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His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa
News Archive for February 8-16, 2000
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February 16

-Songs of the XVIth Karmapa

On this slow news day, we introduce two songs of His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa. Within the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism, poetic compositions expressing realization are referred to as "lineage songs." The poetic compositions we make available express their subject with great beauty and are also said to convey the insight of the speaker into a realm difficult to express in the West. In fact, we typically describe this as a place where "words strain, crack and break," to use Eliot's phrase.

Poetic compositions are an ancient tradition within the lineage. One of the most famous collections of such realization statements has been translated into English by the Nalanda Translation Committee as The Rain of Wisdom (Shambhala 1980). The work records songs of lineage holders, represented in the lineage "tree." The Rain of Wisdom, for example, includes many songs of the Karmapa and other lineage holders, and extends back to include songs of Milarepa (certainly the most famous composer of realization songs in Tibetan history), Milarepa's teacher Marpa, Marpa's teacher Naropa, and Naropa's teacher Tilopa. The latter was born over 1,000 years ago in India. Milarepa's student was Gampopa, who in turn taught the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. 

The first of the XVIth Karmapa's songs is entitled The Song Whose Time Has Come: The Melodious Hum of the Bee. This extraordinary work, composed in 1944, predicted the flight from Tibet and, while expressing His Holiness Karmapa's sadness at being forced to leave the glorious seat of the Kagyu at Tsurphu Monastery, proclaims his intention to return:

On the day the swan circles the edge of the lake
And leaves its fledglings in the darkening swamp
The day the white vulture soars in the depths
      of the sky,
You will wonder where the man Rigdröl is.

O Fledglings, I feel untold grief for you.
Now I will not explain much; this is but a jest,
Yet unified with ultimate reality.
When the Lord of the Path is held by the
     king of birds,

In prayer I aspire that we gather in great joy.

The second song is entitled simply A Song and was composed when the Karmapa was 17, which would have been around 1940-41. According to the song itself, His Holiness was then at Palpung Monastery in Tibet, which would have been during the life of the XIth Tai Situ, Padma Wangchok. According to Douglas & White, Karmapa: The Black Hat Lama of Tibet (Luzac 1976), the XIth Situ located the 16th Karmapa and helped enthrone him at Tsurphu Monastery. In this song, the Karmapa predicts his flight to India, and supplicates Situ Rinpoche:

In the springtime, a cuckoo comes as a guest.
In the fall when the harvest ripens,
     it knows where to go:
Its only thought is travel to the east of India.
In the lofty land of Tibet, the inhabitants, high and low,

And in particular, you, Tai Situ, the Lord and
     Protector Maitreya,
Who remains above the crown of our head,
May your activities, like the sun and moon set in space,
Be continuous, stable, and without hindrance.

I pray that we meet again and again.

Both songs may be accessed from our table of contents page for Songs of the XVIth Karmapa at the site.

February 14

-The Ottawa Citizen

A recent news item in Canada was the eviction of a Member of Parliament from a function on Parliament Hill celebrating Chinese New Year (apparently sponsored by the Chinese Embassy). Robert Anders, a Reform MP, was asked to leave because he was wearing a "Free Tibet" t-shirt. For our purposes, the interesting paragraph in the piece was the following, which occurred in the background explanation of the general reasons people protest to the Chinese government over Tibetan affairs: "Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived in exile since 1959, when he fled after a failed uprising against the Chinese. From exile in India, he leads an international campaign to free his homeland. In January, he was joined by the 14-year-old Karmapa Lama, who ranks second to the Dalai Lama and who also escaped to India." At The Ottawa Citizen website.

-The Hindu

The Hindu reported on the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Ajit Kumar Panja's press conference the other day, in which he mentioned in passing the Indian government's current stand on the status of the Karmapa in India: "On granting asylum to the 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the Minister said the Government recently deputed a high- level team to interview the religious leader for ascertaining the reasons why he came here. 'On completion of this exercise, we will take a decision within the ambit of Panchasheel.'" On The Hindu website.

-AP

Three photos of the Karmapa on the roof of Gyuto monastery with The Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche, Dilhyak Drupon Rinpoche, Shastri Chime Chogyal and an another monk we cannot identify. One photo has been published elsewhere and referenced here. (Click on the smaller images to obtain a larger shot.) The AP photos are available at the Excite website.

