A question of evidence, part II: The Songs of the Sixteenth Karmapa. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa wrote a number of songs, two of which we previously posted in English translation. We post today a third song in translation, in light of the publication of Thrangu Rinpoche's recent comments about the theological evidence on which he based his personal confirmation of the the self-identification of the Seventeenth Karmapa. We think it appropriate to revisit these works now in view of the recent interest in the issues of theological evidence which were part of the confirmation process for the Seventeenth Karmapa.

A Song, written by the Sixteenth Karmapa when he was 17 (approximately 1941), foretells his flight from Tibet to India, and his close connection to  Tai Situ Rinpoche. The Song Whose Time Has Come: The Melodious Hum of the Bee, written by His Holiness in 1944, also foretells his departure from Tibet and speaks of His Holiness Karmapa's great sadness in leaving his many disciples in Tibet. It predicts that the Karmapa will return to his seat in Tsurphu, Tibet to care for his disciples. The Blissful Roar of Melodious Experience, apparently was written and published in 1961 in Sikkim. It expresses the Karmapa's deep connection to the Dalai Lama.

The songs posted here were translated into English by Michelle Martin under the guidance of Thrangu Rinpoche. Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary in the footnotes to these letters is compelling. The argument in the  interview of Thrangu Rinpoche further clarifies the meaning of these songs: since it was clear to those who lived with the Sixteenth Karmapa that he did not intend to return to Tibet, his predictions in these songs refer to the activity of the Seventeenth Karmapa. Thus, the songs can be read as foretelling the Seventeenth Karmapa's return to Tsurphu and that his lineage teacher would be His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche, and expressing the Karmapa's deep respect and reverence for the Dalai Lama, speaking of joint work together to bring the people of Tibet, and the whole "vast universe" of sentient beings, "into joy":

May you [the Dalai Lama, reign] as the three Dharma kings with
     Dharma and worldly power entwined in a silken knot.
How joyful, how happy are sentient beings.
The teaching of the Buddha spreads;
The sangha holds its head high; the honeyed
     rain of Dharma falls,
And the world of living beings is brought into happiness.

Through they prize happiness, sentient beings in
     number as vast as space gather only suffering.
With the first moment of self-awareness, comes
     freedom from the net of the three realms.
Let us bring the vast universe into joy–-that is called
     true peace.
From the expanse of the inexpressible nada
     sprang this joyous song.
Let us join in a happy dance, graced with the
     melody of delight.

From The Blissful Roar of Melodious Experience, by the Sixteenth Karmapa (translated by Michelle Martin).

These songs are indisputably authored by the Sixteenth Karmapa. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, one of the greatest living teachers of the Kagyu lineage, the tutor appointed by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa as the educator of the lineage figures in Rumtek and head abbot of the shedra, reminds us that these songs serve as striking predictions by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa of the activity of His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa.

Beijing Policy on the Karmapa. Since HH Karmapa's escape from Tibet, Beijing has for external public consumption minimized the importance of the Karmapa's departure, while internally engaging in numerous actions in Tibet which indicate that the Karmapa's departure was a major defeat for its Tibet policy. A top official approved by Beijing from the "Tibetan Autonomous Region," or "TAR," for short, is reported by Xinhua, the official news agency of China, as expressing the view that he did not know why the Karmapa left Tibet, and hoped to see him return soon. (Xinhua and other releases can be accessed from BBC Monitoring Reports available through, inter alia, the Economist website). The official made the statements in Washington, D.C., perhaps on his way to the United Nations Millenium Conference.

