Photographer: Phil Borges

Palden was arrested at his monastery in 1959 and spent 24 years in prison, where he was tortured frequently—loosing 20 teeth in one beating. He managed to flee Tibet in 1987 and came to Dharamsala. He told me, “I no longer have anger for my captors. However, I feel it is my responsibility to let the outside world know what is happening in Tibet.”