Norbu died Monday in Bloomington, Ind., where he taught Tibetian studies for 20 years at the University of Indiana, his son, Jigme, said. He had been in failing health after a series of strokes.

The oldest son in a farming family of six children, Norbu was born in northeast Tibet on Aug. 16, 1922, the Los Angeles Times said.

Norbu, who fled his homeland in 1950, was a major Buddhist figure in his own right, believed to be the 23rd reincarnation of a famous high lama.

The two brothers disagreed on the status of Tibet, the Dalai Lama favoring an autonomous state, similar to Hong Kong, while Norbu insisted on independence.

He was a co-founder of the International Tibet Independence Movement,which sponsored more than a dozen walks across the United States and abroad to draw attention to Tibet under Chinese rule.