Boy lama may seek sanctuary in America
By David Graves in Dharamsala
THE 14-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader who
trekked across the Himalayas
to flee Chinese communist rule might go to
America if India refuses him
political asylum.
The Karmapa Lama was in
hiding last night after leaving a
guesthouse run by the Tibetan
government-in-exile shortly
before dawn yesterday "for his
own safety". The move was an
apparent response to threats
made against him by Tibetan
opponents and any attempt by
the Chinese to recapture him.
The teenager was taken to a
safe house and is expected to move shortly to
a monastery close to the
northern Indian town of Dharamsala. A final
decision on asylum in India is
expected to be made in New Delhi this week.
But officials at the Indian
foreign ministry have indicated to the
Tibetan government-in-exile in
Dharamsala that his request may be refused.
Tibetan officials expect that the Karmapa -
the third most senior figure in the
Tibetan spiritual hierarchy after the Dalai
Lama and the Panchen Lama -
would be offered political asylum in the
United States if New Delhi refused his
application. Julia Tuft, the co-ordinator for
Tibetan affairs at the State
Department, was last night said to be
travelling from Washington to
Dharamsala to see him.
Technically, he is regarded as an illegal
immigrant in India, which sent a
high-ranking official in the foreign affairs
ministry to Dharamsala to see the
Karmapa on Thursday. Officials in New Delhi
are thought to keen to avoid
further antagonising the Chinese, who have
been severely embarrassed by the
spiritual leader's flight to freedom.
However, the Tibetan government-in-exile was
still hopeful last night that
despite the concerns in New Delhi the Karmapa
might be granted asylum in
India. The Karmapa is expected to move
shortly to the Bhattu monastery at
Baijnath, 40 minutes from Dharamsala, where
security has been increased.
The monastery is run by Tai Situ Rimpoche,
his spiritual adviser, who was
instrumental in his selection as the 17th
Karmapa after discovering a prophetic
letter from the 16th Karmapa in 1992. The
letter led him to a nomad's son in
eastern Tibet whom he formally identified as
the 17th living incarnation of
Buddha. The boy was enthroned on Sept 27,
1992, when he was seven.
Tibetan officials were concerned that at the
Chonnor House guesthouse,
which is a short distance from the Dalai
Lama's official residence, the young
Karmapa might be vulnerable to an attack by a
rival Tibetan group or an
attempt by the Chinese to recapture him.
The guesthouse is used by official visitors
to Dharamsala, a former British hill
station 400 miles north of New Delhi in the
Himalayan foothills. The actor
Richard Gere, who is a fervent supporter of
the Dalai Lama, often stays there.
During his five-day stay at the guesthouse,
the Karmapa left his room only
twice - on both occasions to visit the Dalai
Lama.
The Karmapa, who is the only senior lama to
be recognised by both the Dalai
Lama and the Chinese government, had been
used by Beijing as a symbol of
communist authority in Tibet and of its
alleged encouragement of Buddhism in
the disputed region.
Although he had made at least two formal
visits to President Jiang Zemin in
Beijing, aides said the Karmapa did not have
complete freedom and was
living under virtual house arrest at the
800-year-old Tsurphu monastery, 30
miles from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
He had been frustrated by Beijing's repeated
refusal to allow him an exit visa
to visit India to see Tai Situ Rimpoche, who
met him when he arrived in
Dharamsala and immediately took him to visit
the Dalai Lama.
The Karmapa arrived in Dharamsala on
Wednesday after his nine-day trek
with six aides, including his 24-year-old
sister. He had also wanted to move
to the headquarters of his Kagyu school of
Buddhism at Rumtek monastery in
Sikkim, the mountain state annexed by India
in 1975 where his predecessor
settled after fleeing Tibet in 1959. China
has never recognised the annexation.
Senior Indian officials said the Karmapa's
move there would infuriate Beijing,
just as New Delhi was attempting to thaw the
traditionally frosty relations
between the two countries following the
recent visit to the Chinese capital by
Jaswant Singh, the Indian foreign minister.
Officials in New Delhi are also aware that
the five-million strong Kagyu
school of Buddhism, of which the Karmapa is
the spiritual leader, is deeply
split over his enthronement. One of his
leading opponents, Shamar Rimpoche,
who appointed a rival Karmapa in 1994, is in
charge of the monastery in
Sikkim.
There have been several clashes between
supporters of the rival Karmapas
and Indian officials said there would be a
"potential timebomb" if the young
Karmapa were allowed to travel to Sikkim.
Shamar Rimpoche yesterday
denounced the Karmapa's flight as a "Chinese
plot" designed to destabilise the
Kagyu sect. He claimed that the Karmapa's
escape had been "stage
managed" by the authorities in Beijing to
enable him to claim the "Black
Crown" and other belongings of the Kagyu
school in the care of Thaye Dorje,
of Kalimpong, India, who he claimed was the
genuine reincarnation of the
16th Karmapa.
