Fists fly over living god's crown
By Randeep Ramesh, The Guardian, October 4, 2005
Tibetan Buddhism One million followers and pounds 600m in assets are at stake
in fight for title of 17th karmapa
Gangtok, India -- On a narrow winding lane on a Himalayan mountainside, past
Indian army soldiers and burly, shaven-headed monks, lies a monastery at the
centre of a feud which has split normally gentle Tibetans who revere a living
god crowned with a black hat.
<< Ogyen Trinley
Two rival factions of Tibetan Buddhism are fighting for control of the 75-acre
site of the Rumtek monastery, a few miles outside Gangtok, capital of the
Indian state of Sikkim. The rivalry is such that there have been violent
brawls between the monks, accusations of graft and corruption and a travel ban
placed on the protagonists by Indian authorities, who want to keep a lid on
Tibetan passions. The result is that Indian security forces guard the
monastery and the priesthood is split by a bitter legal battle.
The fight is over Rumtek's crown, the 20cm-high "black hat" said to be woven
from the hair of female deities. When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 the
Buddhist clergy relocated their religion's seats of power and holy relics.
Rumtek, on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, became the headquarters of the
Kagyu sect. Wearing the Kagyu's black hat, the head of the order - known as
the karmapa - presides over a sect with assets estimated to be worth pounds
600m, the allegiance of 350 monasteries worldwide and 1 million followers.
Thaye Dorje >>
Observers say much of Rumtek's reputation was built up in the 1960s, when
hippies made pilgrimages there and built up monasteries in America.
"It is a mystery as to Rumtek's exact wealth. But that it is worth fighting
over, that is clear," said Vijay Kranti, a journalist who has written
extensively on Tibetan affairs. "In the community religion is the major
activity and occupies a very big space in people's lives. The previous karmapa
had built up a huge following in the west."
In Tibetan Buddhism, as one karmapa passes away another is reincarnated. Since
1110, the karmapa has been reborn in an unbroken string. His lineage is three
centuries older than that of the Dalai Lama. The trouble is there are two
claimants to being the 17th karmapa - Ogyen Trinley and Thaye Dorje - each
supported by important lamas, or priests, from the Kagyu lineage. The majority
of the lamas, the Dalai Lama, and Tibetans inside and outside Tibet have
supported Ogyen Trinley. Even Beijing supported his claim as the 17th karmapa,
although he fled Tibet in 1999.
But Shamar Rinpoche, one of the regents of Rumtek - essentially stewards until
a karmapa becomes an adult - disputes this vigorously. He has flooded the
courts with petitions and his monks have often used their fists in support of
his candidate Thaye Dorje, who has just returned from an inter-faith
conference in London where he was billed as the karmapa.
"We were cheated out of running Rumtek, even though we were supposed to be in
charge. But we will continuing fighting for the good of the community. The
courts will give us justice," said Narendra Jaswal, of the Karmapa Charitable
Trust, which backs Thaye Dorje.
A decade ago Rinpoche enthroned a bespectacled boy named Tenzin Chentse, whose
parents, he said, were Tibetan refugees. The boy was later named Thaye Dorje.
When Mr Rinpoche tried to bring him to Sikkim, there was a melee and the boy
spent the next few weeks under the guard of 300 monks. Mr Rinpoche was
subsequently barred from entering Sikkim.
Many followers of this feud say that the contest will be settled not by the
courts, where the case has languished for seven years, but by Ogyen Trinley's
birthday next June. Rumtek and its properties are owned by a charitable trust
which will be dissolved when the karmapa reaches 21. "When that happens all
bets are off," said Pema Wangchuk Dorjee, editor of Sikkim's largest
circulation newspaper, Sikkim Now. "The fact is then the squabble is
immaterial because whichever of the two will be 21 is going to be crowned
karmapa."
There will almost certainly be claims that Ogyen Trinley has crossed that
threshold first. His supporters have lobbied state ministers to lift a travel
ban preventing the "living god" from visiting Sikkim. "We are planning a party
and a big homecoming for his Holiness," said Karma Chungyalpa, general
secretary of the All Sikkim Buddhist Organisation. "The other side's boy is
already 23, according to our research, and they have not made any fuss about
him. It's inexplicable apart from the fact they know the game is up."
The argument over which of the two boys comes of age first is a non-issue for
the other camp. They say the return of the 17th karmapa cannot be decided by a
birth date. "This is a spiritual decision, not one for the courts or Indian
law," said Mr Jaswal. "The karmapa is a karmapa because of his soul, not
thanks to his age."
Secular and religious leadership have always been intertwined in Tibetan
tradition, and reincarnation politics has proved in the past to be difficult
to negotiate. But much rides on Ogyen Trinley making it as the karmapa. Many
see him as a successor to the Dalai Lama. "He has spent much time on poetry
and music. But he is a mature Buddhist and is needed by everyone, not just
Rumtek," said Jamyang Dorjee, a former aide to the Dalai Lama.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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