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NOTICE:
We are temporarily using our home page to keep you updated on breaking news, which we evaluate below with links to full text articles available on the web. To go to our original home page, click here.

January 27

-International Herald Tribune

In this week's edition of the International Herald Tribune is a light reminiscense by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray on a meeting with the Sixteenth Karmapa and a look forward to meeting the Seventeenth Karmapa. Sandwiched in between is the most informative discussion of the practice of offering a " khada" (alt. kata) that we have ever seen. In the online edition of Thursday's International Herald Tribune.

-Sydney Morning Herald

1/26/99

In a people feature, the Herald reports that "Val Grogan, having concerned herself for years with the problems of the Dalai Lama and his people of Tibet, is now concerned with His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa." The Herald reports that Grogan was honored for her work in helping Tibetan refugees by being appointed a "Member of the Order of Australia." Grogan told the Herald that she was originally inspired to do her refugee work by the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, whom she met in Sikkim in 1962. Full text of the articles are at the Sydney Morning Herald's website.

-The People's Review 1/19/2000 (Kathmandu)

The People's Review editorial 1/19/2000

The People's Review 1/26/2000

The People's Review editorial 1/26/2000

We have tracked down articles from the online edition of the Kathmandu publication The People's Review discussing the Karmapa. The Kathmandu based Review does not seem a fan of the Karmapa, and actually provides a new variation on the spy-of-India theory, with the idea now that the target is to damage Sino-Nepal relations. (We will keep watch for a countervailing spy-of-Nepal theory to surface in the Indian press as a response.) In any case, the Review in a January 13th article notes that "what needs to be probed, from a Nepalese angle, is how the Karmapa and his group could have travelled through Nepal, apparently without the knowledge of the law and order enforcement agencies."

The Review sees in the Karmapa's route a plot to "to torpedo Sino-Nepalese relations . . . ." and argues that Nepal should be seeking closer ties to China. In support of this position, the paper argues that for "a Nepal that is sandwiched between India and China, any hint of Nepal's collusion in arranging for the Karmapa's defection to India through her territory could be very damaging to Sino-Nepalese ties."

Accordingly, when Nepal's "Foreign Minister Ram Saran Mahat the other day described as 'baseless' news that the Karmapa travelled through Nepal," the media outlet strongly dissented with his conclusion and published this account based on "reliable" but unnamed sources: "the Karmapa crossed over from Tibet and entered Nepal, leaving Nepalese territory for India on January 3. The sources disclosed that the Karmapa and his party stayed overnight at a tourist guest-house inside the Kathmandu Valley. Thereafter they proceeded by motor vehicle to a railhead on the Nepal-India border from whence the party travelled by Indian railroad to Patna, Bihar. From Patna, they travelled via Delhi to Pathankot from where they took taxis to Dharamsala. . . . In travelling down to the open Nepal-India border the main party of five is learnt to have been escorted by a van which apparently had the function of "clearing" road-blocks along the way."  The articles are available at the People's Review website 1/19/00, 1/19/00 editorial, 1/26/00, 1/26/00 editorial.

-Nezavisimaia gazeta

1/27/00

In Bol'shoi skandal iz-za malen'kogo buddy: Odin iz sviashchennykh simbolov Tibeta sbezhal iz-pod opeki kitaiskikh vlastei (translated from the Russian by Dr. Robert Cutler as Large Scandal From A Small Buddha: One Of The Holiest Symbols Of Tibet Has Escaped From Under The Tutelage Of The Chinese Authorities), Evgenii Strel'chik writes for the Russian language newspaper Nezavisimaia gazeta that "a 14-year-old boy Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who seven years ago was proclaimed to be the XVII Gyalwa Karmapa, a living incarnation of the Buddha, left his monastery Tsurphu 50 km from Lhasa and crossed over into Nepal after a 1500-km journey from Tibet though the Hilmalyas."  One of the first points mentioned in the article is the sacrifice made by the Karmapa, as he "left behind his parents and six brothers and sisters" in Tibet.

