Jampa joined Sera Jey Monastery at the age of eight and later pursued advanced monastic studies at Namgyal Monastery, where he studied for thirty-two years. In the course of his efforts to join the Tibetan resistance movement, and following his involvement with it, he was apprehended by the Chinese army in 1960 while in possession of a firearm. He was placed in chains, with both his hands and legs bound, and subjected to eleven days of severe torture during interrogation.

Jampa was subsequently detained and imprisoned for eighteen years. Following his release, he continued to oppose Chinese rule and participated in the Lhasa uprising in March 1987. He was arrested but later released through the intervention of the 10th Panchen Lama. In March 1989, he was again detained and transferred to Drapchi Prison.

Throughout his imprisonment, Jampa was subjected to prolonged interrogations, solitary confinement, physical torture, and the deprivation of food and water. He was ultimately convicted on charges of “counter-revolutionary activities.”