However, the United States Department of State in the Tibet section of its 2000 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom describes the internal reality in different terms: "In January 2000, officials closed the Tsurphu monastery (the home of the Karmapa, the highest ranking lama of Tibetan Buddhism's Karma Kargyu school) to visitors after the Karmapa's flight to India. Many other persons, including lay persons, were questioned in connection with the Karmapa's escape. There were reports that several high ranking TAR officials were called to Beijing after the escape to account for their actions. According to the Tibet Information Network (TIN), authorities replaced monks on the monastic management committee at Tsurphu after the Karmapa's escape, while other monks were admonished to improve their 'political attitudes' or face further 'patriotic education' sessions. Officials and monks at the monastery reportedly were under investigation by the authorities. The dramatic departure of the Karmapa added to tensions and increased the authorities' efforts to control monastic activity in the TAR." The report continues with numerous descriptions of the impact of the Karmapa's departure on Beijing policy in Tibet.

An international wave of news articles was triggered by a report from the Tibetan Information Network entitled "Religious Crackdown Intensifies in Lhasa," describing house to house searches for forbidden pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and a series of removals of monastics through expulsions of monks and orders to government workers to withdraw offspring from monasteries. TIN argues that "The implementation of even stricter measures against religious practice in the TAR may be a result of concern among regional leaders and high-level Party officials in Beijing about the failure of religious and security policies in Tibet, particularly following the escape of the 17^th Karmapa into exile in January. The defection of the now 15-year old Karmapa, who was being groomed by the Party as a 'patriotic' figure in an attempt to legitimise religious policy in Tibet, was a severe embarrassment to Beijing, and the position of Tibet's Party Secretary Chen Kuiyuan is reported to have been called into question as a result." 

Numerous articles published widely in different outlets point to actions by Beijing authorities confirm that that authorities in the "TAR" have not exactly been sanguine about HH Karmapa's departure from Tibet. The major international wire services, Associated Press, Agence France Presse and Tribune News Services, point to the escape of the Karmapa as one of the motivations for a number of actions by Tibetan authorities in enforcing China's anti-Dalai Lama policies. Agence France Presse in a series of August wire reports pointed to the Karmapa's escape as a motive in a number of punitive moves by Tibetan authorities, including removal of Agya Lobsang Thubten Gyurme Gyatso from the standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, dismissal of Tibetan tour guides, pressures on Nepal to close the border point allegedly used by His Holiness Karmapa to make his escape, and the expulsion from Tibet of representatives of the Tibet Heritage Fund.

Despite this overwhelming evidence that the escape of the Karmapa was a major blow to China's Tibet policy, observers of the Indian political scene suggest there still remains a segment of the Indian bureaucracy which, in defiance of rational basis, contends that the Karmapa's escape was not authentic but is rather some part of a Chinese conspiracy. Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, writing for the Indian financial daily Business Line about the importance of the Dalai Lama to India in "The Politics of Peace," explains the incongruency of this view as follows: "On the contrary, whispers in New Delhi's corridors of power that the Karmapa Lama's flight might have been staged can only cast aspersions on the Dalai Lama's integrity and harm India's own long-term prospects. . . . The conspiracy theory is that being anxious to make his peace with Beijing, the Dalai Lama colluded in the Karmapa Lama's escape so that a Chinese protege could gain control of Rumtek. Anyone who knows the Dalai Lama would recognise this as an outrageous insult born of ignorance and malice. If he had been prepared to come to terms, he could have done so long ago with far less publicity. His commitment to Buddhism and Tibet is too great for such pusillanimity."

The ability of this segment of the Indian government bureaucracy to make itself heard in the Indian news media has resulted in a kind of schizophrenia at the venerable Times of India. In some articles, the Times joins the the worldwide and almost unanimous view that the Karmapa's escape from Tibet was a severe blow to China, reporting, for example, that "China will close its only land route from Tibet to Nepal on Friday in the wake of reports that Beijing does not want Kathmandu to give asylum to Tibetan refugees. .  . China's action comes after the 17th Karmapa Lama's escape from Tibet to Dharamsala earlier this year." Times of India . In other articles, however the Times News Service seems overcome by some version of Datta-Ray's "conspiracy theory." Thus, it reports without comment on groups in India "urging the Centre not to yield to the pressures exerted by the pro-Chinese groups supporting [the Karmapa] and to send him back to Tibet." Times of India.