The report focuses mainly on the difficulties that India and China will have in addressing the situation without alienating either country, with India fearful to "quarrel with its powerful Northern Neighbor." The article contains a few errors: it aggravates the Chinese position on wheter the India's providing refuge to the Karmapa violates any agreements with China, and speculates that the Karmapa is not at Gyuto but already in Rumtek. However, Stel'chik otherwise evidences a good grasp of the facts, even noting that the four major schools of Tibet are each led by their own enlightened master. Full text of the article (in Russian) at the  Nezavisimaia gazeta website.

-Neue Zürcher Zeitung

1/23/00

In "Die Mühen Pekings mit den tibetischen Lamas: Vergebliches Streben nach vollständiger religiöser Kontrolle, " (roughly translated from the German by Dr. Robert Cutler as Beijing's Troubles With Tibetan Lamas: Futile Striving for Complete Religious Control), U. Schmid of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, provides the NZZ's typically informed political analysis of current China policies to consider the "question of how successful the communists are in their effort to control Tibetan society."  Providing a political perspective from the press of a country that has good relations with China, the article is also valuable in summarizing the history of China's attempts to govern Tibet. The focus of the historical retrospective is the contrast between "the present emphasis on allegedly 'gentle' controlling of the Tibetan society" and "the striking failure of Chinese foreign rule in the 1950s and 1960s."

Noting that some four centuries ago in Tibet the Kagyu order of the Karmapas and the Gelug order of the Dalai Lamas were rivals, Schmid reasons that the Karmapa's arrival in the Dharamsala home of the Dalai Lama is "still more embarrassing for China," apparently indicating that despite China's obsessive emphasis on modernization, the government remains concerned with centuries old rivalries that make little sense in the Tibet ruled by China today, or among the Tibetans living in exile. (Admittedly, many Tibetans still cling to these "rivalries" as well.)

Schmid concludes by reviewing the history of the Panchen Lama. The boy recognized by the Dalai Lama has been secreted away by the authorities, and has not been seen in public for years. In his place the authorities installed another boy chosen by them, Gyaincain Norbu. "For a majority of Tibetans, Gyaincain Norbu is since then the "Chinese" Panchen, a clearly pejorative designation painful to communist eyes, and which shows how weak is the foothold gained by 'patriotism' on the Roof of the World."

Schmid's recognition of the pejorative use of the term Chinese Panchen is important because of the use by certain press outlets of the term Chinese Karmapa. This usage originated from the anti-Karmapa contingent publicity campaign seeking to have the press characterize the Karmapa as "the Chinese Karmapa." See, e.g., Indian Express January 8, 2000 ("Rumtek Regent Disowns Chinese Karmapa") ; The Hindustan Times (Shamar Rinpoche op-ed: "The Chinese Karmapa wears the stamp of legitimacy . . . "). This characterization by a Tibetan is of course deliberate, done with knowledge of the pejorative nature of the term among Tibetans, in a clever manipulation of the press which has a hard enough time explaining to the unknowing public what a "lama" is. Still, those press outlets that use the term cannot entirely plead ignorance of the pejorative nature of the term, since the phrase also has negative connotations among non-Tibetans. It is respectfully suggested that this truly politically incorrect term should not be used by the press unless they intend to label the Karmapa pejoratively.

Since we have focused on terminology, the phrase "Karmapa Lama" is frequently used in the article and extended to characterize the Reting Rinpoche incarnation as well. It is becoming increasingly popular in the world press to add "Lama" to the name of the reincarnations to explain the social structure of Tibet for the seeming parallelism to the names of the Dalai and Panchen "Lamas", but to our knowledge, it is an incorrect usage. "Lama" (capital "L") for the Dalai and Panchen is a proper name. However,"lama" (lower-case L) is not a respectful term when applied to someone of the spiritual preeminence of the Karmapa, and as a proper name has never before now been appended to "Karmapa."  One would think such a refined Tibet watcher as Schmidt would not use this nomenclature, and would try to educate his editors in the correct terminology. Full text of the article in German is available at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung website.

