Karmapa's Rumtek monastery damaged in Earthquake

GANGTOK: Buddhist prayer flags flutter serenely in the mountain breeze and senior monks in deep red robes, their faces creased with age and worry, shuffle around clutching their ubiquitous prayer beads. Inside the half-century-old Rumtek monastery, about 24km from Sikkim's capital, the younger monks are talking animatedly, while some snooze on their beddings strewn on the verandah around the main courtyard. Their belongings are piled alongside.

There are deep cracks in the two buildings that house classrooms of the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute that's part of this monastery, forcing the young monks to abandon their rooms and shift to this verandah. "Our examinations are scheduled for November and we can't study in the open verandah. There's no knowing when our rooms will be repaired," said Chewang Norbu Bhutia, a student.

This young monk adds that while the February 2006 earthquake that struck Sikkim had caused many cracks in their rooms, this time the columns and beams that support the building have cracked. "It's totally unsafe. Even a mild tremor will bring the two buildings down," he said.

40 foreigners taken to safer places

The Centre has constituted an inter-ministerial team to visit Sikkim to take stock of the damage caused by Sunday's devastating earthquake, as hundreds of people, including 40 foreigners, were evacuated and taken to safer places. Union home minister P Chidambaram will visit Sikkim on Thursday to review the rescue ops.

Karmapa Charitable Trust (KCT) terms Any Claim of Control over Rumtek Monastery as Unfounded and Misleading

New Delhi, 2011: Karmapa Charitable Trust (KCT), the legal administrative body established during the time of 16th Gyalwa Karmapa which supports the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, does not approve the statement made by the spokesperson of Uygen Trinley Dorje which trickled in media regarding the control of Uygen Trinley Dorje’s camp on the Rumtek Monastery. As there is a court case pending on the real claimant of the Rumtek Monastery since 1993 so any claims made in this regard do not hold ground.

Lodreu Rabsel Rinpoche, General Secretary to His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, says, “The statement from the spokesperson of Uygen Trinley Dorje is totally unfounded and misleading as the court case concerning the eviction of the unlawful occupants of Rumtek Monastery and recovery of the valuable sacred objects of the late 16th Karmapa which was filed in 1997 is still pending before the Court. Hence, Ugyen Trinley Dorje’s administration cannot make any such statement, as they have no legal control over the monastery. KCT has full faith in the legal system and we are confident concerning its positive outcome and KCT does not approve of commenting on the subject that is pending before the highest judiciary in India.”

Rumtek, the seat of the Karmapa lamas since the 1960s, has been the subject of dispute for more than a decade. At the death of the 16th Karmapa in 1981, the KCT assumed management of Rumtek, following the late Karmapa’s stated wishes. This body which supported 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje. But on 2nd August 1993, Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche with the help of their followers, including Dekila Chungyalpa and a few hundred armed troops supported by then the State Government of Sikkim attacked Rumtek Monastery and physically evicted all the residents, Trustees, as well as Rinpoches and Monks from there and confiscated the Monastery. The court case was filed by the KCT against Gyaltsab Rinpoche and the Sikkim State officials who were involved in this illegal act so that Rumtek Monastery could be returned to its rightful administration. Situ Rinpoche was not named in the suit because he had been banned to enter India at that point of time.
“The High Court of Sikkim in 2003 ruled that KCT is the legal administration established by the 16th Karmapa has full legal authority over Karmapa’s estate, belongings, including Rumtek Monastery. In 2004, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Special Leave to Appeal filed by Gyaltsab Rinpoche and his secretary Tenzin Namgyal of the opponent camp, thus confirming the earlier decision of the High Court of Sikkim. The court denied the appeal on the grounds of significant contradictions in Tenzin’s petition that Tenzin could not explain, and also on the grounds that Tenzin’s group could produce no documents to show its management of Rumtek,” confirms Lodreu Rabsel Rinpoche, General Secretary of 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje.

