New
Delhi escapes Karmapa muddle By
Saransh Sehgal
DHARAMSALA, India - In a
gesture to rehabilitate the reputation of the 17th
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, hurt by suspicions
that he was a "Chinese spy" and involvement in
money laundering, the Indian government has
recently given permission for the Karmapa to
travel out of Dharamsala and, for the first time,
officially recognized him as a Tibetan religious
leader.
The Karmapa, the third-highest
monk in Tibetan Buddhism, has been given the
green-light by New Delhi to take a month-long
pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, Buddhism's holiest place,
and Varanasi, his winter retreat.
The
Karmapa has been at the center of a cash
controversy that broke late January amid charges
of espionage for China which shocked India and the
Buddhist community across the globe. Now New Delhi
has found it was financial mismanagement, not
"The Karmapa Office
of Administration is deeply grateful to the Indian
government for its confidence in His Holiness the
Karmapa. Most specifically, we thank the
government for kindly approving His Holiness'
travel plans to Varanasi, via Bodhgaya, for his
winter retreat and spring teaching of 2011," said
an official statement from the Karmapa
administration soon after the Indian government in
New Delhi approved his trip to Bodhgaya.
The Karmapa also expressed his gratitude
in a personal message, "Varanasi is the site of
the very first Dharma teaching by Lord Buddha, and
also an ancient cradle of Sanskrit culture and
learning. This makes it a particularly sacred
place for Buddhists. As a follower of Buddha's
teachings and of the Kagyu lineage that springs
directly from the sacred ground of India, I feel
that such opportunities to visit these sites give
great meaning to my life. I am very much looking
forward to sharing the Dharma with Dharma friends
in Varanasi."
A probe by Indian
intelligence agencies has found the suspected
"dirty" money found in the Karmapa's possession -
around US$777,000 in nearly two dozen foreign
currencies - was indeed legitimate donations from
various nations.
India's Home Secretary G
K Pillai gave the government's first positive
reaction after weeks of cautious remarks and timid
silence over the case.
Speaking at a press
conference on March 4, Pillai said, "The Karmapa
is a spiritual leader. He is second in ranking to
the Dalai Lama. Currently, the Karmapa is in
prayer and by the end of March he will write to
the home ministry [about] how he will put his
house in order."
The statement has been
welcomed by the Tibetan Buddhist community as they
start celebrations for Losar - the Tibetan lunar
New Year, which began on March 5. The Karmapa is
now marking Losar in Sarnath, a deer park in
India's Uttar Pradesh state where Buddha preached
his first sermon. There he will participate in
rituals and later giving Dharma teachings in
Thrangu Monastery, one of the park's oldest
monasteries.
In Bodhgaya, the Karmapa was
received by a large number of Buddhists - Tibetan
and Indian - and well as international followers
who wished to show deep faith in their "living
Buddha". Mingyur Rinpoche, the renowned Buddhist
teacher and author of the bestselling book The
Joy of Living, who heads the Tergar Monastery
in Bodhgaya, told reporters, "We are very grateful
that His Holiness' name has been cleared."
Rinpoche thanked the Indian government and
Tibetan government-in-exile and was also thankful
for blessings from the Dalai Lama and others. "We
appreciate everyone's support," he said. "I felt
very sad and upset about the allegation that he
[the Karmapa] was a Chinese spy," Rinpoche
commented. "This allegation hurt the disciples of
His Holiness. He is an enlightened being, but for
us it's been very hurtful and upsetting."
New Delhi's decision to recognize Ogyen
Trinley Dorje as the 17th Karmapa - the
second-highest Tibetan monk after the Dalai Lama -
is a major policy shift. Indian authorities had
not trusted Trinley Dorje since his dramatic
escape from Tibet to India in 2000, as he is the
first reincarnation of a high lama officially
accepted by the communist government of China.
It is believed that the mounting
international pressure from Buddhist followers
across the globe and the backing of the Dalai Lama
are the main reason for the Indian government's
u-turn.
