Ani Pachen dies 2nd February 2002 Dear All, I am very sad to let you know that Ani Pachen passed away day before yesterday after returning to Dharamsala from BodhGaya. I had just written her a Losar card minutes before I learned of her death I had the good fortune to get to know Ani la quite well when she stayed at my home during her visit to London last March at the invitation of the Tibet Society. Despite the pouring rain, she led the March 10th Demonstration in central London and gave a very moving speech to fellow Tibetans that afternoon. Students at Oxford and Cambridge Universities were equally touched. She also went to St. James' Palace to meet the private secretary of Prince Charles (Prince Charles later told me that he had actually read the copy of her book 'Sorrow Mountain' Ani la left for him and that her story was extra-ordinary and a great inspiration for him). Everyone in England who met Ani la or heard her talk was deeply touched by her courage, humility and the strength of her character - never giving up her Faith and her belief in Tibetan independence under the worst of circumstances imaginable. She told me that working for our just cause is in itself 'Dharma' and that she was told by a great learned lama in exile that it is an 'active dharma', actually better than, say, meditating in a cave. That was a great reassurance for her because she had worried she was getting very little time to pray and practise dharma due to her frequent trips overseas. Like all who had the privilege to know her, I shall miss her deeply. May she regain a good birth - and soon. Tenzin Choktongtsang, Development Officer,Tibet Society Ani Panchen, a prominent woman resistance leader from eastern Tibet, passed away in Dharamsala on February 2, 2002 evening. She was 68. Born in 1933 in Gonjo in Kham , eastern Tibet to Pomdha Gonor, the chieftain of Lemdha. Her father was a resistance leader who confronted the Chinese invading forces. After her father's death, Pachen took over the leadership of people in her region in their fight against the Chinese. Her biography, Sorrow Mountain: the Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun, details Pachen's story, including her over 20 years of life in prison. In his message to Pachen's autobiography, the Dalai Lama says, "In recounting the events of her life here, Ani Pachen tells a story that is typical of Tibet over the last fifty years. The final years of freedom reveal a simple, contented way of life. Her family, like so many others, was guided by values strongly influenced by the Buddha's teachings of compassion, interdependence, and an awareness that nothing lasts forever. Ani Pachen's father, a Khampa chieftain, clearly commanded respect more for his sense of justice and responsibility than for his mere position." The Dalai Lama had a particular admiration for Pachen, as he pointed out to Tibetan officials during his tour to the United States some years back when he saw Pachen among the audience. Pachen had then come to promote her book. The Dalai Lama said Pachen was someone who was sincere and honest. After escaping to India, Ani Pachen continued to be involved in Tibetan issues, becoming an active member of Gu-Chu-Sum, the organization started by former Tibetan political prisoners. She toured interntionally, including a visit to Washington, D.C., in the course of which she gave public talks, met members of parliament and spread awareness of Tibet to whoever would listen to her. source W.T.N