My birthplace is Kham Province, Sog County, Rongpo Xiang 容布乡 [town], now it's a township so it's Rongpo Zhen 容布镇 [township], that's the Chinese name.
In terms of occupation, the villagers work as both semi-nomadic farmers and pastoralists.
I was born and raised there.
Back home, small children have to do a lot of work.
Little kids play an important role delivering messages, doing lots of little chores, that sort of thing.
Once children reached the age of seven or eight, they would start to herd the animals.
To take an example from my own life, my elder sister had settled into nomadic life. They have many domestic animals like [male] yaks and dri [female yaks].
I was assisting her as a herder from the age of 8 or 9, for a quite long time.
After that... there was a school in Rongpo town, but not too many students would go there.
You could say there was a kind of school there.
Later, very gradually, people in the community started becoming aware of the importance of enrolling young children in school.
Still, even during that period, I got the opportunity to study.
It was at Rongpo Xiang Chatsang Lobchung (Elementary School), a small school where I studied for three years, only Tibetan and math.
After that, I studied for another three years at the Sog County Chatsang Lobchung as a boarding student.
There too the main subjects they taught were Tibetan and math. There was no English class, and Chinese class only started in 5th and 6th grade.
After 6th grade, students had to go to middle school, and there were many of those —
the most distant ones inside China, some others in Lhasa, some in [the larger prefecture of] Naqchu, and still others right there in Sog County.
I studied in Sog County for a year,
Then in 1996, I left home without telling anyone and came to India as an exile.
With the blessing of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and our government's support, I was able to study at a Tibetan school in Dharamsala.
Like all young students who were newcomers from Tibet, I enrolled at the TCV Suja School in Bir, Himachal Pradesh.
I arrived at school just before the beginning of the holidays in 1996.
When I got there, I entered their Opportunity Classes (OC) which were specially designed for newcomers.
After we had studied for two years in OC, we could skip grades based on how we did with our studies.
So some students would be enrolled in 5th or 6th or 7th grade — it varied.
From our class, some were sent to 7th grade —
I did that for a year, then went on to 8th grade.
While studying there, I decided I wanted to finish my studies at Central University for Tibetan Studies in Varanasi.
If you are good in Tibetan studies, have a qualification from Varanasi, and are capable overall, there's nothing you can't do after that.
This idea occurred to me while I was studying at the Suja School, where most of the teachers were from Varanasi.
Seeking advice and guidance from my teachers, I made a plan to study in Varanasi.
In order to enroll there, you needed to have passed 8th grade — at the time, I didn't have all the qualifications I needed to be admitted.
So I finished 8th and 9th grade at the Suja School,
where I was also a school captain and then I sat for the entrance exam for Varanasi.
In 2001, I enrolled in Varanasi.
My family and the other villagers where I am from belong to the Gelug ["Yellow Hat" School of Tibetan Buddhism], so I enrolled in the Gelug section at Varanasi.
I studied at Varanasi from 2001 to 2008, and got a Shastri [BA] degree.
After my graduation in Shastri degree, I got an opportunity to work under Khabje Doboom Rinpoche at Tibet House in New Delhi.
My main task at Tibet House was to edit and rearrange the collected works of Bodong Panchen, which has 138 volumes, a project which was supported by H.H. The Dalai Lama,
as well as to distribute it to libraries, schools, other educational institutes.
So after my Shastri, I worked at Tibet House, New Delhi editing and rearranging the 138 volumes of Bodong Panchen.
Meanwhile I also went throuhg the examination for the Acharya [MA] degree.
In 2010, I finished my Acharya degree,
and at Tibet House in New Delhi, I finished my work on those 138 volumes.
As just one person dealing with 138 volumes, it was no easy task.
By the time I had finished up that work over there in 2010, I found myself wearing glasses.
After that, I wanted to do a Ph.D, which I felt was important.
These days, many Tibetan students are coming into the community with academic qualifications —
many of our people considered an MA degree to be sufficiently specialized, but it may not be enough when you can continueon to do a Ph.D.
So I realized that I should continue my studies, that's what I thought.