Taking  the Chinese conspiracy view seriously reminds us of the joke that the term "intelligence services" is an oxymoron. While these factions quarrel about His Holiness Karmapa, the remainder of the world waits for the Indian centre to normalize Karmapa's status in India and allow him to take up his seat in Sikkim. The articles and reports are available at the respective websites of the 2000 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom,  Associated Press, Agence France Presse and Tribune News Services, Tibetan Information Network Business Line, Times of India and, Times of India.

New York Times on the International Kagyu Conference. The New York Times, Sunday edition, under the byline of Barbara Crossette, reports on the International Kagyu Conference in Dharamsala. "Representatives of a major Buddhist order have petitioned the Indian government to grant asylum and freedom of movement to their 15-year-old leader, the Karmapa, who remains under virtual house arrest at a monastery in northern India eight months after fleeing Tibet. . . . The young religious leader, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, is recognized by Buddhists of the Kagyu school -- one of four main branches of Tibetan Buddhism -- as their leading reincarnated lama, or teacher." 

A group photo of some of the main participants in the the Kagyu Conference with His Holiness Dalai Lama and the Karmapa have been posted at a website entitled "United Karma Kagyu Federation."

The Times notes that Chief Minister Pawan Chamling of Sikkim has also asked Dehli to expedite its decision and allow the Karmapa to take his seat in Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim without delay. The Hindu also reports on Chamling's meetings with New Delhi regarding the Karmapa situation: "Sikkim has once again requested the Centre to take an "early action" on enthronement of the 17th Karmapa to the Rumtek Monastery in the State. Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling who met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday [August 24] in New Delhi urged him to expedite the enthronement of Urgen Thinley Dorjee, recognised as the 17th Karmapa by Dalai Lama, at his 'original seat' in the Rumtek Monastery, official sources said today ." The Gangtok Times reports that Chamling previously met with Home Minister Advani, and upon his return, stated that "On his arrival back Mr. Chamling was enthused about the quick resolution of the Karmapa crisis and said that the Karmapa would be brought to Rumtek in the very near future."

The interest of the The New York Times in the Karmapa's ability to move freely in India and travel outside India reflects the continuing world wide attention being paid to the decision by the central government of India regarding the Karmapa. The Times points out that the Karmapa has many followers in the United States who very much wish that the Karmapa may visit the United States soon, and that India appears to be bowing to pressure from China.

We note that Prime Minister Vajpayee is slated to arrive in the United States in September for a state visit. India Express. It would be a  statement of India's independence and a welcome gesture signifying the growing cultural ties between India and North America if the Indian Prime Minister were to be able to announce a resolution of the Karmapa status issue during his visit to the U.S.

The Kagyu Conference: a report from our own correspondent in Dharamsala:

Dharamsala, India 23 August, 2000--Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj are the locations of the Third International Kagyu Conference, held here for the first time at the temporary residence of His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, spiritual leader of the Kagyu Order, at Gyuto Monastery, where Karmapa has been staying since his breathtaking escape from India in January. This correspondent arrived here after a long plane ride and overnight sojourn by bus, where I found myself in the bustling hill station with over 400 other delegates. The goal of the conference was for members of the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism to meet together to present themselves to His Holiness and to supplicate him to travel to teach and lead his students around the world, to thank the country of India and His Holiness Dalai Lama for hosting the Karmapa, and to offer their support to the Karmapa and his hosts as the Karmapa fulfills his role in leading the Kagyu order around the world.

The Karmapas have through history engaged in magnificent and beneficial activities far and wide to benefit beings, both in Tibet and throughout Asia. In the last decades, the Karmapa has traveled throughout the world and established centers across the globe. Throughout history, the residences of the Karmapas, the "seats," of the Karmapas, have supported and aided the Karmapas in their activity, providing the base from which the Karmapa's activity could expand to the rest of the world. The main seat of the Karmapa, in Tsurphu, was established in the Twelfth Century. Subsequent seats in Tibet were established in Kampo Gangra (Lithang) and Karma Gön.  A Kagyu presence and monastic institutions were established in Sikkim in the Sixteenth Century, and the monastery in Rumtek, Sikkim was to become the seat of the Karmapa in exile in the 1950's when the Karmapa fled Tibet for the first time this century.

