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Reuters
1/8/00 |
First photograph of the Karmapa published by Reuters; click here (His Holiness Karmapa entering guest house after visit with His Holiness Dalai Lama) |
January 7 |
Gazeta Wyborcza1/7/00 |
The Gazeta Wyborja, a Polish-language daily out of Warsaw, is reportedly the first periodical to publish
on His Holiness' arrival in India. That article, roughly translated courtesy of Ryszard Frackiewicz, characterizes the Karmapa's arrival within a political context. Notably, the Karmapa's party is not a
source for the political characterization, since it is still maintaining official silence. The Gazeta
contains an extensive rendition of the Chinese government's explanation of the Karmapa's departure from Tibet, which is contrasted with opinions from an official of TIN and exile-Tibetan sources: "Beijing claims that this was not an escape. According to the government news agency Xinhua, the Karmapa left a letter explaining the reasons for his absence. 'He has left the country to get some musical instrument required to conduct Buddhist ceremonies,' says the spokesman for the Bureau of Religious Affairs in the Tibetan district of Duilong Dequin. 'His absence does not indicate treason towards China, the nation, or the monastery,' he added. According to Xinhua, Urgyen Trinle Dorje also went to India to retrieve the Black Crown, an attribute of the authority of the Karmapas, a lineage of Lamas (venerated religious teachers) who stand at the head of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Kagyu. It was the lineage of the Karmapas who, in the 12th century, originated the tradition of recognizing tulkus -- new incarnations of Lamas who had passed away."
Full text of Escape from Occupied Tibet; China: "The Lama didn't defect." |
CBC1/7/00 |
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The CBC provides an evenhanded report in Tibetan Spiritual Leader Defects To India,
balancing the Chinese government's position against the reports of widespread restrictions on Tibetan's freedom of worship. The site also contains streaming audio, video and a downloadable clip of a very nice
television report by Raymond St. Pierre on CBC-TV. Full text
of the article is at the CBC site. |
BBC World Service East Asia1/7/00 |
BBC World Service reporter Christopher Gunness, in Tibetan Lama Escapes To India,
speaks with Tsering Shakya, a "Tibet specialist at London University," who provides persepective on the Karmapa's departure. Shakya stated that "really the surprising thing about how technically the escape was organised and how they managed to bring the boy out into India. Two years ago I visited the monastery and the police presence there is so visible, the whole monastery is surrounded by police and everybody who is seeing the child, have their names taken down. The boy is very much watched by the Chinese authorities. How his followers have managed to organise this escape is really an incredible story."
Full text of the interview is available at the BBC site. |
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra 1/7/00 |
KTD News Release. Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD), the seat of His Holiness Karmapa in North America, release the following statement on its website concerning press reports from
the Xinhua in China that His Holiness Karmapa had left a letter addressed to Beijing authorities prior to his departure."We know from authentic Tibetan sources that His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa
wrote a letter prior to leaving Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet and fleeing to India. Contrary to news reports issued from the official Chinese Xinhua News Agency, the letter--which was found in his room at
Tsurphu--was not addressed to government or Communist Party officials, but was written to the monks of Tsurphu. "In the letter, the Seventeenth Karmapa stated that he had tried several times to obtain an
exit visa to travel in his official capacity as the leader of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Chinese government had never acquiesced to these requests and left him no choice but to leave. He
expressed encouragement to his monks to continue their dharma practices and meditation with great hopes that they would do so. There was no mention in the letter of traveling to collect ritual musical
instruments and the Karmapa's Black Crown. Nor were there any political statements made about betrayal to 'state, the nation, the monastery or the leadership.'" The
full text of the announcement
is at KTD's website. |
The Guardian1/7/00 |
The Guardian's Mary
Finnigan evidences a solid grasp of the nuances of the Karmapa's arrival in India in an article entitled Buddhist Leader Flees Tibet To Join Dalai Lama. Finnegan leads with a concise statement
of the most stunning fact about The Karmapa's departure from Tibet: "A young boy regarded by Tibetans as a living Buddha of equal political and religious status to the Dalai Lama has escaped from a monastery
in central Tibet, despite being kept under permanent surveillance by Chinese minders." She goes on to note that "The lineage of the Karmapas is older than that of the Dalai Lamas, and in old Tibet their
prestige equaled that of the Dalai Lamas in the eyes of a large percentage of the population." Though Finnegan's unsourced references to purportedly substantial resources of the Kagyu order lack
perspective, the article otherwise is perhaps the most knowledgable reporting on The Karmapa's arrival yet to appear in the press. In particular, Finnigan is one of the few first wave journalists to
allude to the religious dimension of the Karmapa's relationship to his Kagyu followers across the world: "Urgyen Trinley Dorje was born into a nomad family in the village of Bakor in eastern Tibet on June 26
1985, four years after the death of the 16th Karmapa, who fled to India following the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959. . . . Magical manifestations, including triple suns, rainbows and unearthly music, are
said to have occurred as the present Karmapa was born." The full text of the story is at The Guardian website. |
South China Morning Post
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In the South China Morning Post, Rafiq Latta, using agencies, reports on The Karmapa's arrival in India in an
article misleadingly entitled 'Living Buddha' defects to Dalai Lama. The article is largely duplicative of the information
published by the Hong Kong Standard, (see below). Full text is online. |
Times of India1/7/00 |
The Times of India, in an
