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This archive contains articles dated January 10, 2000 only; click here to go to current articles |
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January 10 |
Le Monde1/10/00 |
Le Monde's
Frederic Bobin reports from Beijing in The Flight of the Tibetan "Living Buddha" from India Plunges Peking Into Embarrassment
(in the French language, rough translation courtesy of Jirka Hladis). Bobin regrets the almost complete silence of the Chinese press regarding the Karmapa's exit from Tibet for Dharamsala, for the Chinese people will not have the opportunity to learn the important lesson of these events. Bobin argues that despite his official silence regarding his intentions, the Karmapa's decision to go to Dharamsala speaks volumes regarding China's policy towards Tibet: "One may wonder if Peking will learn its lesson from defeat. Because the hard-line approach practiced in Tibet is the cause of that escape. According to those close to the Seventeenth Karmapa, the young lama 'had no choice other than to leave', because Peking continually refused him any possibility of perfecting his education by going to India, to Dharamsala, or to Sikkim, where his predecessor found a refuge. The Chinese had agreed to such educational travels [of Karmapa] after his enthronement in 1992. They did not keep that promise and Peking now must bear the consequences of such inflexibility."
Full text (in the French language) at the Le Monde website. |
BBC News |
In a thoughtful analysis, BBC Asia affairs specialist James Miles carefully examines the varying diplomatic impacts that the
Karmapa's visit is having on the region, focusing on three countries: China, India and the United States. India and the US are both trying to repair strained relations with China. In the midst of this, Julia
Taft, US Special Coordinator on Tibet,
will be in Dharamsala at the same time. Miles points out that Taft (her photo is displayed on the site) was appointed over Chinese objections, with the explicit aim of encouraging dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama's exile government. Taft's visit, which according to officials is unrelated to recent events and has been scheduled for some time, by coincidence comes at a time when Dharamsala is receiving extraordinary, worldwide media attention over the Karmapa.
Full Text. |
BBC videoBBC News
1/10/00 |
Mike Woolridge of BBC News continues his reports from Dharamsala, providing footage of His Holiness early morning
departure for secure headquarters and a clip of Minister Tashi Wangdi. Video at the BBC News site. In an accompanying article, one point
of note is the mention of a black hat "woven from the hair of female deities." This is an apparent reference to the the legend of the "Black Hat," (perferrably "Black Crown"). As recounted in
Karmapa the Black Hat Lama of Tibet, compiled by Nik Douglas and Meryl White (London 1976), the legend is slightly different than that being portrayed in the media. The actual black crown is not a
material hat, but a sign of the Karmapa's spiritual attainment. This spiritual
black crown, which according to legend can be seen only by those with special spiritual insight, is said to perpetually hover over the head of each Karmapa as a sign of his attainment. It is this spiritual crown, rather than any material crown, which is said to be composed of the hair of special beings. This composition is a traditional sign which conveys the meaning that the crown can only be worn by one with extraordinary spiritual accomplishment.
The "black crown" which is said to be stored in Sikkim is a material replica
of the spiritual symbol. This actual, physical black hat itself has a legend behind it. At the beginning of the Fifteenth Century, the Fifth Karmapa Dezhin Shegpa visited the court of the Ming Emporer
Yung Lo of China. Emporer Ming Chen had what might in the West be termed a "mystical revelation" and saw the Karmapa wearing the hat. "Realizing that it was visible only on account of his own advanced
spiritual attainments, he decided to make a hat that would be visible to all." (p. 63-65). Such is the history of the actual black hat stored at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. Full text of the article at the BBC site. (The world news summary audio clip at the site also contains a segment on the Karmapa.} |
CBC audio1/10/00 |
Jonathan Hartley reports for CBC that the Karmapa is being moved to an undisclosed location, and notes that Delhi has been
supportive of the Tibetan struggle and will be under pressure to assist the Karmapa. Audio
at the CBC site. |
Guardian
1/10/99 |
Mary Finnegan of the Guardian
submits some informed opinion on the budding asylum speculation, writing "'that experts say it is almost certain the young Karmapa will be granted full residential status in India if he wants it. His predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, lived in the Indian state of Sikkim from 1959 to his death in 1981 - despite the fact that India and China are in dispute over the territory.' . . . ' The prestige of having the 17th Karmapa in India is enormous,' said Norma Levine, an expert on the Kagyu tradition and author of
The Blessing Power of the Buddhas. His spiritual authority equals that of the Dalai Lama,' she maintains." Finnegan's article contains some statements which seem to
have been added after the fact by her editors at the Guardian. The statements incorrectly imply that an anti-Karmapa faction lives in and controls Rumtek Monastery, the main seat of the Kagyu order of
