Losang Samten was born in 1953 in Rebuce Chang, Tibet. In 1959, after the Chinese invasion, Losang escaped with his father, mother and sister to Dharmsala India, seat of the Tibetan government in exile and home of the Dalai Lama. Growing up in Dharmsala Losang first attended the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts but later decided to enter Namgyal Monastery. At Namgyal in 1985, he earned a Masters in Buddhist Sutra and Tantra. After graduating, he became the monastery's ritual dance master and served as personal attendant to the Dalai Lama.
In 1988 Losang became the first person to demonstrate sand painting in the United States. In 1989 he moved to Philadelphia and founded the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, where he conducts classes and is the Spiritual Director More recently, Losang did the sand paintings for the movie Kundun, and was also an actor. In a bit of type casting, he portrayed a personal attendant to the Dalai Lama. Losang was awarded the 2002 National Heritage Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. He was one of 15 people who received the nation's highest honor for folk and traditional artists.