Kalu Rinpoche, 86; Buddhist High Priest

Kalu Rinpoche, a high priest of Tibetan Buddhism who founded several Buddhist churches in the United States and throughout the world, died Tuesday in Sonada, India.

The Kagyu Droden Kunchab Buddhist church in San Francisco announced his death Friday, and said he was 86.

In 1955, four years before the Chinese army entered Tibet and forced out the faith’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche left for India to establish Buddhist centers. Since then he had traveled widely, including a visit last December to Los Angeles. In 1965, he established his own monastery at Sonada, where he was living at the time of his death.

Rinpoche was credited with inspiring the creation of 200 three-year spiritual retreats throughout the world, said a spokeswoman for the San Francisco church.