article sourced from Delhi by By Seema Guha and Agencies, reports from the perspective of the Indian government worried over its relations with China. "The hijack drama has hardly played itself out and
the Vajpayee government is once again confronted with potential trouble. This time with China. The arrival of a 14-year-old Tibetan monk, the third highest leader in Tibetan Buddhism, in Dharamsala may spark
a diplomatic row with Beijing.. . . . New Delhi has maintained a studied silence. However, the home ministry is likely to send a team to Dharamsala to talk to the boy-monk. So far there has been no
indication why he has come. Nor has there been any talk about him seeking refuge or political asylum." The full text of India In A Fix Over Boy-monk From Tibet
is available from the Times website. |
CBS News1/7/00 |
CBS News primarily relies on Reuters reporting, but the article packages the information from Reuters in a way which manages to
reduce The Karmapa's motivations in leaving Tibet to his wish "to find musical instruments and black hats." CBS fails to note that the Black Crown and other objects have enormous significance as lineage
objects. Such a statement indicates a lack of good news analysis. The CBS reporters do not seem to be aware that the "Black Hat" is a unique lineage object, and hence does not provide the reader with any
perspective to assess the place of those sacred objects within the history of the Kagyu lineage in Tibet and elsewhere. The full text of Tibetan Lama Flees
To India is available at the CBS News website. |
ABC News1/7/00 UPDATED |
ABC News, in an amalgam of wire and other reports, and which unfortunately includes
mistakes from those other sources, reports on the Karmapa's arrival in India in an article entitled The Flight of the Lama. (ABC on their home page also use questionable judgment in captioning
a teaser to the article as "Lama on the Lam," since retitled "China-Approved Lama Flees Tibet"). The web edition does, however, have the best map published so far online, which illustrates the arduous
journey that the Karmapa undertook to get to India. Full text
at ABC News' website. (ABC Anchor Peter Jennings reported on the story on World News Tonight's January 7, 2000 show, but
no video or audio of that report is available as of the evening of January 7.) |
Hong Kong Standard, Tibetan Exile Government1/7/00 |
The Hong Kong Standard has published an article entitled 'Living Buddha' Flees Tibet
by by Pamela Pun and Wu Zhong, reporting from Gangtok, Sikkim, India (the article is also reprinted at the
website of the Tibetan government in exile). The informed article, sourced from Gangtok, reports on official, but still very guarded, announcements
from Dharamsala: ``His Holiness Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, has arrived safely in Dharamsala, India on 5 January . . . He is currently
with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala,'' the government in exile said in an Internet statement. . . . 'He is now in India,' Tseten Samdup, spokesman of Tibetan Office in London, said but would give
no further comment." An earlier report from the Standard
at the TGE website, utilized the Gangtok sourcing of the article to provide the Standard reporters access to Rumtek Monastery spokesmen and community who indicated that they would be acting to ready themselves to support the Karmapa.
Full text. |
MSNBC
1/7/00 |
MSNBC New Services reports from Beijing, in an article entitled Top Tibetan Lama Flees to
India: 14-year-old religious leader treks over Himalayas, that "Tibet's third highest-ranking lama, the only top lama approved by China's Communist government and the Dalai Lama, has fled to India in
an epic week-long trek over the Himalayas, Tibetan sources said on Friday." Information in the article has already appeared in other reports. Notably, MSNBC relies in great part on sources from Karma Triyana
Dharmachakra. Tenzin Chonyi, the President of KTD is quoted as saying "We're all in a state of shock, but we're very joyful —not just us but the whole of the Himalayas and the world,' he said. 'Every
follower has been waiting for the chance to receive his blessing.'" However, the article is inaccurate in some details regarding current events relating to the recent Kagyu controversy. Full text
is here. |
Washington Post
, AP
1/7/00 UPDATE D |
The Washington Post, publishing an AP wire report entitled Tibetan Spiritual Leader Defects by
Laurinda Keys, provides one of the first official statements from His Holiness Dalai Lama's government in exile in Dharamsala: "He has
come,"
said Desang, Cabinet secretary in the exiled administration of the Dalai Lama, in a telephone call from Dharamsala in northern India. Desang, who uses only one name, gave no other details of the 17th Karmapa's defection." Citing "Robbie Barnett," as an "expert on Tibetan Buddhism" at Columbia University, the article briefly notes the historical importance of the Karmapa and current controversies. The
full text
is available at the Washington Post site. The AP article
(accessible for the AP's online Wire service at various news websites) by Rishi Lekhi, expands on the Post's report, further quoting opinions of Barnett, and citing unattributed reports from "Tibetans close to the Dharamsala administration, speaking on condition of anonymity," who "said the Karmapa had eluded his increasingly watchful guards by declaring his intention to go on a retreat. He and a few monks set out across the Himalayas, trekking for days along rocky paths, bordered by thorny bushes that scraped their hands. One leg of the journey was made in a jeep." See the other related AP articles also
Buddhist's Exile Spotlights Problem; China Still Has Panchen Lama. |
CNN
Reuters1/7/00 |
CNN has published a Reuters wire news story (the Reuters story by Jeremy Page is available here
) entitled Tibetan Lama Flees China To India, Sources Say, in which it is reported that China is citing the lineage
relics stored at Rumtek Monastery as the basis for His Holiness arrival in India. Reuters states that "Tibet's third highest-ranking lama, the only top lama approved by China's Communist government and
the Dalai Lama, has fled to India in an epic week-long trek through the snowbound Himalayas, Tibetan sources said on Friday. . . . Xinhua news agency did not say when or how the head of the Kagyu Sect of
Tibetan Buddhism left or where he went, but said he left behind a letter saying he did not mean to betray 'the state, the nation, the monastery or the leadership.' The letter said the boy, facing a rival
claimant to the position who was found in the north Indian state of Sikkim, had gone to get musical instruments and black hats used by previous reincarnations of the Karmapa Lama, Xinhua reported".