-San Jose Mercury News

Mayank Chhaya, editor of the Indian-American weekly newspaper India Post, reports specially for the San Jose Mercury News in an article entitled Time Has Changed Little for Buddhists in Tibet. Chayya puts the Karmapa's flight in recent historical perspective, describing it at "the latest in a series of escapes from Tibet that began in 1959 when the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' spiritual and temporal leader, fled a Chinese crackdown." The article provides a solid overview about current strategic political thinking about the Dalai Lama's role for Tibetans and his future in the movement. Assessing the Karmapa's impact on China in departing, Chhaya argues that "Beyond Sino-Indian relations, the Karmapa Lama's escape neutralizes most of the international initiative that China has managed to seize on the Tibetan question over the past 40 years. Informal comments coming out of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India say that the flight vindicates their consistent position that despite China's claims to the contrary, the situation in Tibet has only worsened."

Clearly, Chhaya does not fall into the camp of those who view China as having played some role in the Karmapa's exit, a view which should have lost all its luster some time ago. Chayya's bottom line on the Karmapa's impact: "there are those who believe that in the Information Age it is immaterial where the Dalai Lama or the Karmapa Lama are based, as long as they can keep up the international pressure on China together. After all, two lamas are better than one, even if one is just a 14-year-old boy." Full text is available at the San Jose Mercury News website.

-CNN/ AsiaWeek

AsiaWeek reports in a capsule summary that the "young" Karmapa "obviously knows how to handle touchy diplomatic situations. It's almost like he has done it before." Alluding to questions raised by critics regarding purported rivalries and questions over his ties to China, AsiaWeek applauded the Karmapa's deft diplomatic responses in paying due obeisance to the Dalai Lama "as the highest Buddhist spiritual leader" and in not hesitating "to alienate his former host, China, when he identified individual freedom as the prerequisite for world unity." At the CNN/AsiaWeek site.

- The Times of India

Jagdish Bhatt of the Times of India reports in an article entitled Security Is Tight For Karmapa's Audiences that "The veil of secrecy and mysticism woven round the 17th Karmapa by the Tibetan government-in-exile, Tai Situ Rimpoche and the intelligence agencies has now been lifted, albeit partially, with the 14-year-old now allowed to meet the general public." Bhatt has expressed displeasure before at the way the Tibet exile government was treating the press. In addition to criticizing the restrictions on Karmapa's ability to speak to the press, Bhatt  also reports on a couple of interesting points. He says that the decision to allow the Karmapa to have limited audiences was a response to repeated requests by visitors. In one incident, two women who had flown in specifically from Argentina were refused permission to see His Holiness and subsequently "broke down at Gyuto temple."

Bhatt also reports that Thrangu Rinpoche, "highly revered Lama who was teacher also to all the four regents of Rumt[e]k - Tai Situ, Gyalt[s]ab, Jamgon and Shamar [Rinpoches] - who were close disciples of the 16th Rimpoche, is the tutor of the Karmapa at the Gyuto Ramoche temple.''  Full text available at the The Times of India website.

-The Statesman

In what is labeled an "editorial story" entitled GREAT ESCAPE India Must Give Karmapa Asylum, SR Nanda of The Statesman opines at length on reasons for granting asylum to the Karmapa. There are a few inaccuracies in the editorial, such as an allusion to Reting Rinpoche as an "incarnation of the Dalai Lama," and even a new conspiracy theory, this time between the Dalai Lama and the CIA. However, we have to be frank: we simply cannot really follow this rambling discourse. It is available for reading at The Statesman's new-tech website.

-Indian Express op-ed

Arvind Kala, in an Indian Express op-ed entitled  Let The Boy Lama Stay, argues that "India's seeming discomfort in granting political asylum to the 14-year-old Karmapa seems truly odd from a government packed with ministers who themselves suffered political persecution. Nearly all of them, including Atal Behari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, and George Fernandes, were locked up during 20 months of Indira Gandhi's emergency rule in 1975." He contends that granting asylum to the Karmapa is mandated both by India's own traditions, evidenced by Jawaharlal Nehru's unhesitating acceptance of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan refugees, as well as by the traditions of the "world's democracies [which] unhesitatingly provide shelter to refugees fleeing political or religious persecution," warning that  "India shouldn't violate this long-cherished tradition."