>>
Boy lama may seek sanctuary in America
By David Graves in Dharamsala
THE 14-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader who
trekked across the Himalayas
to flee Chinese communist rule might go to
America if India refuses him
political asylum.
The Karmapa Lama was in
hiding last night after leaving a
guesthouse run by the Tibetan
government-in-exile shortly
before dawn yesterday "for his
own safety". The move was an
apparent response to threats
made against him by Tibetan
opponents and any attempt by
the Chinese to recapture him.
The teenager was taken to a
safe house and is expected to move shortly to
a monastery close to the
northern Indian town of Dharamsala. A final
decision on asylum in India is
expected to be made in New Delhi this week.
But officials at the Indian
foreign ministry have indicated to the
Tibetan government-in-exile in
Dharamsala that his request may be refused.
Tibetan officials expect that the Karmapa -
the third most senior figure in the
Tibetan spiritual hierarchy after the Dalai
Lama and the Panchen Lama -
would be offered political asylum in the
United States if New Delhi refused his
application. Julia Tuft, the co-ordinator for
Tibetan affairs at the State
Department, was last night said to be
travelling from Washington to
Dharamsala to see him.
Technically, he is regarded as an illegal
immigrant in India, which sent a
high-ranking official in the foreign affairs
ministry to Dharamsala to see the
Karmapa on Thursday. Officials in New Delhi
are thought to keen to avoid
further antagonising the Chinese, who have
been severely embarrassed by the
spiritual leader's flight to freedom.
However, the Tibetan government-in-exile was
still hopeful last night that
despite the concerns in New Delhi the Karmapa
might be granted asylum in
India. The Karmapa is expected to move
shortly to the Bhattu monastery at
Baijnath, 40 minutes from Dharamsala, where
security has been increased.
The monastery is run by Tai Situ Rimpoche,
his spiritual adviser, who was
instrumental in his selection as the 17th
Karmapa after discovering a prophetic
letter from the 16th Karmapa in 1992. The
letter led him to a nomad's son in
eastern Tibet whom he formally identified as
the 17th living incarnation of
Buddha. The boy was enthroned on Sept 27,
1992, when he was seven.
Tibetan officials were concerned that at the
Chonnor House guesthouse,
which is a short distance from the Dalai
Lama's official residence, the young
Karmapa might be vulnerable to an attack by a
rival Tibetan group or an
attempt by the Chinese to recapture him.
The guesthouse is used by official visitors
to Dharamsala, a former British hill
station 400 miles north of New Delhi in the
Himalayan foothills. The actor
Richard Gere, who is a fervent supporter of
the Dalai Lama, often stays there.
During his five-day stay at the guesthouse,
the Karmapa left his room only
twice - on both occasions to visit the Dalai
Lama.
The Karmapa, who is the only senior lama to
be recognised by both the Dalai
Lama and the Chinese government, had been
used by Beijing as a symbol of
communist authority in Tibet and of its
alleged encouragement of Buddhism in
the disputed region.
Although he had made at least two formal
visits to President Jiang Zemin in
Beijing, aides said the Karmapa did not have
complete freedom and was
living under virtual house arrest at the
800-year-old Tsurphu monastery, 30
miles from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
He had been frustrated by Beijing's repeated
refusal to allow him an exit visa
to visit India to see Tai Situ Rimpoche, who
met him when he arrived in
Dharamsala and immediately took him to visit
the Dalai Lama.
The Karmapa arrived in Dharamsala on
Wednesday after his nine-day trek
with six aides, including his 24-year-old
sister. He had also wanted to move
to the headquarters of his Kagyu school of
Buddhism at Rumtek monastery in
Sikkim, the mountain state annexed by India
in 1975 where his predecessor
settled after fleeing Tibet in 1959. China
has never recognised the annexation.
Senior Indian officials said the Karmapa's
move there would infuriate Beijing,
just as New Delhi was attempting to thaw the
traditionally frosty relations
between the two countries following the
recent visit to the Chinese capital by
Jaswant Singh, the Indian foreign minister.
Officials in New Delhi are also aware that
the five-million strong Kagyu
school of Buddhism, of which the Karmapa is
the spiritual leader, is deeply
split over his enthronement. One of his
leading opponents, Shamar Rimpoche,
who appointed a rival Karmapa in 1994, is in
charge of the monastery in
Sikkim.
There have been several clashes between
supporters of the rival Karmapas
and Indian officials said there would be a
"potential timebomb" if the young
Karmapa were allowed to travel to Sikkim.
Shamar Rimpoche yesterday
denounced the Karmapa's flight as a "Chinese
plot" designed to destabilise the
Kagyu sect. He claimed that the Karmapa's
escape had been "stage
managed" by the authorities in Beijing to
enable him to claim the "Black
Crown" and other belongings of the Kagyu
school in the care of Thaye Dorje,
of Kalimpong, India, who he claimed was the
genuine reincarnation of the
16th Karmapa.
