A Tibetan Hero who Merged into the Flames
In March of this year, the government of Communist China made use of the deceptively pleasant-sounding phrase, “The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,” to enact a new fundamental law which will further suppress Tibetan identity, language, religion, and freedom through legally mandated Sinicization, forced assimilation of a single state-defined Chinese identity. Alarmingly, the law could extend beyond China’s borders with embedded “extraterritorial reach”, targeting those who are accused of undermining “ethnic unity,” promoting “separatism,” or challenging China’s “sovereignty” claims. Harboring the malicious policy of erasing and eventually transforming the Tibetan language into Chinese and the Tibetan people into Chinese, China officially began implementing this policy on July 1.
Led primarily by the Tibetan administration in exile, Tibetan brothers and sisters living throughout the world have carried out many different kinds of protests opposing this policy of the Chinese government.
The fifty-two-year-old Tibetan activist Rangzen Lobga, who had been permanently residing in New York City in the United States, seized upon this movement as an opportunity and, apparently having made thorough preparations in advance, began a Facebook livestream from his mobile phone at 5:49 in the evening. Holding Tibet’s Snow Lion national flag in his hand and dressed in traditional Tibetan attire, he also carried a lighter and a scrap of paper.
Without any fear, timidity, apprehension, or unease, he slowly walked several steps into the plaza in front of the United Nations headquarters. He then gently planted upright to one side the Tibetan national flag he had been holding in his right hand. With the lighter in his left hand, he set fire to the paper, and within scarcely a second, the entire body of the hero Pawo Rangzen Lobga was engulfed in a fiercely glowing red mass of flames.
What extraordinary courage and fortitude Lobga possessed! While the fire was violently burning his entire body, far from writhing or leaping about, he remained standing in the midst of the flames, a dark and motionless figure, without so much as moving his body.
Within no more than five seconds, the fiercely blazing fire had consumed his entire body. Finally, the burning body slowly placed both knees upon the ground, as though making a prostration, and fell onto the pavement. Judging from the manner in which he fell, one may surmise that he had not only poured a large quantity of gasoline over his entire body, but had also swallowed some of it.
Furthermore, the fact that while burning he made no movement and did not leap about, but stood upright and imposing as a dark figure in the midst of the red mass of flames, appears to demonstrate that from childhood he had studied Buddhism and the teachings of the Mahayana for approximately thirteen years. Not only was he utterly unafraid of death, but, like a son joyfully returning to his father’s home, he seems to have long prepared himself to face death without fear by building within his mind the strong fortress of Buddhist teachings—such as impermanence and taking suffering onto the path.
The time when the presence or absence of genuine Buddhist practice is weighed on the scales is the time of death. As a Tibetan proverb says:
“Whether one possesses courage is known in battle;
whether one possesses the Dharma is known at the time of death.”
With your passing, one person has been lost from among the seven million Tibetans. For us, as a people with such a scarcely populated nation, this is an exceedingly great loss.
An even greater loss is this: Rangzen Lobga was someone who struggled solely for complete Tibetan independence. While alive, his only thought was that Tibet should attain freedom, and his only work was for the cause of Tibet. Brave hero, you were worth more than hundreds of ordinary Tibetans. That you have now been parted from us forever is an immense loss.
Nevertheless, since it is the natural law that the final end of all who are born is death, what was expressed by your setting fire to your precious life and burning yourself alive in New York, in front of the headquarters of the United Nations, in the powerful country of the United States?
I believe it was a message to the leaders of the nations of the world, beginning with the United Nations:
“If you have brains in your heads
and beating hearts in your chests,
please stand behind the justice of us Tibetans.
Please stand behind the vulnerable and defenseless.
Please stand on the side of truth.”
As a Tibetan proverb says:
“When a hawk carries off a rabbit,
the blue sky is the only place to which it can cry out.”
