Name: Rinzin Dolma
(Alias: No)
Gender: Female
Interview Age: 90
Date of Birth: 1922
Birthplace: Sakya, Utsang, Tibet
Year Left Tibet: 1959
Profession: Farming
Monk/Nun: No
Political Prisoner: No
Interview No.: 64D
Date: 2012-05-17
Language: Tibetan
Location: Bir, Bir, Himachal Pradesh, India
Categories: Buddhist Traditions
Keywords: Buddhist beliefs, childhood memories, refugee in India -- life as, Utsang
Summary:
Rinzin Dolma, who just turned 90, is from Sakya in Utsang province. She says that they were a farming family who grew barley and wheat and also spent time weaving and tailoring clothes. Rinzin Dolma was able to escape to India while on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, but the Chinese killed all her family that remained in Tibet.
Rinzin Dolma expresses her strong devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and her daily prayers. She speaks about her religious beliefs, of which she feels the most important things are chanting the mani mantra, Om mani padme hun 'Hail the Jewel in the Lotus' and praying for the well-being of all sentient beings. But she chooses to leave out the Chinese from her prayers because of the suffering they have caused to the Tibetan people.
Rinzin Dolma arrived in India at the same time His Holiness the Dalai Lama and recalls being granted an audience with him at which time he cured her eye problem. As a refugee in India she and many other Tibetan refugees worked as coolies at road construction sites. She has memories of Tibetans dying during those early days as refugees.
Interview Team:
- Marcella Adamski (Interviewer)
- Thupten Kelsang Dakpa (Interpreter)
- Pema Tashi (Videographer)