-CNN/AP

India Express

In an example of an interesting twist in media reports of media reports, the AP has released a story posted on CNN's site entitled Report: Tibetan Lama unlikely to return to Tibet. The "report" reference is to the Hong Kong based magazine Asiaweek, which according to AP will report in its February 4, 2000 issue that the Karmapa is "unlikely to return to Tibet." China has repeatedly stated that the Karmapa went to India simply to obtain sacred religious objects now held in safekeeping in India, publicly holding out hope the Karmapa will return to India. However, the Asiaweek story apparently says that even should the Karmapa recover these items, he does not plan to return to Tibet. Asiaweek has not posted a copy of the story on its website yet. Ironically, the CNN/Asiaweek website has thus posted the the AP report of the report, resulting in the publication on the Asiaweek website of Asiaweek's story with the AP byline.

The Asiaweek story also is also said to report details of the Karmapa's exit from Tibet. As previously posted on this website, some of these details appear to have been already reported in the Tribune's January 9 edition, Time Magazine of January 13 and elsewhere, but some new details may have been added: "Before leaving on December 28, the 14-year-old leader of the Karma Kagyu sect of Buddhism told Chinese security officers in Tibet that he was going on a religious retreat and would only see his tutor and cook, the magazine quoted unidentified Tibetan exiles as saying. On the night of his escape, two of his guards were on leave and most monks in the monastery were watching television. The Karmapa jumped from his bedroom window and was driven, along with his sister and a number of monks, along the route the Dalai Lama took on horseback when he fled Tibet in 1959, the magazine reported. He got out of the vehicle before reaching security checkpoints, circled around the barriers, and joined his group on the other side. The Karmapa and the other monks began to walk when the road became impassable near Nepal. . . ." Full text of the CNN/AP report at the CNN website.

The India Express also submits a report of the report, in a piece entitled which emphasizes that "Karmapa's trip was meticulously planned." This is not news, as Jagdish Bhatt of the Times of India had reported "that the seven had planned their escape meticulously" on January 9, 2000 in The Times of India. Still, the Asiaweek story is the latest nail in the coffin of the Chinese-spy theory, which we commented on earlier. "And conspiracy theories notwithstanding, the Karmapa in fact left Tibet to escape being manipulated by Beijing said the February 4 issue of Asiaweek." The story is also another blow to China's "Indian spy" theory, which envisions the Karmapa exiting at the behest of the Dalai Lama, since Asiaweek reports that His Holiness Dalai Lama knew nothing of the Karmapa's plans until he showed up at his doorstep. We will post a follow-up when the Asiaweek article becomes available. 

January 26

-CNN streaming video
UPDATE
CNN International's Q&A Asia with Riz Kahn (scroll down to middle of page)

80k RealVideo stream of first segment

80k Windows Media stream of first segment

28k Windows Media stream of first segment

28k RealVideo stream of first segment.

NOTE: you must go to the CNN site to view the second and third segments

CNN International has a daily show called Q&A with Riz Kahn, which airs in Europe and Asia but not North America. On Monday, the first half hour of the show discussed His Holiness Karmapa. A video recording of the show is available for viewing on CNN's website.

How to access the streaming video recording of Q&A Asia (skip this section unless you are new to streaming media)

"Streaming media" means that you can listen to recordings and watch video very quickly over the Internet. It is quick, because the video streams bit by bit to your browser. If you had to wait for the whole video to stream before you could start watching, it would force you to wait quite a long time.

Before you can see the recording, you must have a streaming media player, either Real or Windows Media players. These players are free. If you have Windows 98 or 95 with IE4 or 5, you probably have the Windows Media player. If you have Netscape, Real is probably already installed on your system. If you don't have either one, you must follow the instructions on the site to download the player. The latest version of Real seems to have an edge in video quality over the latest version of Windows, but these relative differences are always changing.

The show is recorded in three separate links at the website; the links we list on this page are to one segment only. To see the entire show, you must go to the CNN website page here. The link is not at the top of the page, so you must scroll to midpage to where the show is announced.