Tibetan Buddhism outside of Tibet. As Finnegan correctly notes elsewhere in her article, the Sixteenth Karmapa lived in Sikkim for many years, residing at Rumtek Monastery. The assertions added to the piece
regarding anti-Karmapa residents currently at the monastery are unsubstantiated, and appear to be based solely on press releases emanating from an anti-Karmapa faction. Due to some oversight, the
claims of the anti-Karmapa faction have been accepted as true and no attempt has been made to subject them to independent press verification. There is substantial public information which severely
undermines the claim of the anti-Karmapa faction. According to available reports, the monastery in Sikkim is not the residence of the Karmapa "rival" alluded to the article. It is no doubt true that Rumtek
Monastery in Sikkim is much coveted by the anti-Karmapa faction, because the group has initiated a law suit to try to gain control over the monastery. The anti-Karmapa faction has publicly spoken and printed
information to the effect that the suit seeks to vest control over the monastery in the anti-Karmapa faction by obtaining a declaration that a trust controlled by the faction, rather than the Karmapa and his
administration, is the rightful owner of the monastery. The admission by the group that they have commenced the lawsuit fatally undermines their claims to currently have control over monastery (else the
lawsuit would be superfluous). In fact, the faction controls only this trust. The suit appears to be in the nature of what would be called a strike suit in the US, and has little chance of being resolved by
the Indian court system in the near future, and even when resolved will not impact the institution of Rumtek Monastery itself. Full text is at the Guardian website. |
The Times of IndiaHindustan TimesKyodo NewsHindustan Times1/10/99 |
The Times of India and Hindustan Times report briefly on the official word from the Indian government: "'No
formal request has been received,' an external affairs ministry spokesman said commenting on reports from Dharamshala that the Tibetan temporal head, Dalai Lama, had approached the Indian government for
granting asylum to the 14-year-old boy monk, who surfaced in the country five days ago after reportedly defecting from Tibet." Times of India. The spokesman also indicated though U.S. state department
representative Taft's visit was a coincidence, she would be going to Dharamsala as part of her unrelated plans. Times of India and Hindustan Times. Kyodo
quotes Minister Wangdi of the Tibetan government in exile as saying that "'The 17th Karmapa has not yet decided on this. At the moment he is very tired and is resting and will reveal his plans later.'"The Hindustan Times also quotes Superintendent of Police, Dharamshala, K C Shadyal as saying that Indian police were taking precautions because "'There is a serious threat to his life, so we are
taking all possible measures to deal with it.'" Full text. |
CNN |
CNN picks up the press reports out of Asia that His Holiness is seeking asylum there, but at the time
of release had no confirmation from the Indian government. A press conference is scheduled soon. CNN also reports that the State Department denies that the visit of its representative Julia Tuft was related
to the Karmapa, claiming that it was previously scheduled. CNN repeats the information from unnamed sources "in the Dalai Lama's administration" who attribute the Karmapa's decision to come to Dharamsala as
being based on dissatisfaction with the conditions in Tibet. The article closes with a light comment "a monk who caught a fleeting glimpse of the Karmapa [and] said: 'I am blessed.'" Full text. |
Reuters/Tibetan Government in Exile1/10/00 |
The Government of Tibet in Exile, through Minister Tashi Wangdi in an interview with Reuters, gave what Reuters
characterized as the "first first official statement by the Tibetan government in exile on what forced the boy monk to flee to India." Minister Wangdi was quoted as saying that "...the harsh conditions
on religion, arrests of monks and nuns, serious violations of human rights and the indifferent attitude of Chinese vis a vis the Karmapa Rimpoche for the last few years... it is with that background he had
to flee." The Karmapa has remained silent on his motivations, but the Tibetan government in exile believes that the Karmapa's decision to visit His Holiness Dalai Lama in Dharamsala is a confirmation of
their long held position that conditions in Tibet are bad and getting worse. In fact, Wangdi goes on to characterize current conditions as a "revival of the cultural revolution" in Tibet, a reference to the
destructive effect of the Chinese activities in the 1960's on Tibet, a period in Tibetan history which is acknowledged as regrettable even by Chinese authorities. The article also notes that Indian
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh refused to answer reporters' questions on whether the Karmapa has sought asylum from India. Full text
of the article is at the Tibet Government in Exile website, as well as other Reuters affiliates. |
Telegraph1/10/00 |
Apparently relying on sources within the Tibetan government in exile, David Graves of the Telegraph reports from
Dharamsala in Boy Lama May Seek Sanctuary In America that His Holiness Karmapa may seek asylum in the United States should India balk. The Karmapa has not said anything officially, but
rumors are flying fast and furious regarding whether the Karmapa plans to seek asylum. Graves reports that "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." Though Tibetan exile government officials are still hopeful that India will grant
asylum, "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."