Chinese pressure, he points out, is typically ignored by countries that disagree with China's human rights policies, and those countries are still able to maintain good relations with China on other issues. He reasons that a failure to grant asylum will not only harm India's standing as a democratic country, but may also subject India to an assault on its economic well-being, by those who would object to such callous behavior. By any measure, he concludes, India should not be swayed by foreign relations issues or politics."The case of the Karmapa, however, is not a political or foreign relations issue. It's an issue of human rights." Full text at the Indian Express web site.

-Nepal News

WTN has reprinted a story which we think originated from the BBC sourcing a "Nepal News web site" which indicate that the Communist Party of Nepal is accusing unnamed government officials in Nepal of illegally helping the Karmapa escape from Tibet through Nepal. These objections may indicate pressure being exerted on the CPN from somewhere else. At the WTN site.

- Time for Kids

We have belatedly happened upon a nice offering for parents seeking to enlighten their children; the online edition of Time for Kids has an article about the Karmapa's escape written for the younger set. Entitled Escape from Tibet: A religious leader, only 14 years old, leaves his homeland in search of freedom , the article includes some nice touches, such as pronunciation guides for Karmapa "(car-mah-pah)" and Dalai Lama (doll-eye lah-mah)." The moral of the story: "The Karmapa's escape showed Chinese leaders that Tibet's people will not give up their fight to have freedom of religion and speech." Available at the Time for Kids site at Pathfinder.

-Salt Lake Tribune

The Salt Lake Tribune last week published a nice photograph of His Holiness. Dilhyak Drupon Rinpoche is on the far right. At the Salt Lake Tribune website.

February 10-13

-The Statesman

At a news conference, Shamar Rinpoche has escalated his rhetoric to dazzling heights, this time warning that allowing His Holiness Karmapa to return to Rumtek would turn Sikkim into another Kashmir. (For those unfamiliar with the Kashmir situation, the CBC published a nice analysis titled Fighting for Kashmir, which explains the British Partition of 1947 and problems arising therefrom.)

Shamar Rinpoche's theory is the Karmapa has come to India as an agent of China to arouse the Sikkimese to revolt against India. Unlike the Pakistani support for the predominately Muslim population of Kashmir, the current government of China has no connection to the people of Sikkim, who are predominately Buddhist and Hindu. Apparently, Shamar Rinpoche wants us to believe that they are so unhappy with their religious freedoms that they are clamoring to become Communist. (Admittedly, given the "lama wars" led by Shamar Rinpoche -- as it has been called by segments of the press -- this option looks more and more enticing by the day.)

According to Shamar Rinpoche, the Karmapa is effectively a Communist agent whose escape is a prearranged ploy. So anxious, apparently, is the Chinese government to get its hands on the princely state of Sikkim, (70 miles by 40 miles in size) that it is willing to allow everyone to think it is easy to escape China nowadays, and to that end mobilize its entire police and security apparatus to counter the extreme international embarrassment and internal security emergency caused by the Karmapa's flight. After all, Willy Wo-Lap Lam in the South China Morning Post did just confirm (with only a hint of sarcasm) that the Chinese government believes it can still manage Tibet despite the Karmapa's flight, even while evidencing so much nervousness about the Falun Gong movement that President Jiang Zemin has compared the security risk of the "quasi-Buddhist" Falun Gong sect to that of Solidarity, the democratic movement which led to the downfall of communism in Poland.

According to Shamarpa, then, China's plan was to encourage His Holiness to make his daring flight to freedom, into the arms of its most ardent Tibetan antagonist, the Dalai Lama, despite the religious movments in current China which the government appears to consider the single-most threatening development in recent years. China apparently prioritizes above its internal security interests its "secret plan" to have the 14 year old spy lead Sikkim's 400,000 residents, armed with state of the art bolt-action, single-shot rifles, against the billion citizens of India, armed with nuclear weapons. How does Shamar Rinpoche explain the Sikkimese people's willingness to turn Sikkim into another Kashmir? According to The Statesman, "Shamarpa alleged that the Karmapa had come with an 'assurance' for the people of Sikkim that China would support their fight for independence if he was allowed to head Rumtek." Good luck people of Sikkim.

