Kharnang monastery is a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monastery situated at a close distance to the northwest of Lhobasha village which is to the east and at 4-hours drive by horse to the city of Karze (Garzê) in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in Sichuan whose capital is Kangding . It is sometimes spelled as "Kardze" by non-government sources....

 of Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

,located in the historical Tibetan region of Kham

Kham

Kham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...

.

History

The monastery comprised 450 monks including lamas in the 1950.

In 1955, persecutions by the Chinese authorities that invaded Tibet started in Kharnang monastery, leading some monks to commit suicide.

In 1979, Adhe Tapontsang, a former Tibetan prisoner released in 1985 and now living in exile in Dharamsala

Dharamsala

Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....

, was allowed to visit her native place for two weeks, discovered that the Kharnang monastery, as well as Karze Day-tshal monastery and De Gonpo Temple was completely destroyed and plundered, sometime during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

.

Shenphen Rinpoche

Shenphen Rinpoche

Shenphen Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist Lama. He was initially ordained in 1985 at the age of 16 by Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche and later fully ordained by Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama...

, born 10 January 1969 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 has been recognised as a tulku

Tulku

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...

of Lama Gendun Rabgye, from Kharnang Monastery..