CNN has extensive options for the video. First, you must choose a segment by clicking on the right of left arrows to the side of the "select" button. Then you must choose a radio button to determine the player and download speed. Separate videos are available for Windows Media and RealPlayer. Once you choose the player, you choose the download speed. Two speed choices are available. If you use a modem, choose the "28k stream." If you have DSL, cable, ethernet or some other method of speedy (broadband) access you can choose the 80k stream, which is much better quality.

Comment on the video

The segment begins with Riz Kahn turning to correspondent Kasra Naji, reporting from Dharamsala.

There is some excellent footage in Naji's piece, quite viewable on the high bandwith stream but not very good on the modem speed stream. His Holiness Karmapa is smiling, and he waves a few times to the cameras. Naji then shifts the cameras to the preparations taking place at Palpung monastery, where he elicits a  statement from a spokesman and Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim.

Generally, Naji's segment is professional and well done. Afterwards, Kahn elicits from him the fact that the arrival of His Holiness has caused great joy. The glitches: Riz Kahn insists on referring to the Karmapa as "the Karmapa Lama," which is apparently becoming the nomenclature for reporters outside India. Notably, however, both Naji and Oppenheimer (see below) correctly use the term "the Karmapa." Naji also repeats the same mistake he made in his January 12 report, describing the Karmapa as "the 17th reincarnation of the Buddha," an incorrect reference to the historical Sakyamuni Buddha. The Karmapa is the 17th incarnation of Dusum Khyenpa, an enlightened master, as previously explained in more detail here, commenting on Naji's report last time. Naji, responding to one of Kahn's questions, also fails to put into perspective the news stories claiming Karmapa may be a Chinese spy. CNN has never subscribed to this theory, and its affiliate Asiaweek is reporting that such a claim is not true, so we would expect some qualification from Naji in addition to the mere notice that some other press outlets are printing information on the theory. A previous comment on the lack of viability of this theory is here.

The guest expert for the show is Richard Oppenheimer, Director of Tibet Information Network. The focus of the Tibet Information Network is to provide information and analysis of events in Tibet, and although they have no particular known expertise in the Kagyu order, their information releases  based on their overall familiarity with Tibetan affairs have been a source for media reporting on the Karmapa. Oppenheimer's responses are astute, and his style is extremely "low key." The main discussion in the show involves the political impact of the Karmapa's arrival in India.  Oppenheimer believes that the Karmapa's arrival will raise new questions about China's policies toward religious practice in Tibet. Regarding the lack of comment on the Karmapa from governments, he argues that for the time being it is wise to stay quiet about the Karmapa to try and calm the situation and not blow it out of proportion.

Kahn mostly asks questions concerning political issues, but a couple of the viewer questions selected by CNN are from the anti-Karmapa faction, and strike us as illustrative of the confusion which the anti-Karmapa forces are bringing to the situation, and at the same time the lack of wider public interest. The sequence is introduced something like this:

Kahn: "We've had many, many emails, in fact hundreds of emails, on this topic, but a lot touched on this one, I wanted to put one of these to you, its from Poland as well, it says: 'Why hasn't the 16th Karmapa's letter foretelling of his reincarnation been given to an expert in order to confirm its authenticity?' What light can you shed on this for us?"

Oppenheimer sagely replies in the manner we would expect from a schoolteacher trying to explain the notion of "sacredness" and "religion" to an unfamiliar inquirer. Treating the question as if from one who does not believe in the scientific possibility that any such letter could be written, he notes that while he does not know personally whether or not the letter has in fact been tested, he suspects not because "these things are treated with enormous reverence by Tibetan Buddhists."  He points out that the letter has in fact been "seen, I've seen it myself . . . .the fact that the letter exists, of that there is no doubt. As to its authenticity, well, I think on the whole that people are not too prepared to push too hard in this direction because its considered to be, if you like, sacreligious, I think."

For years it has been debated within the Kagyu order as to how to address the conflict over the Karmapa, and no one has had any easy answers. The Karmapa's arrival has unexpectedly and suddenly thrown these agonizing deliberations into the international spotlight. We can only hope that those who consider themselves participants, as opposed to mere observers, in this unfolding situation, be able to obtain as much undistorted information and genuinely unbiased guidance as possible, so that they can make up their own minds. It is an axiom of Buddhism that one has to make one's own decisions; even enlightened teachers cannot do that for someone else.