In the same way, although more than seventy years have passed since the government of Communist China forcibly occupied the powerless and vulnerable Tibetan people, the United Nations has never spoken even slightly about the Tibetan cause, because of the pressure exerted by China’s strength, power, and influence.
Therefore, I believe that this time, having reached a desperate impasse and exhausted every other means, Lobga Rangzen set fire to his precious body in front of the United Nations.
Rangzen Lobga-la,
This time, for the sake of the Tibetan people, you set your most precious life ablaze within a matter of a few seconds. When I think of how your upper garments were burned away until nothing remained but charred remnants, and of how you alone departed in utter solitude, it was a sacrifice too painful for the heart to contemplate and beyond the power of words to express.
Ah! From this very day onward, we Tibetan brothers and sisters who remain behind will, in accordance with your final testament, unite as one for the sake of Tibet’s freedom and independence. Until the truth and justice of our complete freedom and independence are fully vindicated, we will never abandon this struggle.
For now, may your consciousness be at peace. We will never allow your hopes to go to waste.
And may you, without losing your present courage, determination, or bold spirit, swiftly take rebirth in a Tibetan body for the restoration of Tibet’s freedom. At that time, may you be enthroned as the holder of Tibet’s political sovereignty; may independence be attained swiftly; and may all of us together enjoy happiness, prosperity, and cultural flourishing throughout the snowy land of Tibet. This is my prayer.
Although the government of Communist China brought the whole of Tibet under its rule in 1959, it has still not succeeded in bringing the minds of the Tibetan people under its control.
Over the past sixty-seven years, through every kind of policy and method, both conciliatory and harsh, the government of Communist China and the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party have tried in many different ways to draw the minds of the entire Tibetan people toward Beijing, the capital of China. Yet the thoughts of Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile continue to turn toward Dharamsala in India.
The government of Communist China has used every means at its disposal in an effort to eradicate Tibetan religion, culture, and national identity.
Today, Tibetan religion and culture have become a treasure cherished by the whole world, and the number of people who admire Buddhism and Tibetan culture continues to increase with each passing day.
No matter how the government of Communist China has used deception, lies, and every kind of trickery against Tibetans—trying by every possible means to turn the land of Tibet into Chinese territory and the Tibetan people into Chinese—truth can never be defeated. In this twenty-first century, an age of knowledge, intelligence, science, and technology, the people of the world have come to recognize clearly what is true and what is false. The lies of the government of Communist China have now been exposed, leaving it humiliated and ashamed.
Nevertheless, some leaders of the Chinese Communist Party still cling with a death grip to nothing but their own political power, authority, and positions. Like a person falling from a precipice and desperately grasping at the branch of a tree, they have reached a state of utter desperation, yet continue to employ every means at their disposal to forcibly assimilate the Tibetan people into Chinese.
Even so, I possess firm confidence and conviction that, before long, the sun of happiness and freedom will swiftly rise for us.
As for how I came to know Rangzen Lobga: several years ago, when I traveled to New York to visit my family, I was invited to lunch at the home of a Khampa family. One member of that family had been my traveling companion in 1998, when we had journeyed together on foot from Tibet to India through the Himalayan mountains. Rangzen Lobga-la happened to be staying with that family at the time, and that was when I first became acquainted with him.
In everyday life, he was frank and straightforward, easily contented, and cheerful. He was also extremely fond of jokes, playfulness, dancing, and other amusements.
Indeed, among Tibetans living in New York, there was probably scarcely anyone who did not know Rangzen Lobga. The reason was that whenever any kind of activity for the Tibetan cause was organized within the Tibetan community, he was always there.
Led primarily by the Tibetan administration in exile, Tibetan brothers and sisters living throughout the world have carried out many different kinds of protests opposing this policy of the Chinese government.
The fifty-two-year-old Tibetan activist Rangzen Lobga, who had been permanently residing in New York City in the United States, seized upon this movement as an opportunity and, apparently having made thorough preparations in advance, began a Facebook livestream from his mobile phone at 5:49 in the evening. Holding Tibet’s Snow Lion national flag in his hand and dressed in traditional Tibetan attire, he also carried a lighter and a scrap of paper.