Thus members of the Kagyu order worldwide came to the conference to request His Holiness Karmapa to establish himself at his seat in exile in Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India, from whence the Kagyu faithful will further supplicate him to fulfill the activities of the Karmapas. Participants in the conference thanked the Karmapa's hosts for their support for His Holiness since his arrival in India, and went on to express the sense of the Kagyu Order to the government of India. To that end, delegates at the conference sought to pass a series of resolutions addressed to the government to express the sense of the Kagyu Order.

All delegates appeared to be unified in the view that it would be of great benefit not only to India but to the world, not only to Buddhists to but to all religions and all peoples, to facilitate the travel of His Holiness Karmapa to his seat in Rumtek, from where he could then travel to other Kagyu and Buddhist religious centers in India, Asia and throughout the world, to teach and transmit the wisdom of the Kagyu lineage the world over. Some religions might call the Karmapa an avatar. If this is so, the responsibility for supporting His Holiness Karmapa rests not only with the Kagyu Order, but with all those of any religion or persuasion who wish to benefit beings.

The conference was held in the large shrine room of Gyuto Monastery, a monastery newly built under the auspices of HH Dalai Lama at the foot of the valley below Dharamsala. This monastery also serves as the temporary residence for HH Karmapa in Dharamsala. The daily 45 minute taxi trip up and down the mountain to the conference is harrowing. Danger is always present traveling on small mountain roads. Fortunately, the weather has been good during the conference, with the exception of the daily monsoon downpour for 30 minutes in the afternoon.

The conference was well attended – 300-400 participants from all over the world representing numerous dharma centers, monasteries and Buddhist organizations. Delegates were present from India, Taiwan, Malaysia, United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Spain, France, Holland, Australia, the Philippines, and many other countries. About a third were Rinpoches, Lamas and monks: maroon everywhere.

The first day included opening liturgies, a blessing by HH Karmapa, and speeches by HE Tai Situ Rinpoche, HE Gyaltsap Rinpoche, and a number of speakers here in India involved in the planning for the return of His Holiness Karmapa to Rumtek. The second and third days were devoted to a discussion of differing resolutions, followed by voting by the delegates for the final versions of the resolutions, which, if passed, were to be presented to the Indian government in Delhi. The delegates were clearly a group with great devotion to HH Karmapa. After vigorous debate about the wording of the resolutions, the conference delegates came together in support of many final resolutions, which were unanimously approved. Seven delegates, including representatives from Sikkim, were chosen to return to New Delhi to present the results of the conference to representatives of the Indian government.

The logistics of the conference were themselves an enormous project, involving housing and transportation, lunch and dinner at the monastery for so many people, and the many details of running such a large conference for four days. The organizers did a marvelous job, and there were many humorous moments as the large, culturally diverse group overcame obstacles of differing languages, timing for the tea breaks and other pauses, and cultural diversity.

The final day was truly momentous. In the morning we all met with HH Dalai Lama at his monastery. He gave an hour long dharma talk and expressed his support of the conference and goals. HH Karmapa was also there, and seeing them together was inspiring. The talk was followed by a blessing and extended photo opportunities of HH Dalai Lama and HH Karmapa together with the delegates. Then, after lunch, HH Karmapa gave a long life empowerment to the group back at Gyuto, which included a dharma talk and expression of appreciation for the worldwide support for his return to Rumtek, followed by another blessing and more photo sessions.

In his dharma teaching, His Holiness Karmapa indicated that he had been in Dharamsala for eight months, and during that time so many requests to visit different centers had been made that it seemed he would have to split into pieces to fulfill them all. Thus, His Holiness emphasized strongly that the time had come for him to begin his visits to his centers throughout the world.