While I was looking for such an opporunity, I also got the chance to work in Varanasi, teaching history.
I was happy to seize the opportunity.
So while working in Varanasi, I enrolled in Vishva-Bharati [University] in Shantiniketan, which is in Calcutta, for my Ph.D. coursework.
Usually my schedule was based on when I had holidays from work — I would go study taking the overnight train.
So I'd take the night train and get there in the morning, put my luggage in the hotel, take a shower and eat breakfast quickly, then rush to class.
And in the evening, class would end at 7 or 8 pm and then again I'd come back to Varanasi — and this would go for a whole semester of six months.
It was a six-month semester, but we didn't have to go every day, only 15 or 20 or 30 classes depending on our major.
A few friends of mine had also always wanted to do a Ph.D. and do research.
As for me, I've had an interest in history from a young age.
Under the reign of H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama [1876-1933] in Tibet, there were drastic changes in the world, it was the time of the Great Game,
when the British Empire and the Russian Empire were competing in Central Asia -- and so small countries like Afghanistan and Tibet were brought into play.
What were the contributions and outcomes of the reign of H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama?
Such information is really important and many facts of H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama's work on politics are not documented in detail.
I felt that such information was important.
Generally you need to do an M.Phil before a Ph.D., with some 18 months especially dedicated to learning research methods.
Some other teachers and I [at Varanasi] got the opportunity to undertake the Ph.D without doing the M.Phil. course.
My interest as I started the Ph.D. was to do in-depth research on the 13th Dalai Lama, focusing o foreign policy and politics.
While doing this research, I saw that a Tibetan teacher was needed at the University of Michigan, I also saw the ad on the internet. So I applied.
I submitted my application and was accepted for the position, so I came to the U.S.
For a year I worked there teaching Tibetan and after finishing my contract, I also worked on my papers so I could stay over here.
Later I got connected up with Google and was hired as a project manager to run their Tibetan-language project.
I still feel myself to be a student, a research student.
I taught Tibetan history in Varanasi for four years, and I taught for a year at the University of Michigan and Ohio State University.
There are differences between teaching method at two such different institutions in the United States and in India.
For instance, back in Varanasi, all the students understand Tibetan well.
And so the teacher tries to explain things in as much depth and detail as possible.
But in doing this, it can be difficult to figure out whether the student has actually understood the lesson or not.
The teacher prepares everything and teaches as best he can, bringing together information from various sources.
It is very much in doubt how much the students can keep up and how much their minds can handle.
So in Varanasi, a wide variety of subjects are taught, every subject as challenging as every other.
If it is Buddhism, there is epistemology, there is Madhyama, the "treasure of knowledge and perfections" and also the philosophical tenets (grub mtha').
Indian Buddhist philosophy,
Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy,
the teachings of the great masters and the knowledge, love, energy, and compassion of the founders of the five major sciences of Tibetan Buddhism and the commentaries on them that you need to study.
Also the Sanskrit language,
the Tibetan language, literature, linguistics, and more.
On a single day, we would have to attend six classes.
Going to six classes in a day, with the teacher pouring into students as much teaching as possible, it isn't easy to figure out how many students actually understand it.
As for myself, when I was in class, at first I would understood most of it,
but then the real challenge was in the remembering — before the material from the first class had settled, they were already pouring in knowledge in the second class.
In the Western context, each individual student determines for the most part what and how they study.
This is teacher-centered learning as opposed to the student-centered learning in the West, where teacher give assignments and direction, like to read several books listed for certain weeks.
The student get assignments, read the books, and write reports or summaries after reading, but the classes themselves last for very short periods.
In a given week, there might be just four classes in a week, or even just two or three.
In India, Saturday is not a day off, and every day we have six classes.
There are also big differences in terms of teaching style...
The way student struggles over here in US, I am not praising them, but they give over a great deal of time to studying.
I had a student who spent 72 hours a week just studying, not including class time.
They also complain that they don't get enough time to write, after being given 72 hours — some even cried and asked what to do.
They are really working hard — back in India, when the teacher says no class today, all the students are overjoyed.