Without any fear, timidity, apprehension, or unease, he slowly walked several steps into the plaza in front of the United Nations headquarters. He then gently planted upright to one side the Tibetan national flag he had been holding in his right hand. With the lighter in his left hand, he set fire to the paper, and within scarcely a second, the entire body of the hero Pawo Rangzen Lobga was engulfed in a fiercely glowing red mass of flames.
What extraordinary courage and fortitude Lobga possessed! While the fire was violently burning his entire body, far from writhing or leaping about, he remained standing in the midst of the flames, a dark and motionless figure, without so much as moving his body.
Within no more than five seconds, the fiercely blazing fire had consumed his entire body. Finally, the burning body slowly placed both knees upon the ground, as though making a prostration, and fell onto the pavement. Judging from the manner in which he fell, one may surmise that he had not only poured a large quantity of gasoline over his entire body, but had also swallowed some of it.
Furthermore, the fact that while burning he made no movement and did not leap about, but stood upright and imposing as a dark figure in the midst of the red mass of flames, appears to demonstrate that from childhood he had studied Buddhism and the teachings of the Mahayana for approximately thirteen years. Not only was he utterly unafraid of death, but, like a son joyfully returning to his father’s home, he seems to have long prepared himself to face death without fear by building within his mind the strong fortress of Buddhist teachings—such as impermanence and taking suffering onto the path.
The time when the presence or absence of genuine Buddhist practice is weighed on the scales is the time of death. As a Tibetan proverb says:
“Whether one possesses courage is known in battle;
whether one possesses the Dharma is known at the time of death.”
With your passing, one person has been lost from among the seven million Tibetans. For us, as a people with such a scarcely populated nation, this is an exceedingly great loss.
An even greater loss is this: Rangzen Lobga was someone who struggled solely for complete Tibetan independence. While alive, his only thought was that Tibet should attain freedom, and his only work was for the cause of Tibet. Brave hero, you were worth more than hundreds of ordinary Tibetans. That you have now been parted from us forever is an immense loss.
Nevertheless, since it is the natural law that the final end of all who are born is death, what was expressed by your setting fire to your precious life and burning yourself alive in New York, in front of the headquarters of the United Nations, in the powerful country of the United States?
I believe it was a message to the leaders of the nations of the world, beginning with the United Nations:
“If you have brains in your heads
and beating hearts in your chests,
please stand behind the justice of us Tibetans.
Please stand behind the vulnerable and defenseless.
Please stand on the side of truth.”
As a Tibetan proverb says:
“When a hawk carries off a rabbit,
the blue sky is the only place to which it can cry out.”
In the same way, although more than seventy years have passed since the government of Communist China forcibly occupied the powerless and vulnerable Tibetan people, the United Nations has never spoken even slightly about the Tibetan cause, because of the pressure exerted by China’s strength, power, and influence.
Therefore, I believe that this time, having reached a desperate impasse and exhausted every other means, Lobga Rangzen set fire to his precious body in front of the United Nations.
Rangzen Lobga-la,
This time, for the sake of the Tibetan people, you set your most precious life ablaze within a matter of a few seconds. When I think of how your upper garments were burned away until nothing remained but charred remnants, and of how you alone departed in utter solitude, it was a sacrifice too painful for the heart to contemplate and beyond the power of words to express.
Ah! From this very day onward, we Tibetan brothers and sisters who remain behind will, in accordance with your final testament, unite as one for the sake of Tibet’s freedom and independence. Until the truth and justice of our complete freedom and independence are fully vindicated, we will never abandon this struggle.
For now, may your consciousness be at peace. We will never allow your hopes to go to waste.
