Family members and students of the detained Tibetan lama and educator have made seven separate formal appeals to Chinese authorities which have gone unanswered.
Tibetan Buddhist leader Choktrul Dorje Ten in an undated photo (ICT sources)
More than nine months after Tibetan Buddhist leader and educator Choktrul Dorje Ten Rinpoche was arbitrarily detained by Chinese authorities in December 2025, his whereabouts and well-being continue to remain unknown despite repeated formal appeals made to officials by his family members and students.
A respected and influential leader and a firm proponent of Tibetan language and cultural preservation, Choktrul Dorje Ten was the head of Minthang Osel Thegchok Chokhorling Monastery in Minthang Township, Chikdril (Chinese: Jiuzhi) County, Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai. He was also the founder of the Dorje Ten Ethnic Vocational School, a Tibetan-medium instruction school that was forcibly closed after his detention on or around December 4, 2025.
Since then, his family members and students have submitted seven separate formal appeals to Chinese authorities requesting information about his whereabouts and physical well-being, sources told the International Campaign for Tibet. Chinese authorities have not provided any response to those appeals.
A relative of Choktrul Dorje Ten who is based in exile told ICT that the complete lack of any verifiable information about the Buddhist lama’s whereabouts and well-being over the past nine months has sparked grave concern among his family members and students about whether he is even alive.
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, in its July 16 report (A/HRC/WGEID/139/1), transmitted Choktrul Dorje Ten’s case to the Chinese government under its urgent procedure. In a resolution adopted on April 30, the European Parliament called for the immediate release of Choktrul Dorje Ten. Also in April, Amnesty International launched an Urgent Action campaign for the Tibetan lama’s release.
In the wake of his detention, Chinese authorities have systematically shut down several educational and cultural institutions founded by Choktrul Dorje Ten. These include the Nyenpo Yutse Primary School, the Mayang Lhakhar Chukmo Gesar Cultural Propagation Center, and the Gesar Cultural Heritage Base and Mayang Chugmo Gesar Culture Training Center. Local authorities have also banned members from discussing organizational matters, permanently closed related WeChat groups, and placed the community under heightened surveillance and strict restrictions.
Born on October 25, 1967, in Akyong Khangsar, Choktrul Dorje Ten (also known as Choktrul Thubten Yeshe Nyima) studied Buddhist teachings in the Nyingma tradition under revered masters including Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok. He earned the title of Khenpo, or abbot, at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Sertar, one of the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist learning institutes, which has long been a target of the Chinese government’s campaign of demolitions, expulsions of monastics, and severe restrictions on the free exercise of Buddhist traditions. A revered local community leader, Choktrul Dorje Ten Rinpoche was previously celebrated by Chinese authorities for his promotion of education and vocational training.