Here in the States, in order to study, students take loans from the government,
they take out loans with interest from the government and from banks.
In order to pay off the debt, the students really work hard on their education and to get a good job — which is how the student can pay back the debt.
But just getting a degree doesn't enable you to find a good job and pay off the debt.
Students feel the importance of education, the money and time they have invested to reach their goals,
like achieving success and specializing for their specific career.
If you don't do well, then you won't find a good job — then paying off the school loans will be a challenge.
Students are scared of this situaiton, so they put in all their effort.
Back in India, for instance in Varanasi, thanks to the great support of H. H. The Dalai Lama, as well as the Tibetan exile government and the Indian government,
our Tibetan students in the exile, as well as students from the Himalayan region, don't have to pay any fees.
All the fees are paid by the government.
Sometimes we don't realize the importance of such a major contribution
and time flies by without our realizing the importance of such an opportunity.
These things apply not only to Varanasi but are also reflected at many schools in Asia.
When we had conferences with teachers from different schools, we would frequently have such discussions.
So there are major differences [in the educational systems].
Our Tibetan language, if we really think about it, is important not just for us, but important globally for the welfare of all sentient beings.
The reason is that the teachings of Buddha and his philosophy are based on non-violence and the prevailing of peace and compassion in the world.
We don't know exactly how Buddhist philosophy was spread and existed in India in the ancient period because we don't have much textual evidence in Indian languages,
so currently much of Buddhist philosophy relies on Tibetan translations.
The Buddha's teachings about ground, path, and fruition were well translated into Tibetan.
If we are able to practice and use Buddhist philosophy properly, people around the world will benefit, and it will bring joy, calm, peace and unity.
This is the culture of peace which is precious and valuable not only for Tibetans but for the entire world, that's what I think.
The Tibetan langauge is not only for Tibetans to use for their food, clothes and fame.
In order to conntribute to the welfare for all the sentient beings, our language also plays very important role.
All people who learn and use the language will gain the essence of peace and joy.
For this life — it contains knowedge of happiness and good health --
and also for whoever believes in next lives as we Buddhists do, consider the importance for our next lives.
From the Buddhist point of view, next lives are more important than this life.
For the next life, only the divine Dharma can help us to fulfill our responsibilities,
and we can only do by only praying or worshipping, understanding and practicing the teachings profoundly.
In order to understand these teachings thoroughly, there is no other language besides Tibetan, not even inside India.
If our language vanishes, I would feel that one of the world's most precious and valuable jewel in the world had vanished.
The method to preserve this precious language is not
about stacking up Buddhist tomes well-wrapped in silk cloth in the shrine room and or receiving the [book's] blessing with a touch of the forehead — this won't help preserve our language.
Real langauge preservation refers to using it for speaking, reading, and writing in our day-to-day life.
The more we use our langauge, the more it can continue on.
For the continuity of our language, we have to go with modern technologies — this is a very important way of preserving our language.
For example, phones, computers, and tablets -- if we can use our language on these devices then we can preserve our language for a long period.
Now I work at Google's offices — and this is my interest and my passion as a Tibetan, as an eater of tsampa who was raised drinking the water of Tibet, under the care and support of H. Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Whenever we have the opportunity, our own language is important, and we should work on it proudly — if we can't keep it up, at least we shouldn't hurt or slander it.
With these ideas, I am working at Google with the most modern technology, and my duty is to bring our language to those modern technologies, so our people can use it every day, by default.
If our language keeps up with today's technologies, that will mean continuity for the language, for our people speaking Tibetan.
Sometimes I wonder whether our language will last for a long time or not.
In some cases, people are not taking an interest in their own language,
or they know it but they don't use it.
For example, back in Tibet people using Chinese — or in India using Hindi; in Nepal using Nepali; and in America, using English.
In Europe it's the same thing, people speaking the language of wherever they are based and not using our Tibetan language so much.
Even in our homes, with our own children, ethnic Tibetans with Tibetan parents are finding challenges in keeping up use of the language.
Many families are facing such challenges and worries — and many families are searching for ways to tackle them.
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