The Communists . . . eventually destroyed [our] religion. They consider religion a poison. . . . During the Cultural Revolution [they] destroyed religion, statues, everything. Later on they didn't do that. However, they controlled you. You had to follow the Communist instruction. You [could not] practice and worship the Dalai Lama . . . . We Buddhists are a religious people, and if someone forcefully asks you to denounce your rituals, that's really difficult for us.

Arjia Rinpoche founded the Buddhist Center for Compassion and Wisdom in Mill Valley, California, a center that preserves Buddhist teachings, art, and culture within and outside of Tibet and Mongolia, and he directs the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington.

He has given classes in Buddhist art and sutra in United States, Canada, Taiwan, India, and Guatemala.