Full text of the article is available at CNN
and a Reuters
affiliated search website. |
BBC News1/7/00 |
The BBC News website has over six stories, including three in streaming media. The main article, entitled
Tibetan lama flees to India
is an evenhanded and knowledgeable report without byline. "The 14-year-old Karmapa Lama left his monastery in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, telling guards he was going to a hill-top retreat. He then trekked across the frozen Himalayas to reach Dharamsala, in northern India. . . . He is said to have evaded his Chinese guards in Tibet by telling them he was going on a religious retreat." The BBC report shows familiarity with Karmapa's historical importance to Tibet.
The BBC also discusses China's reaction to the departure of His Holiness: "Beijing has issued a statement saying the Karmapa left a letter explaining he was collecting religious artifacts and did not
intend to betray the Chinese state." The full text of the report
is available at the BBC News website's World-Asia-Pacific section. The website also contains an audio report from Mike Woolridge
discussing Rumtek Monastery, a video clip from BBC TV by Jim Fish
, and an
audio report by Duncan Hewitt on China's reaction. |
New York Times1/7/00 |
The New York Times
reporter Barbara Crossette in the January 7 edition reports that "one of Himalayan Buddhism's most important lamas has escaped Chinese control in a week-long, undercover flight across Tibet and Nepal, stunning and electrifying Tibetan Buddhists everywhere."
The Times
report relies on an interview with Professor Robert Thurman, holder of the Tsong Khapa Chair at Columbia University, and reflects a more political view of the Karmapa's arrival in India. Unfortunately, Crossette does not evidence a strong knowledge of the Tibetan religious orders and makes some mistakes in the
Times depiction of the Kagyu order. See the
full text of the article entitled Buddhist Leader, 14, Flees Chinese Rule In Tibet For India at the
New York Times website. |
London Telegraph1/7/00 |
The
London Telegraph
(electronic edition), in an article by David Rennie reporting from Beijing, appears to have been the first major English-language newspaper to hit the streets with this breaking story. In its January 7, 2000 edition, in a story entitled Boy Lama Flees Across Himalayas To Escape Chinese
, the Telegraph reports that "The teenage head of one of the four great sects of Tibetan Buddhism has escaped from Chinese Communist rule to India after
a trek through the Himalayas, sources said yesterday."The London Telegraph presents an informed view evidencing some grasp of the basic structure of Tibetan Buddhist religious orders. The article
also provides some details from sources (apparently in Dharamsala) that have not appeared elsewhere. Rennie states that "The 14-year-old is now recovering from his ordeal. It is not clear how he started his
900-mile journey from his remote monastery home, 30 miles north-west of the capital, Lhasa. . . . He completed the last week on foot, crossing mountain passes in heavy snow, before arriving at Dharamsala at
10.30am on Wednesday." Click here to see the full text of the story at the London Telegraph's website.The electronic Telegraph
also carries a story entitled Boy Lama Can Trace His Lineage To 1283
, providing a reasonably straightforward synopsis of the the important place of the Karmapa as the ruling lama of the Karma Kagyupa sect, one of the four great sects of Tibetan Buddhism." See the full text of the story
at the Telegraph website. |
January 5 |
Karma Triyana Dharma-
chakra
1/5/00 |
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, the seat of the Karmapa in North America, announced the arrival of His Holiness the
Seventeenth in India on January 5: "His Holiness Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, has left Tibet and arrived safely in Dharamsala, India on
January 5, at 10:30 in the morning Dharamsala time. He is currently with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. His Holiness Karmapa left Tolung Tsurphu Monastery with a handful of attendants. Their
flight from Tibet took seven days on foot." Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, the seat of His Holiness Karmapa in North America. The site contains good historical information on the Karmapa and previous Karmapas and Kagyu teachers. |
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The Nalandabodhi site also 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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