19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche

Kushok Bakula ( born May 21, 1917 † November 4, 2003, Bakula Rinpoche also Bakula Rinpoche or Kushok ) was the religious leader of the Pethup Gompa in Spituk, Ladakh, India. He was also a member of the Indian Parliament and Lama. In 1999 he founded the monastery " Bakula Rinpoche Süm " in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In his honor, 2005, the airport Leh, India has been renamed to " Kushok Bakula Airport".

Kushok was regarded as the 19th incarnation of the Bakula, one of the 16 Arhats of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Bakula Rinpoche Kushok helped with the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia and Russia. From 1990 to 1999 he was Indian Ambassador to Mongolia. He advocated for the rights of minorities.

In 1986 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

20th reincarnation

Thubstan Nawang, who was born on 24 November 2005 is the 20th Bakula Rinpoche. He was enthroned on August 12, 2010 in Pethub Gompa Spituk, Ladakh, India.