The man had served Buddha for 13 years in Chuguo Temple in Ali Prefecture, in the Tibet Autonomous Region. He became secularized after experiencing a tragic traffic accident in 1993, which killed several of his friends and relatives.

Bearing a scar on his forehead left from the accident, Losang said he wanted to do something afterwards, rather than remain passively in the temple.

Among the 106 people sheltered by Losang, there were six children. Losang shared everything from milk powder to blankets with the victims. He worked with his brother Soinam Zhaxi all night to offer help and console people.

"News of Losang's heroic deed has been spreading all over the community. All of us regard him as a true hero," said Nyixar Lhamo, an elderly woman living in Losang's neighborhood.

Losang has always been a warm-hearted man. After the heroic deed, people got to know that Losang had supported 13 impoverished elderly people living in solitude near the Chuguo Temple, where Losang worked as a monk. He also set up a small mineral water plant in Ali Prefecture to create jobs for local herdsmen to improve their lives.

Losang said that people of 56 ethnic groups in China are members of one big family. Help among family members is a natural thing.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2008)