Dehradun: The last rites of Kasur Lodi Gyari Gyaltsen, former special envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, were performed with full honours at Mindrolling Monastery in Uttarakhand’s Clementown on Sunday.
A galaxy of Government leaders and representatives paid their respects to the Tibetan leader. Governor of Uttarakhand, Baby Rani Maurya, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and current MP Ramesh Pokhriyal, Representatives from Bhutan government, Nepal, Delhi Embassy were present at the cremation.
Representing the Central Tibetan Administration were Kalon Phagpa Tsering Labrang, Department of Security, Central Tibetan Administration, Election Commissioner and Commissioner of Public Service Commission, Sonam Choephel Shosur, Deputy Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, members of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Secretary of Department of Information and International Relations, Sonam Norbu Dagpo, Representative Ngodup Dongchung, Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi.
Revered lamas, rinpoches and representatives of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism also paid homage to Rinpoche.
On 5 November, Rinpoche’s mortal remains were flown from San Francisco. Hundreds of people lined up the entrance to Mindrolling Monastery with Tibetan scarves to pay their respects. The remains were preserved in a shrine in the residence of Penam Rinpoche, Rinpoche’s son, until the cremation.
Gyari Rinpoche, a retired Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, former Kalon of Department of Information and International Relations, CTA, former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and former Executive Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, passed away on 29 October 2018 in San Francisco. He was 69.
Rinpoche is survived by his wife, Dawa Chokyi, their 6 children, 5 grandchildren, his mothers, 4 brothers, and 3 sisters.