The Q&A Asia segment continues:

Kahn: "We have a question from our Internet chat-room, I want to get to that because we have the online community talking about this, and the question that's coming from Poland says 'Why does the international media disregard the Thaye Dorje.' I guess the 17th Karmapa is really what we are talking about here."

Oppenheimer: "I am sorry, the question is not entirely clear."

Kahn: "I guess, I wonder if it is dwelling on the idea that there hasn't been much of a sound from Western nations, something we touched on earlier."

Oppenheimer:  "Well I think there has been enormous interest interest in the West, certainly in the media, enormous interest . . . .

Oppenheimer then discusses the wisdom of US policymakers in showing a very low profile on the Karmapa issue. The show breaks for a commercial. After the break, the show continues:

Kahn: "Let's get back to some questions here . . . "Should China be allowed to pressure India on this and will the international community support India if it allows the Karmapa to stay?" 

After Oppenheimer replies to the question, this sequence ensues:

Oppenheimer:  "Riz, if I may take up the previous question before the break it was, I misheard, it was actually about 'Thaye Dorje,' which -- who is the rival claimant to the position of Karmapa and I think it, the reference was to that and why the Western world had not taken very much interest in this. I think this is primarily because the Karmapa who's just come across from Tibet was recognized first by the Dalai Lama in 1992 and then within a few days by the Chinese authorities, and I think the claim of the rival Karmapa uh, is not given the same sort of weight as the one for the Karmapa  who has just come across from Tibet."

The remainder of the show discusses whether India should be sensitive to China's requests not to violate the Panscheel principles of bilateral relations, and not to interfere in China's internal affairs regarding the Karmapa. Oppenheimer argues that India cannot be held to be interfering in China's internal affairs merely by giving refuge to the Karmapa. To the contrary, he believes that China may be interfering in India's internal affairs by dictating India's relationship to the Karmapa who voluntarily arrived in Dharamsala. Oppenheimer also notes that the Karmapa's arrival in India will put Chinese practices in Tibet under an enormous spotlight. The twelve available streaming videos at the CNN site (three segments divided for two players at either of two speeds) may be obtained from the CNN website, midway down the page under the CNN International graphic.

January 23-25

-Indian Express

New York Times/Associated Press

Reuters/Infoseek

Agence France Press/India Today

The Hindustan Times

The Statesman

The Indian Express itself became news when a breaking story it reported was picked up by international wire services: "The Indian Express reported Sunday that the Dalai Lama, [sent] a letter to Vajpayee supporting a request by the Karmapa to stay. The Dalai Lama said the teen-ager was a person of immense spiritual significance and he should be allowed to go through traditional training by religious teachers in India. The Foreign Ministry and the Dalai Lama's administration refused to confirm the report." New York Times/Associated Press; Reuters/Infoseek; Agence France Press/India Today.

This type of reporting feeding frenzy in news organizations is increasingly common in the modern age of hundreds of news organizations competing on a world-wide scale. A story reported can instantly be relayed around the world. There is no reason to question the accuracy of the story in the Indian Express, although the Dalai Lama's office and the government of India both declined to confirm anything. However, increased vigilance from the media may be called for. As many similar situations in the United States have shown, in cases where the media are competing so fiercely for the same story, inaccurate stories may not be properly checked before they are repeated.

In other related reports on events regarding the Karmapa in India, outlets worldwide covered the activities of numerous Tibetan groups in India who engaged in a number of demonstrations in support of the grant of asylum or refuge by the Indian government to His Holiness Karmapa.  CNN reported on 5,000 protesters marching in the freezing cold in Leh, Ladakh. In Delhi, thirty-seven Tibetan  organizations from all over India came together to celebrate the Karmapa's arrival in India, and to petition the government to let him stay.  NYT/AP (same as above); The Hindustan Times. ABC and Reuters reported that a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile led a special ceremony at which she asked the Indian government to provide some status to His Holiness to permit him to stay in India (same links as above).

