Buddhists here in Syracuse have looked towards His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of the Buddhist people for decades. There have been anxieties here regarding what direction Buddhism will go in after the death of the Dalai Lama. Now tensions have increased here after learning that the possible next spiritual leader for Tibet has been charged with being a Chinese agent in India. Lobsang Wangyal has written for the Tibet Sun "India calls Karmapa as Chinese agent", http://bit.ly/fWFsCJ.
Indian police have said this week they had raided the monastery of a top Buddhist monk seen as the possible next spiritual leader for Tibet and seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Indian police moved in on the Karmapa’s monastery in Dharamshala, a hill station in northern India, on Thursday and than returned Friday to question staff about the origins of local and foreign bank notes discovered on the premises. An aide to Karmapa has been arrested and $600,000 in dollar bills has been discovered as well as currencies from another 25 countries, the Indian police have said.
It has been said that the Karmapa fled Tibet as a 14-year-old because he said he was concerned that Beijing would force him to turn against the Dalai Lama, who has acted as a father-like figure for him in Dharamshala. China has labelled the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist and has sought to attract monks who would accept Tibet as being an integral part of China and drop any claims for an independent state. Than in a bizarre twist late Friday India’s NDTV news chain reported Indian security officials planned to question the Karmapa over alleged Chinese links. The monk is suspected by India of planning to set up a string of pro-Chinese monasteries. NDTV news said security officials now believed the Karmapa’s escape as a 14-year-old from China had been “stage managed” by Beijing.
Karma Chungyalpa, who is the secretary to the Karmapa, has said allegations were “untrue and fabricated.” The Karmapa is one of the most revered Tibetan religious figures in his homeland. He is seen as one of a handful of candidates who could step forward to lead the community once His Holiness the Dalai Lama dies. Karmapa has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1999. The 27-year-old Karmapa receives visitors at his monastery on a regular basis, many of whom leave offerings or donations in cash. Karmapa could never become a Dalai Lama, which is a title given to a child chosen as the reincarnation of the previous version. However, he could emerge as the next spiritual leader. The 75-year-old current Dalai Lama has said he feels the institution might be abolished after his death.
Buddhists here in Syracuse are perplexed about this situation with Karmapa in India. There are prayers here that Karmapa has not really sold out the ideals of the Tibetan cause. However, if credible questions about his activities persist it is hoped that no harm has come to desires for solidarity among devout Buddhists across the world.
Mandel News Service: http://www.mandelnews.com