In early 1997, Shamar Rinpoche approached the Dalai Lama and acknowledged His Holiness Karmapa's enthronement in Tsurphu, but pleaded that he be allowed to lead the Kagyu in India. See correspondence between Office of Tibet and Shamar Rinpoche dated 3 & 7 February, 1997. He has repeatedly stated that he respects the Karmapa but believes he is entitled  to be recognized only in Tibet. Shamar Rinpoche has asked that his truthful acknowledgment of the Karmapa in Tibet form a basis for believing he is willing to "compromise" on his views for the good of the Kagyu order. The Dalai Lama did not take up in any way this purported offer of compromise.

Despite his claimed willingness to accept the 14 year-old Karmapa, Shamarpa continues to raise Chinese agency theories about the Karmapa's intentions. It is primarily for this reason that he and his allies have earned the title of the "anti-Karmapa faction." Full text of the article at The Statesman's new-tech website.

- ABC News

In an article entitled Trading One Cage for Another: Karmapa Kept Segregated From Others, the ABC News Network reports growing concern that the security arrangements for the Karmapa are in effect forcing him to stay under "virtual house arrest." Authorities have begun to allow him to see some visitors, but he is precluded from his traditional role of administering blessings and greetings. Typically in Tibetan practice, one offers a scarf, or kata, as a sign of veneration (an excellent article by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray entitled " Only the Himalaya Greats Improvise With This Scarf appears to be intermittently available at the International Herald Tribune on this practice; search the site for "khada"), and one may also receive a touch on the head from the teacher as a blessing. Because of security concerns, however, His Holiness is cordoned off when meeting visitors, so even those who are allowed to briefly see him are precluded from participating in the ceremonial exchange of greeting.

ABC News notes that there are ample reasons for security, but also raises the question as to whether the Tibetan government in exile is doing enough to work through these restrictions, noting some concerns about past friction between different Tibetan groups. Certainly public figures are protected all over the world in ways which leave them more freedom to conduct their regular activities. In this regard, given that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has so strongly supported His Holiness Karmapa's arrival in India, we again wonder whether the decision noted below of the Dalai Lama to absent himself from traditional Tibetan New Years ceremonies is his own subtle message of concern about restrictions on the Karmapa. 

In any case, the ABC News report, which follows so closely on the report in The Australian, indicates that the press is watching this story closely. For the time being, outlets may be muting their reporting on this story because of an understanding of the great difficulties of the security forces in ensuring that so public a figure as the Karmapa is well protected, particularly in view of specific threats against him. Full text of the ABC News report available online.

-The Australian

Times of India

In a remarkably insightful article, Lynne O'Donnell, China Correspondent for The Australian , writes that His Holiness Karmapa's recently written poem, A Joyful Aspiration:  Sweet Melody for Fortunate Ones , "holds a potentially explosive political message for his followers and for the Chinese authorities as they struggle to respond to his unexpected flight." By praising the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa would probably be in violation of Chinese law were he still in Tibet. His reference to the shadow side of the mountains also alludes to a darkness that the rulers of Tibet do not like to acknowledge.

O'Donnell writes that "The publication of the poem deals another subtle blow to China's hopes of grooming the boy as a Living Buddha, schooled in Communist Party doctrine and providing a 'patriotic' counterweight to the Dalai Lama." O'Donnell provides an amusing quote from Robbie Barnett, a founder of the Tibetan Information Network: "He represented the legitimacy of Chinese policy in Tibet, but the emperor's clothes just got up and walked across a mountain, leaving the emperor stark naked."

One ironic point of the poem also strikes the reader of the article. O'Donnell notes that "The freedom Tibetan exiles have to pursue their religion and culture is eulogised in a reference to India as 'a lovely park where fortunate disciples are free of bias'." The irony here is that the "park" has been closed to the Karmapa for many weeks now. Constantly surrounded by security guards, barred from speaking with the press, severely limited in talking to disciples, the Karmapa is a virtual prisoner in India. While it made sense for a little while for the security agencies to ensure the Karmapa's safety, there comes a time -- approaching rapidly if not already behind us -- when security becomes a synonym for captivity. 