And may you, without losing your present courage, determination, or bold spirit, swiftly take rebirth in a Tibetan body for the restoration of Tibet’s freedom. At that time, may you be enthroned as the holder of Tibet’s political sovereignty; may independence be attained swiftly; and may all of us together enjoy happiness, prosperity, and cultural flourishing throughout the snowy land of Tibet. This is my prayer.
Although the government of Communist China brought the whole of Tibet under its rule in 1959, it has still not succeeded in bringing the minds of the Tibetan people under its control.
Over the past sixty-seven years, through every kind of policy and method, both conciliatory and harsh, the government of Communist China and the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party have tried in many different ways to draw the minds of the entire Tibetan people toward Beijing, the capital of China. Yet the thoughts of Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile continue to turn toward Dharamsala in India.
The government of Communist China has used every means at its disposal in an effort to eradicate Tibetan religion, culture, and national identity.
Today, Tibetan religion and culture have become a treasure cherished by the whole world, and the number of people who admire Buddhism and Tibetan culture continues to increase with each passing day.
No matter how the government of Communist China has used deception, lies, and every kind of trickery against Tibetans—trying by every possible means to turn the land of Tibet into Chinese territory and the Tibetan people into Chinese—truth can never be defeated. In this twenty-first century, an age of knowledge, intelligence, science, and technology, the people of the world have come to recognize clearly what is true and what is false. The lies of the government of Communist China have now been exposed, leaving it humiliated and ashamed.
Nevertheless, some leaders of the Chinese Communist Party still cling with a death grip to nothing but their own political power, authority, and positions. Like a person falling from a precipice and desperately grasping at the branch of a tree, they have reached a state of utter desperation, yet continue to employ every means at their disposal to forcibly assimilate the Tibetan people into Chinese.
Even so, I possess firm confidence and conviction that, before long, the sun of happiness and freedom will swiftly rise for us.
As for how I came to know Rangzen Lobga: several years ago, when I traveled to New York to visit my family, I was invited to lunch at the home of a Khampa family. One member of that family had been my traveling companion in 1998, when we had journeyed together on foot from Tibet to India through the Himalayan mountains. Rangzen Lobga-la happened to be staying with that family at the time, and that was when I first became acquainted with him.
In everyday life, he was frank and straightforward, easily contented, and cheerful. He was also extremely fond of jokes, playfulness, dancing, and other amusements.
Indeed, among Tibetans living in New York, there was probably scarcely anyone who did not know Rangzen Lobga. The reason was that whenever any kind of activity for the Tibetan cause was organized within the Tibetan community, he was always there.
Rangzen Lobga-la,
You are the true hero who deserves to stand as a model of struggle for all Tibetans, both those living in Tibet and those living in exile.
While you were alive, you were a good man of fine character who lived in harmony with everyone, and one worthy of serving as an example to all Tibetans.
Now that you have departed, you have become a mighty hero capable of shaking up the whole world, and many tens of thousands of people are offering prayers for you.
You are the true thunderous battle cry, as though our forefather King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo himself had deliberately appeared, awakening the Tibetan people from their slumber in the struggle.
You were not merely a man of words, but a true and valiant Khampa hero who genuinely possessed devotion and love for the Tibetan people.
Victory to Tibet!
Victory to independence!
Victory to Rangzen Lobga!
You are the true hero who deserves to stand as a model of struggle for all Tibetans, both those living in Tibet and those living in exile.
While you were alive, you were a good man of fine character who lived in harmony with everyone, and one worthy of serving as an example to all Tibetans.
Now that you have departed, you have become a mighty hero capable of shaking up the whole world, and many tens of thousands of people are offering prayers for you.
You are the true thunderous battle cry, as though our forefather King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo himself had deliberately appeared, awakening the Tibetan people from their slumber in the struggle.
You were not merely a man of words, but a true and valiant Khampa hero who genuinely possessed devotion and love for the Tibetan people.
Victory to Tibet!
Victory to independence!
Victory to Rangzen Lobga!
my humble residence, Manjushri Dharma Center, on July 10, 2026.
