Lama Lobzang
A Ladakhi Buddhist monk who spent 60 years serving his people, helping thousands reach medical care in Delhi, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2025.
To the people of Ladakh, Lama Lobzang was “Mey lay”. For about sixty years, the monk worked to bring education and medical care to his remote homeland. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2025, posthumously, from Ladakh [1].
A monk from Sheynem
Lama Lobzang was born on 1 January 1931 in Sheynem village, Leh, and became a monk at Sankar Gompa in the Gelugpa tradition [2]. He studied at Sarnath from 1951 to 1962 [2]. He helped many Ladakhi children get an education, first at Sarnath and later at what became a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi [2].
Ladakh Bodh Vihar and Ashoka Mission
As private secretary to Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, he helped set up the Ladakh Bodh Vihar in Delhi, a centre for education and medical care, which he ran for nearly two decades [2]. In the 1980s, as president of the Ashoka Mission, he created a facility where Ladakhi patients and their families could stay while being treated at AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals [2]. In a 2024 Ashoka Mission camp, specialist doctors examined 5,500 patients [2].
National roles
He served on national commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and was a founder and secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation [2].
Lama Lobzang died on 16 March 2024 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Lama Lobzang — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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