BODHGAYA, India—One of Tibetan Buddhism’s most senior figures says he fled Tibet 10 years ago in part because he feared political manipulation by Chinese authorities.
Speaking in an interview while leading a large prayer gathering in Bodhgaya, India—the historical site of the Buddha’s enlightenment—the Karmapa Lama said life inside China might have been “endurable” if his activities had been limited to religious functions.
“But it was possible that the Chinese government would have assigned me political duties as I became older,” he said.
“If I were to have to become involved in any negative action or [been required to represent] a point of view opposed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama or the religious and political well-being of Tibet, this would have been difficult,” he said.
Tibet’s exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, escaped into exile in India in 1959 following a failed national uprising against Chinese rule.
Chinese authorities routinely denounce him as a “splittist” seeking independence for Tibet, and they blame him for inciting a widespread Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in early 2008—the worst in five decades.
The Dalai Lama himself insists only that he wants greater political and cultural autonomy for Tibet as a part of China.
1999 escape
Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje, born in Tibet in 1985, was identified by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan religious leaders as an important “reincarnate” Buddhist teacher and was installed in his predecessors’ monastery in Tibet.
But Chinese authorities prevented him, he later said, from studying with the lamas he had hoped would be his mentors.
Avoiding detection by the officials assigned to monitor his movements, the Karmapa escaped in late 1999 and fled into exile in India.
There, he met with the Dalai Lama, and now lives near him in Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile.
“The nature of Chinese politics is marked by distrust and calculations,” the Karmapa said, addressing suspicions voiced at the time of his escape that China might have sent him into India for reasons of its own.
“But even assuming that I was sent here as a Chinese ploy, it would be difficult for [Chinese leaders] to have any confidence that I would abide by their commands, given that I live here in India under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
Chinese imprimatur
Though China’s government also confirmed his identification as 17th in a line of reincarnate religious teachers, the Karmapa insisted his status rests only on the authority of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan religious leaders.
“Accordingly, I don’t acknowledge myself as someone ‘recognized’ or authorized as the Karmapa by the Chinese government,” he said. “I don’t know why they gave their approval.”
“They are a big nation, capable of making political calculations. But it is difficult for me to speculate on their motives.”
China’s government has exerted increasing control over Buddhist leaders and institutions in Tibet in recent years, experts say.
“Patriotic education sessions require monks and nuns to pass examinations on political texts, agree that Tibet is historically a part of China, accept the legitimacy of [senior Buddhist leader] the Panchen Lama installed by the Chinese government, and denounce the Dalai Lama,” a 2009 study by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China said.
In 1995, Chinese authorities detained a young boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnate Panchen Lama and installed in his place a rival candidate of their own choosing.
The legitimacy of the Chinese-selected candidate is widely rejected by Tibetans, while the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama has disappeared, along with his family.
Originally reported by Tsewang Norbu for RFA’s Tibetan service. Tibetan service director: Jigme Ngapo. Translations by Dhondup Gonsar. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
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