A Buddhist delegation submitted a
memorandum on February 26 to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh requesting that he allow the
Karmapa to visit his official seat at Rumtek
Monastery in Sikkim, and that he personally look
into the problems Trinley Dorje was facing.
While the Karmapa has been all but
cleared, there remains a war of words over the
case between Himachal Pradesh state, which led the
investigation, and the power center in New Delhi.
State Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal
told reporters on March 3 that New Delhi had not
communicated to the state about "giving a clean
chit [slate]" to the Karmapa in the currency
seizure case. "Neither have we held him guilty,
nor given him a clean chit." Dhumal had told
media.
"We have come to know from media
reports that the center has given a clean chit to
the Karmapa, but we have not received any official
intimation from the government," Dhumal told
reporters. "The government can part with relevant
information if it wishes to do so," he added.
During the course of the investigation the
state government took over possession of the Gyuto
monastery where the Karmapa resides, as the land
was declared benami (unauthorized). A
number of Tibetan properties in the state are
being investigated as Tibetans living in India as
refugees are not authorized to buy land under
their own name.
Questions have been raised
over the state government's handling of the case;
as it was Himachal Pradesh police officials who
provided information to the Indian media that led
to rumors about the Karmapa's "Chinese connection"
and the state is ruled by the opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party.
Since the news broke, the
Karmapa administration had kept a firm stance on
allegations that he was an agent for the Chinese -
that they were a fabrication and that it was
unfair to question His Holiness' integrity based
on such "flimsy evidence and speculation".
Though the government has cleared the
Karmapa, the court case of the foreign currency
seizure is still ongoing. Seven men involved are
still being held under judicial custody, which was
extended by the court on orders from a government
in New Delhi that likely wants the case to proceed
transparently due to international interest. "The
judicial custody of all the seven people arrested
in connection with the foreign currency seizure
was extended by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rajesh
Tomar," Superintendent Police of the region
Santosh Patyal said in late February.
Experts have described India's handling of
the issue as a shambles. Dr Dibyesh Anand, an
expert on Tibet who teaches at the London's
Westminster University, told Indian channel Zee
News that China benefits most from the
controversy.
China gains from this episode
without having to lift a finger. First, the
Tibetans living in India will feel hurt by
Indian media's insensibility [its accusations
the Karmapa was a Chinese spy] and thus may
become preoccupied by this. Second, Karmapa
cannot become a unifying religious figure for
the Tibetans and their supporters after the 14th
Dalai Lama passes away because in order to do
that, he needs to remain in India, have trust of
the government and people, and be allowed to
travel without too many restrictions. China
gains from this. Third, Tibetans inside Tibet
will realize that their notion about India being
tolerant and welcoming is incorrect since
Indians do not care for the sentiments of the
Tibetan Buddhists.
International
pressure on the central government over the
Karmapa case has on the rise, and not only his
followers but also foreign governments have kept a
close watch on India's handling of the case.
Some Tibetans believe Beijing has planned
the whole controversy in an attempt to destabilize
the Dalai Lama's succession. "The communist
government of the People's Republic of China and
some ill-wishers of Buddhism in India has ganged
up to defame the Karmapa. They are out to conspire
against our religious leader," a spokesman of the
All India Buddhist Monks Association, Minglv
Rinpocha, told the Gulf News.
He added,
"The Karmapa and all our Tibetan brethren living
here respect India as their motherland. We can
never bring a slur on it. All that is happening
with the Karmapa is a part of well thought-out
conspiracy."
As news that the Karmapa had
been cleared reached his followers, Buddhist
supporters from all across the world sighed with
relief. Karen, a Buddhist from the United States
said, "this clearance had to come, the truth
prevailed. We kept our faith in him [the Karmapa],
as a Buddhist disciple - this is big moment."
While the Indian government has exerted
its damage control on the Karmapa case, it will be
interesting to see whether New Delhi, after
clarifying its stand on Ogyen Trinley Dorje being
the 17th Karmapa, will now allow him to take his
official seat at the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim.
Saransh Sehgal is a contributor
based in Dharamsala, India, who can be reached
at info@mcllo.com.
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