who were sponsored by the Indian Government and hosted by the Kalakshetra Institute with the blessing of Rukmini Devi.

At the age of 27, Thonden became one of the youngest Tibetan government officials when the 14th Dalai Lama appointed him as the General Secretary of the Council for Tibetan Education Department. Under his leadership, he overhauled the administrative system of managing a total of 60 Tibetan schools in India, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan that were poorly underrepresented for getting government grants from national and international sources.

He worked tirelessly to promote adequate funding, sponsorship, and educational scholarship for Tibetan schools so the children attending them would be able to attend major colleges and universities in India and abroad. He managed to secure many international scholarship programs for the Tibetan refugee students and thus many Tibetan students were sent to technical schools and universities in England, Denmark, France, and Norway. In 1970, he succeeded in securing full sponsorship and scholarship at the Kimmins High School in Pune, India. This school later became one of the major sponsors for all young Tibetan refugee girls.

1970–1990: Tibetan language scholar

Thonden worked as the Tibetan Language and Cultural Research Scholar at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala, India, from 1973 to 1990. He was one of the first Tibetan scholars who worked with international language professors and scholars from around the world in bringing standardized Tibetan phonetics in all major European languages. He also helped Professor Ngawang Thundup Narkyid, Father of the Tibetan Typewriter, to improve the Tibetan Remington Rand typewriter, later manufactured in Kolkata, India. Thonden was an instrumental member in standardizing and implementing the early versions of modern computerized Tibetan Language Unicode for Microsoft Word.

Calligraphy

Thonden is considered by the Central Tibetan Government one of the few surviving Tibetan language scholars and calligraphers outside of Tibet who is versed in all the Tibetan forms of calligraphy: Uchen, Umi, Druktsa, Horyig, Tsukthun, Yigchun, TsomaQu, and Quk. His calligraphy can be seen in official Tibetan government letterheads, offices, and major libraries in India and New York City.

Publications

He is an author of several Tibetan Language books. He has translated over 80 western articles and journals for subjects including law, health, and medicine for both the Council for Tibetan Education and the Tibetan Department of Home Affairs. He is working on a new book, soon to be published, about Tibetan calligraphy. He has been creating new Tibetan typefaces that will also be featured in his upcoming book.

1990 to present: Immigration to U.S. and Hollywood appearances

In 1990, he immigrated to the United States, and he now lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife Dekyi Thonden Gyalkhang (her family was also known as Bhanashol Gyalkhang in Lhasa, Tibet.) a Tibetan celebrity chef and former Deputy Secretary of Finance Department for the Tibetan Government in Exile. She has been featured in The Seattle Times, Seattle KOMO-TV, Macy’s Seattle Festival, local food blogs, local TV shows, and on Food Network: United Tastes of America with television personality chef Jeffry Saad.

As he was exploring new creative avenues, Thonden was introduced to Hollywood in 1995. He was cast in Jean Jack Annaud’s Seven Years in Tibet and recently starred as a principal cast in the 20th Century Fox production The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with international superstar actor and director Ben Stiller.

He appeared in the documentary film Ten Yaks and Twenty Horns. He has also acted in a few short films directed by his son Rabyoung Thonden Gyalkhang.