So cautious has been the government of India, that the Times of India today quotes a Chinese foreign ministry source as saying that "We are satisfied with the response of the Indian government on the Karmapa Lama issue."  A former Ambassador is further quoted as praising India's approach: "I think that is much appreciated (in China). If we continue the present approach, the Karmapa Lama issue will not impede Sino-Indian relations." We trust that the Dharamsala-based Tibetan government-in-exile is also lobbying hard to get these restrictions lifted, given that they seem so antithetical to the mission of the Dalai Lama's government.

We suspect that journalists in addition to O'Donnell will continue to notice the restrictions on His Holiness, and soon begin to comment in the press as to whether the restrictions on the Karmapa are excessive. We would expect to see very soon at least some gesture from the government of India, such as permission for the Karmapa to go to Sherab Ling monastery to study with his main teacher. Shortly thereafter, his ability to see disciples must be resolved in some way, as the world is clamoring for contact with this "spiritual hero," as he was recently labeled in the South China Morning Post .

The poem A Joyful Aspiration:  Sweet Melody for Fortunate Ones is available at this site, as well as at the Karmapa's U.S. seat. The article in the The Australian is available at the WTN site.

February 6-9

-CNN streaming video

CNN

MSNBC

South China Morning Post/AP

AFP

Tribune (India)

CNN's streaming video report shows His Holiness Karmapa leaving the retreat residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Tibetan New Year. The Tribune reports the meeting lasted an hour. Also shown is the same clip as in the BBC video showing His Holiness on the roof of the Gyuto Monastery waving to the crowd. In the background appear to be Shastri Chime Chogyal and Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche. In the accompanying narration, CNN's Kasra Naji notes the significance of His Holiness Karmapa's recent gesture of praise for the Dalai Lama, expressing his wish that all Tibetans would return to Tibet under the leadership of His Holiness Dalai Lama. Naji opines that the Karmapa's public statement acknowledging the Dalai Lama as the "leader of the Tibetan Buddhist movement" is seen as the Karmapa's "clear and public break from China, which does not recognize the Dalai Lama."  This view is seconded by the AFP wire service report.

These statements, combined with the resolutions of His Holiness administration recently made public, may signal a determination by His Holiness Karmapa's supporters to make their position clear despite the prohibition on the Karmapa's speech, and the speech of his supporters such as Tai Situ Rinpoche. This prohibition is apparently enforced by the exile government as much as by the Indian government. In the resolution, the Tsurphu Labrang on behalf of His Holiness praises the Dalai Lama, and go on to make specific requests of the Tibetan exile government. Reading between the lines, we might speculate that the Labrang is not happy with the less than forceful position of the exile government, which fails to fully implement His Holiness Dalai Lama's prior decisions and wishes. Spokesmen for the government are specifically requested to reiterate the Dalai Lama's oft-expressed decision that the Karmapa succession issue is settled, no matter how much trouble the anti-Karmapa faction stirs up. The assembly also states that His Holiness' wish is to return to Rumtek  Monastery, the traditional seat in exile for the Kagyu, and asks the government in exile to expend more effort in assisting the Karmapa in achieving that goal.

MSNBC and CNN both noted that "it is unusual for the Dalai Lama to miss the annual blessing. His aides have not explained why he scheduled his nearly three-month retreat for the period covering the New Year's celebration." One might speculate that His Holiness is making a subtle gesture to the exile government regarding the importance of the exile government's support for the Karmapa's stay in India. Or, it may be only that the Dalai Lama cannot make public appearances under the strictures of retreat.

Naji notes that there is much interest in the human relationship between the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa. "The two religious leaders are described by those close to them as having formed an immediate bond and sharing a playful spirit as well as the hope their people will soon be free." CNN, AP and MSNBC incorrectly report this as the fifth meeting between the two since Karmapa' arrival, when it appears to be the sixth meeting. Full text of the CNN and MSNBC reports are available online.

February 4-7

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated February 4-7, 2000

January 28-February 4

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 28-February 4, 2000

January 24-27

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 24-27, 2000

January 22-23

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 22-23, 2000

January 20-22

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 20-22, 2000

January 18-19

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 18-19, 2000

January 15-17

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 15-17, 2000

January 12-14

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 12-14, 2000

January 11

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 11, 2000

January 10

Click here to go to the news archive containing references to articles on His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa dated January 10, 2000

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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