In reaction to all this activity from organized Tibetans in India, and particularly Dharamsala, ambassador Zhou Gang, "strongly advised India not to use the presence of the 17th Karmapa in the country for 'anti-political and anti-social activities against China.'" The Statesman.

In this atmosphere of intense media competition, it is extremely difficult for media outlets to assess the validity of their leads and investigate their stories. News is old instantaneously; stories are reported worldwide before one can even correct one's copy. In the United States, there have been numerous examples where  central players in a controversy have used the media for their own advantage, by leaking misleading information designed to force a political opponent's hand or obscure the truth of a situation. For example, there were the numerous recent incidents involving United States press outlets reporting on the investigation of the President of the United States that rushed to break news and subsequently had to retract their stories when they found they had been manipulated by "inside sources."

-The Hindu, January 23

The Hindu, January 25.

India Today Online--

South China Morning Post

Times of India

Indian Express on January 22

India Today

  Agence France Press/India Today, January 23, 2000

NYT/AP , January 24, 2000.

India Today, January 8, 2000

Related to the issue of granting the Karmapa status to stay in India is the question of where the Karmapa can stay. In The Hindu dated January 23,  Harish Khare reports that, according "to senior sources in the Vajpayee Government, it had been decided that the 14-year old Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who is the 17th Kagyu Karmapa, would not be allowed to enter Sikkim."

Sikkim is of course the traditional home of the Karmapas in India. Rumtek Monastery, as it is known today, became the Kagyu seat in exile when the Sixteenth Karmapa in the 1960's came to Rumtek, and with the permission of the government, built a new monastic center. However, the connection between the Karmapa and Rumtek goes back centuries, as the Kagyu order had hundreds of years before built monasteries and appointed teachers to live in Rumtek and environs. The monastery has thus remained under the direction of the Karmapas for a long time. (See the detailed description of the history of Rumtek Monastery here.)

Khare argues that the decision to bar the Karmapa from his traditional seat in India is "part of a larger decision to deal with the issue without generating any tensions in the relationship with China." This implies that China will be upset if the Karmapa goes to Rumtek, but to the contrary, it would seem China expects and wishes the Karmapa to go to Rumtek. Chinese officials have from the very beginning steadfastly maintained that the Karmapa is in India to obtain "the black hat and musical instruments of his predecessors." E.g. The Hindu, January 25. Since the black crown and ritual instruments are at Rumtek, Karmapa must go to Rumtek to obtain them. It also would seem that China would prefer the Karmapa in Rumtek rather than nearer to Dharamsala, because China seems to be disturbed by the relationship between the Karmapa and the Dharamsala-related protesters who, with or without the Karmapa's blessing, may seek to enlist the Karmapa in their cause. Thus current reports incline us to believe that India will risk harming its relations with China by barring the Karmapa from Rumtek, rather than vice versa.

There is, of course, another theory about Chinese influence having to do with the fact that China does not officially recognize Sikkim as part of India. This theory contends that China does indeed want Karmapa in Rumtek, in order to use him to destabilize the region. According to this theory, rather than a true religious leader  who will help bring prosperity and stability to the Rumtek area of Sikkim, Karmapa is suspected to be some sort of secret agent for China tasked with stirring up unrest in Sikkim while wearing his black hat (perhaps the author of the theory is a fan of cowboy movies). As they say in the Southern United States, this old dog doesn't hunt anymore (i.e., the theory doesn't make any sense and has largely been abandoned even by its former supporters).

A review of press reports indicates that this theory first appeared in an interview given by Shamar Rinpoche reported in, inter alia, the January 8 issues of India Today Online and the Indian Express -- a couple of days after the Karmapa crossed by foot over the Himalayas. Shamar Rinpoche is quoted as saying that the Karmapa's "'flight to freedom' was stage-managed in connivance with the Chinese leaders with a view to claiming the 'black crown' and other belongings of the Karma Kagyu school, which were currently with [Shamar's candidate] Thaye Dorje based in Kalimpong in West Bengal." This seems to be an unsupported assertion by someone with a agenda in the conflict, and under ordinary reportorial circumstances may have merited some basic verification. Yet, like many other story lines reported by the world-wide media after the arrival of His Holiness in India, Shamar Rinpoche's theory was endlessly repeated in the press until attribution was lost and it had even taken on the aura of "official Indian government thinking." See, e.g., The Hindustan Times of January 16, 2000 ("hardline" view that Karmapa may be a spy is position of "majority" of the government).