The Karmapa explained that His Holiness the Dalai Lama, while born in Tibet, had become widely active outside of Tibet and throughout the world, and now was a world religious leader. Through the power and foresight of the lineage and lineage masters, His Holiness Karmapa had come to bear the name "Karmapa." That name, "Karmapa," carries with it many responsibilities, fortunately coupled with much strength and limitless blessings. The duties of the Karmapa are to be fulfilled within the lands in which Guru Padmasambhava set foot and throughout the world. His Holiness indicated strongly that he should begin that activity now.

His Holiness thanked the representatives from over thirty countries who had come to express their support and their views, and prayed that their dharma activities flourish and that all sentient beings become free from all lower realms of existence and be established in the liberated state. He encouraged them to continue their beneficial activities worldwide. He noted that the purpose of the dharma is to educate beings in moral and beneficent conduct, and urged practitioners of the dharma to set a good example and provide a sense of tremendous presence.

In conclusion, His Holiness voiced his heartfelt aspiration and prayed that all beings experience happiness and freedom from suffering. He described the masters of the lineage as like the sun and moon, praying that their activities spread. He wished for a life free of obstacles for all teachers upholding the dharma and for members of the sangha. The Karmapa prayed further for the success of those in any field of endeavor, and aspired that he or she keep their resolve to practice and follow the dharma, and that they may pass through all the stages of the path and realize the state of primordial wisdom. He requested the audience that once they attained that state of wisdom, that they not remain there, but return to samsara to benefit beings in the myriad ways as befits the needs of each being. Finally, he invoked the power of the truth of unquestionable interdependence, of the blessings of the lineage masters, of the accomplishment of practice deities, of the activity of wisdom-eye protectors, and of the common bond between all practitioners, to support his prayer for the end to all conflict.

-UPDATED August 24th

Tribune

The Times of India

Deccan Herald

The Times of India

The Hindu

Deccan Herald

The Statesman

Gangtok Times

All India News

Gangtok Times

Tribune

Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times

The Times of India

Hindustan Times

BBC News

Agence France Presse

Agence France Presse

International Kagyu Conference convenes in Dharamsala. In January, the daring escape from Tibet of a fourteen year old boy across the rugged mountains of the Himalayas electrified the world. The peoples of all nations outside the Tibetan community suddenly were introduced to His Holiness, the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa. Since then, His Holiness has remained in Dharamsala, India, available only to those who could make the long journey there and indirectly, through hundreds of articles in the electronic and print media. With the convening of the Third International Kagyu Conference in Dharamsala, there are signs that His Holiness will soon begin traveling throughout India, and then the rest of the world.

Representatives of the Kagyu church from across the globe are now in Dharamsala, to meet with His Holiness the Karmapa. Since His Holiness slipped through the tight security of his Chinese overseers to seek refuge in India, international media outlets have followed his activities, but there has been little attention to the Karmapa's millions of followers worldwide. Now, members of the Kagyu faithful from throughout the world have been granted permission by the government to meet at an International Kagyu Conference in Dharamsala, where His Holiness is located. In particular, representatives from the Himalayan states of India, including Sikkim, where the Karmapa has many faithful, were said to be in great abundance at the conference.

The Karmapa is head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, and although Dharamsala is the home of the His Holiness Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, Dharamsala is not the home to any major Kagyu institutions. Gyuto Monastery is not a Kagyu monastery. In order for the Karmapa to be able to minister freely to his primary disciples, he will first take up his residence at the traditional seat of the Karmapas in India in Rumtek and then travel to the numerous Kagyu centers located throughout the world. The meeting of hundreds of representatives of Kagyu churches from all over the world is a powerful indicator that His Holiness is readying himself to begin the magnificently beneficent globe-trotting activity of his predecessor, the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa.

