Early Years
Born in 1943 into a farming family in Kham, East Tibet, he was given the name Jamphel Drakpa, or Jamdrak for short. He spent his early childhood close to nature helping with the family sheep and yaks and playing with the other children in the village. This changed when at 10 years old as he was selected to go with his elder brother Choje Akong Rinpoche - who had been recognised as a tulku by the 16th Karmapa - to the Lhakang Monastery where he was to receive an education. Although Akong was only three years older than Jamdrak, it was the tradition that where a tulku is the abbot of a monastery one of his brothers goes to assist him. It is said that many auspicious signs had been seen when Jamdrak was born and he had also been recognised as a tulku, but not officially confirmed due to the political turbulence of the time. At Lhakang Jamdrak was a reluctant but diligent scholar under a succession of lamas, but his studies were rudely interrupted by the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959.
Read more about this topic: Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)