This type of report, from unnamed sources and based on speculation about the nonpublic considerations of government officials, is the kind of news that is most subject to the inaccuracies resulting from the "media feeding frenzy" mentality noted above. There are numerous reasons to doubt that such a report about the thinking  of the government of India is accurate. Rather, informed observers might conclude that it is a media story specifically planted by a party or parties with a specific agenda. This observation is likely for a couple of reasons. First, although Shamar Rinpoche was originally the leading exponent of the "stage-management" theory, even Shamar Rinpoche has publicly backed away from this claim "for nebulous reasons," as Chermaine Chan reported, based on her interview with Shamar Rinpoche published in the January 23 edition of the South China Morning Post (quoted more fully in the next section). 

Second, the reasons for Shamar Rinpoche's change in position are not so nebulous, but a matter of self-interest. For example, The Times of India 's Maneesh Pandey, drawing on experts in Tibetan Affairs at leading Indian universities, recently wrote that the stage-management theory is unsupportable. He quotes Dawa Norbu, "an expert on Tibetan affairs at the Jawaharlal Nehru University" in New Delhi, who pooh-poohs the "stage-management" theory "'[a]s a fascinating tale full of loopholes. The facts do not in any way show that the 14-year-old boy has been sent here by the Chinese.' The story, he points out, misses a few crucial facts - there was at least one assassination attempt on the young Karmapa last year; two of his senior tutors also escaped to India with him; he went straight to McLeodganj to seek the Dalai Lama's blessings and, more importantly, Beijing issued a veiled warning to New Delhi against granting political asylum to the Karmapa.' Pandey also quotes Lhasang Tsering, an expert on Tibetan affairs in McLeodganj, who also dismisses the 14 year-old-secret-agent-boy theory: "The Karmapa's flight indicates that conditions in Tibet are not right for his spiritual training." Finally, Pandey notes that "the doubts about the boy-monk having crossed the Himalayas to reach India are misplaced. Every year more than 5,000 Tibetans come to India undertaking a strenuous journey across the snowing Himalayas. The escapees include children. The 17th Karmapa Rinpoche is not the only high-ranking lama to have fled in recent times. Agya Rinpoche, former abbot of Kumbum monastery in Qinghai province, also went into exile in 1998."

Third, it just does not comport with common sense to see the 14-year old Karmapa as a secret agent of the Chinese, does it? So if the theory that China objects, or is using the Karmapa as a secret agent, is not a valid reason for barring the Karmapa's residence in Sikkim, what are the other reasons to keep him away from his monastery?

The main concern reported in the press, duly noted by The Hindu article, is apparently the fear of the possibility of unrest in Rumtek, because of tensions caused by the anti-Karmapa faction led by Shamar Rinpoche, who has for many years tried to garner international attention for the young man he would have sit on the throne of the real Karmapa. Khare writes that since "1994, the supporters of the two Karmapas [sic] have been at loggerheads. By denying Trinley Dorje permission to go to Sikkim, the Indian Government has for now ensured that it was not seen as encouraging a power struggle at Rumtek." This concern is echoed by Chowdhury, writing in the Indian Express on January 22, who argued that "the 17th Karmapa's advisors would like him to head the Rumtek monastery but there are other claimants to it even though the Dalai Lama, who is considered the highest religious authority of Tibetans, had in 1992 given recognition to Dorje as the incarnation of the 16th Karmapa who died in 1981. South Block [the Indian government headquarters] is worried that the conflict over Rumtek may come to destabilise the political situation in Sikkim. As it is, China does not recognise the union of Sikkim with India."