Early reports indicate that Dharamsala is now hosting hundreds of representatives of hundreds of Kagyu churches throughout the world, a voice for the estimated millions of members of the Kagyu school worldwide. According to August 16 reports in the Tribune, Times of India and the Deccan Herald, the Kagyu school "has convened a three-day international Kagyu conference in Dharamsala . . . ." The Tribune describes the purpose of the meeting as follows: "At least 400 of his followers from all over the world will meet at the Gyuto monastery, where the Karmapa has been residing. 'The followers of the Karmapa are meeting to repose faith in New Delhi and request the Indian authorities to formally resolve the matter [of the Karmapa's legal status in India.]'" One of the strongest delegations are from Sikkim, India, where the Sixteenth Karmapa lived for so many years at Rumtek Monastery.

The delegates are meeting to see His Holiness Karmapa, the leader of the Kagyu Order, and to plan for the arrival of His Holiness in Rumtek, and for his subsequent travels throughout the world. Representatives are also scheduled to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, members of the central government of India and members of the government of Tibet in exile to discuss how to facilitate the education and support of His Holiness in India.

One of the first orders of business was to plan for the Karmapa to come to Rumtek Monastery, in Sikkim, India. The Times of India, The Hindu , Deccan Herald. Sikkim has been a traditional home for the disciples of the Karmapas for many centuries. In the Sixteenth Century, representatives of the Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje, at the invitation of the King of Sikkim, founded a Karmapa monastery in Rumtek. After the Sixteenth Karmapa fled Tibet in the 1950s, he came to reside at that monastery, eventually building a new monastic center within walking distance of the old buildings, the "new Rumtek Monastery."

The Sixteenth Karmapa became the first Karmapa to travel widely outside Asia, and he visited and established Kagyu centers throughout the world in order to minister to the millions of Kagyu adherents, now located on virtually every continent in the world. Members of the Kagyu conference are here largely as a result of the activity of the Sixteenth Karmapa.

Representatives of the Kagyu order are gathering to prepare for the imminent decision of the central government of India to allow the Karmapa to return to his seat at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, and to prepare for his travels throughout the rest of the world. The administration of the Karmapa says that the Karmapa awaits a decision by the central government concerning his legal status before he begins to visit his churches.

Since arriving in India after his spectacular flight from his Chinese overseers, the Seventeenth Karmapa has not been allowed to travel because his legal status has not been formally set by the central government, although informal indications that the Karmapa may remain in India have been provided some time ago. As a consequence, His Holiness has stayed at Gyuto monastery, near Dharamsala. He has not taken up residence yet at the traditional Indian seat of the Karmapas in Rumtek. He has not visited the nearby Sherab Ling Monastery of his lineage teacher, H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche.  Though visitors from all over the world have poured into Dharamsala, upon completion of legal formalities, the Seventeenth Karmapa is expected to continue the important role of the Karmapas in serving as the leader of the Kagyus to visit Kagyu disciples throughout the world, and also to act as an ambassador to other churches and world faiths, by traveling widely.

Press reports indicate that the people of Sikkim have themselves been engaged in preparing for the arrival of His Holiness, and recently have petitioned the Indian government to allow His Holiness Karmapa to take up his seat at the Rumtek Monastery soon. PTI, in the The Statesman, and the Gangtok Times reported in July that a delegation of 100 senior monks, representing all the major Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim, called upon Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, head of the government in Sikkim. According to the report, Chief Minister Chamling concluded from the meeting that "99 percent of the Buddhists in Sikkim" were in favor of bringing His Holiness to Rumtek as soon as possible. The Chief Minister promised that "he would leave no stone unturned to ensure" that His Holiness "is formally brought to Sikkim to assume his rightful place at Rumtek monastery." All India News and the August 7-13th edition of the Gangtok Times  report that Chamling recently met with Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, the central government official responsible for the Karmapa status decision, to urge the central government to permit His Holiness to return to Sikkim. "On his arrival back Mr. Chamling was enthused about the quick resolution of the Karmapa crisis and said that the Karmapa would be brought to Rumtek in the very near future."