Graves' report, though delighting American Buddhists, may be a bit premature as reports from India indicate that no solid information is being released by the Karmapa's people. There are a multitude of
parties with differing agendas that will seek benefit from trying to impact the relationship of certain states and persons to China. His Holiness' decision to come to Dharamsala has placed him in the thick
of this jockeying, and there is a very significant risk that parties providing news leaks to the media, may, even innocently, emphasize agendas which may differ from the Karmapa's. This is of course a
standard concern of news gathering which journalists are trained to handle, but in this case few journalists have any familiarity with the different policies among different Tibetan institutions. Tibetan
Buddhism is not a homogenous whole; like any mature state, there are significant differences between different organizations in Tibet. Graves also reports on security concerns surrounding His Holiness
move to different quarters, saying the move was made in "an apparent response to threats made against him by Tibetan opponents and any attempt by the Chinese to recapture him." On the whole, very exciting
news for Americans, but the story may be moving faster than the participants. Full text online at the Telegraph site. |
Washington Post
1/10/00 |
John Pomfret of the Washington Post in a front page analysis of recent actions by the Chinese government titled
China Girds for a Battle of the Spirit
contends that "A series of recent clashes between the Chinese government and a variety of spiritual groups indicates that religion – more than traditional kinds of political dissent – has emerged in the eyes of the Communist Party as one of the most serious threats to its monopoly on power." Pomfret bases his conclusion on a review of three major events and a number of lesser events involving relations between the government and religious institutions in China: the crackdown on the Falun Gong movement, the decision to appoint five Catholic bishops without authority from the Vatican, and the Karmapa's decision to travel to Dharamsala. The motivations of the Karmapa are based on contentions in an analysis by TIN, rather than on any information from the Karmapa or Kagyu administrators. This is a well-reasoned piece attempting to assess the political climate inside China, but it also illustrates the challenges the 14 year-old Karmapa and Kagyu order face in defining their own course after traveling from the quiet Himalayan monastery into the full glare of worldwide media scrutiny. A picture of the Karmapa graces the article.
Full text
is available at the Post website. |
Hindustan Times1/10/00 |
The Hindustan Times
, citing an unnamed "top Tibetan official," reports from Dharamsala that "the Tibetan Government is approaching the Union Government
to get political asylum for the Karmapa. The officer requesting anonymity said 'About four days back His Holiness, the Dalai Lama personally took up this matter with the Government of India. He sought
political asylum for the Karmapa.''' The article also says the security concerns arising out of the extraordinary numbers of requests for audiences and worldwide media attention on the Karmapa has required
that he be moved to a more secure location. |
Times of India1/10/00 |
Reporting from New Delhi in The Times of India, Jagdish Bhatt continues his analysis of the impact of the
Karmapa's arrival on the Indian government. In an article entitled India Too Was Caught Napping On Karmapa, Bhatt points out that not only is China scrutinizing its border security, but how the
"[Karmapa and his party of six] travelled hundreds of miles in Indian territory unnoticed, is also a matter of embarrassment for the Indian security and intelligence authorities. Full text
of the article is available online. |
January 9 |
Click here to go to the news archive containing
references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 9, 2000 |
January 8 |
Click here to go to the news archive containing
references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 8, 2000 |
January 7 |
Click here to go to the news archive
containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 7, 2000 |
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The Nalandabodhi site has more information on the Karmapa
and His relationship to The Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche. We will keep you posted here and on the
Nalandabodhi BBS as we learn more. |
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