There has indeed been disruption at Rumtek Monastery. For instance, in 1992 there was an incident in which armed jawans tried to enter the monastery but were prevented by residents from so desecrating the sacred shrine of the Karmapas in exile. Dispassionate analysis of the events leading up to this clash indicate that any blame for this incident can hardly be laid at the doorstep of the Karmapa. (The details of this story, as reported by press outlets in India, is described in a comment below.) More importantly, any such further similar incidents would seem to be precluded by a convergence of factors: the extraordinary sympathy shown by the Indian people for the Karmapa's situation (as indicated in numerous opinion polls and letters to the editor), the international attention now focused on the Karmapa and his seat in Rumtek, and the stabilizing force the young man will bring by taking his place in his rightful seat after his heroic mountain crossing. Indeed, one would think that government officials would be scrambling to be seen with the Karmapa as he arrives in Rumtek, an event sure to garner the press coverage typically reserved for presidential visits and royal ceremonies.

Second, it is not for foreigners to opine on, or to try to judge issues concerning the security of Rumtek, which is certainly an internal matter for Indian authorities to assess and make decisions about. However, the Indian press has itself raised a number of factors that are being considered by government officials, and which would incline an outside observer to doubt that, in the end, the sober government of India will pay much attention to the anti-Karmapa forces' strained attempts to stir up fears:

• Firstly, there is the official position of the Sikkim state government: "On the controversy over the rightful claimant to the dharma-throne, [Chief Minister's secretary Palden T] Gyamtso said, 'The state government's position is very clear. There is no dispute as to who should sit on the dharma-throne at the Dharma Chakra centre at Rumtek. The Lama, who has been approved by the Dalai Lama and accepted as the 17th reincarnation of the Gyalwa Karmapa, is the only claimant to the Karmapa title'. India Today, January 13, 2000.
• Secondly, there is the factor of the most pertinent constituency, the people of the state of Sikkim, with respect to their allegiance to the Karmapa: "More than 90 percent of 450,000 people in Sikkim state are his followers,'' said [Kunzang] Sherab [of the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association, an Indo-Tibetan solidarity group], whose organizations were religious and cultural groups spread all over India."  NYT /AP, January 24, 2000.
• Thirdly, there is the factor of India's famed tolerance for religious diversity and support for religious freedoms. As has been pointed out by Indian officials, the Karmapa is a religious, not political figure, and hence arguably should not be subject to restrictions on his religious obligations, of which his residence at Rumtek is an important part: "India's junior foreign minister, Ajit Panja, said this month that. . . . The Karmapa 'is purely a religious man and there is no restriction in India to perform religious rituals.'" Agence France Press/India Today , January 23, 2000.
• Fourthly, with respect to the concern about the instability resulting from any violent clashes, Shamar Rinpoche has stated that he has categorically ruled "out the possibility of any violence." India Today , January 8, 2000. Even if there is some doubt in "South Block" about the consistency of Shamar Rinpoche's words and deeds, it seems that precluding a religious leader like the Karmapa from performing his religious duties, in his rightful seat, against the wishes of the government and 90% of the constituents of the state where he wishes to reside, simply because of threats of a splinter group, is not a good precedent for a model country to set.

Accordingly, when dispassionately analyzed, it seems that the only opposition to the Karmapa's residence in Sikkim is that mounted by the anti-Karmapa forces, whose credibility is deeply suspect for reasons outlined elsewhere and in the press. In addition, according to press reports from India and elsewhere (now that press outlets are beginning to use a little of their fabled investigative skill in analyzing the claims of the faction), the anti-Karmapa group has almost no support within the lager Kagyu order, the Tibetan community, the population of Sikkim, the people of India, or amongst the people of the world. Thus one would hope that the government of India, which is wisely waiting for events to calm down a bit before making any decision, will look at the issue based on the facts and make an intelligent judgment as to what is in the best interest of India and the Indian people. One might agree that there is no hurry to make a decision, and also believe that there is an imperative obligation that is the duty of any rightful government to make its best effort to do the right thing.

January 22-23

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January 20-22

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January 18-19

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January 15-17

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January 12-14

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January 11

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January 10

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January 9

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January 8

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January 7

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