It has been clear for some time that His Holiness seeks to return to his seat in Rumtek as soon as possible. The Tribune. The Hindustan Times recently reported that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had again requested the Indian government to expeditiously decide the matter of the Karmapa's status. Although the Tibetan government in exile, itself located in Dharamsala, had originally been publicly ambivalent as to whether it wished to see His Holiness leave its environs, by the end of June, Tashi Wangdi, of the Tibetan government in exile, was being publicly quoted by Pratibha Chauhan of The Tribune as saying that "'it was but natural and rightful for him to go [to Rumtek], as it is the seat of the Kagyu sect set up by the 16th Karmapa, whose reincarnation the Karmapa is.' Any other arrangement for the Karmapa, be it at the Gyuto monastery or at Sherabling monastery at Bhattu, near Baijnath, would merely be his temporary abode."

While the final government decision has been withheld, the press has naturally speculated as to what the central government of India was inquiring into. The Times of India quoted "intelligence sources" as saying that China was upset by statements indicating that the Karmapa might become a leader like the Dalai Lama had upset China. According to these sources, "the issue was 'ticklish' and that was the reason behind so much delay in permission being given to the Karmapa to go to Rumtek. 'His arrival in India and the fact that he has been allowed to stay here, has already caused China to issue several statements. So caution has to be exercised,' they said." 

Apparently, the Karmapa's status is an issue of such political importance that it is often mentioned as a sticking point in India's relations to China regarding China-sponsored Pakistan, Hindustan Times, and the border talks between China and India, BBC News. The prevailing wisdom in the international press is that China remains upset at the Karmapa's unauthorized exit. Agence France Presse analyzes a recent news report that China had fired a number of tour guides as follows: "The dismissal of the tour guides is part of an overall stepping up of security and control in Tibet following the escape of the Beijing-approved Karmapa Lama to India in December. The escape highly embarrassed Beijing, which considered him to be loyal and was grooming him to legitimize its rule over Tibet." And China shows no hesitation to complain to other countries about the escape, and on August 18th informed the government of Nepal that it intended to pressure Nepal to beef up its border security in view of the Karmapa's flight. Agence France Presse.

Yet, even if we accept that the government of China has strident objections to the Karmapa's escape, it does not make sense that this is a major reason for India's delay, since it would seem that forcing the Karmapa to remain in Dharamsala does not in any way benefit China. By staying at the location of the Tibetan government in exile, rather than by residing in Rumtek, the Karmapa remains a more visible symbol of the political forces which China opposes. It would also seem in India's own interest to expedite the decision, since India's standing in the eyes of the world government would also seem to be undermined by the delay in the decision, because it creates uncertainty around the world about India's bona fides in providing refuge to those seeking religious freedom.

According to the Tribune and the Hindustan Times, there are apparently other factors in the delay. Government sources indicate that the central government is hesitating because of pressure brought against it by anti-Karmapa forces within the Buddhist community. The existence of those opposing the Karmapa are undeniable, but the central government's hesitation can be mistakenly read as support for the anti-Karmapa faction. (Indeed, the anti-Karmapa faction regularly points to governmental actions by India, such as travel restrictions on HE Situ Rinpoche, as proof of its spiritual authenticity.) Unfortunately, by delaying the decision the Indian government appears to world observers as failing to remain neutral, because the delay supports only the anti-Karmapa contingent. According to the Hindustan Times, this very point was recently and forcefully made by no less a personage than the Dalai Lama, perhaps the most acute and knowledgeable observer of the impact of Tibetan Buddhism on the Indian polity, who warned that certain erstwhile members of the Buddhist community sought to use the delay of New Delhi to "stir up a row over the Karmapa." Naturally, a row is attractive to the media, which must generate interest in its readership. However, we suggest that the media can at the same time cover another extremely newsworthy story about the Kagyu conference. The sole story is not about a row over Rumtek Monastery, nor about competing factions. Rather, it is about a simple request from the Kagyu faithful throughout the world: to let their young leader go freely to his home at Rumtek Monastery, in the independent and free country of India.

The articles referred to herein are available at the respective websites of The Times of India, Deccan Herald, Gangtok Times, All India News, Gangtok Times, The Tribune , Hindustan Times, Hindustan Times, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, and the BBC News.