(Through Press Release)

Gangtok Rally for 17th Karmapa on Sept 26

MANGAN, September 2: Meetings are currently progressing in a positive direction with the organisers aiming to mobilise maximum attendance for the upcoming rally in Gangtok to press ahead their demand for Ogyen Trinley Dorjee, widely accepted as the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, to take his seat of power at Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre in East Sikkim.


In a meeting held at Phodong monastery today, the Karmapa Reception Committee and Phodong monastery management committee reiterated their appeal to the people to come out in large numbers to participate in the proposed rally and show support for the demand.

The rally will be held on September 26 at Gangtok and is scheduled to start from 10:30 am from Guards Ground, said the organisers.

“Through this rally, we want to bring focus to the long pending demand of Sikkim before the Centre to allow the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorjee to take his seat at Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre”, said the two organisations in the meeting.

The organizers maintained that the demand is purely religious. “We appeal people from all sections of the society like government employees, students, NGOs, religious institutions and devotees to join the rally on September 26 so that our demand is heard by the authorities,” they said.

The meeting at Mangan was attended by former deputy Speaker Palden Lachungpa as the chief guest. Karmapa Reception Committee (Phodong) Gaching Bhutia, Panchayats, members of Phodong monastery committee, NGOs, senior citizens, representatives of Phodong Welfare Association, Kabi Welfare Association, Sikkim Sherpa Association, monks from various monasteries in North Sikkim and representatives from Lachen, Lachung and Chunthang had also attended the meeting.

In his address, the chief guest stressed that the movement was purely a political one. All communities should unite and contribute to make the movement successful, he said.

During the meeting, the organizers reminded the gathering about the long pending demand before the Centre to allow the 17th Karmapa to visit Sikkim and take his throne at Rumtek monastery.

Members from both the organisations requested the Centre to have faith on people of Sikkim. “It has been over 10 years since the Karmapa took refuge in India and the people of Sikkim have waited long enough for him to come here,” they said.

Welcoming the gathering, Phodong monastery Omzed, Chewang Lama highlighted that several memorandums have been sent by various organisations to the Centre on the issue.

“Our submissions have gone unheeded for the last several years. This is why we are organising a huge peace rally and everyone should support us”, said Lama.

During the meeting, the Zilla Panchayat members from Tingchim-Mangshila, Singhik and Panchayats from Romom-Tumlong, Lingdok, Ramthang-Tanek, Paney-Phensong along with Mangat Nagar Panchayat Z Bhutia and other NGOs expressed their full support on the issue.

All gave their assurances to mobilise people for the proposed rally on their own expenditure.

The Phodong meeting follows a series of preliminary meetings conducted jointly by various organisations and three major monasteries under Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism monasteries in Sikkim-Phodong monastery in North, Ralong monastery in South and Old Rumtek monastery in East.

The three major monasteries had joined hands together with Karmapa Reception Committee to throw life in the dormant demand pending with the Centre to allow the 17th Karmapa to take his rightful throne at Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre.

Is Karmapa the next Dalai Lama?

Someone young, intelligent and charismatic," said the Dalai Lama at a press conference in Delhi in 2008, when asked about his successor. And tongues
began to wag. Everyone was certain that Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was talking about Ugyen Thinley Dorjee, the 17th Karmapa.

This guessing game has been on since 2000, when the 15-year-old boy-monk suddenly appeared in Dharamsala after escaping from his monastery in Tsurphu and trekking through Tibet's icy mountains for 15 days. The Chinese made the confusion worse when they claimed that the Karmapa had gone to India to collect his Black Hat and some books. The Karmapa's hat has been locked in a vault at Rumtek, in the monastery built by his 16th reincarnation . Dorjee has not been able to visit the gompa in Sikkim till now.
Holed up on the top floor of the Gyuto Tantri Monastery, near Dharamsala, for seven long years, the Karmapa was allowed by the Indian government to travel abroad for the first time in June 2008. Amid global protests against the Beijing Olympics, as the Karmapa followed the Dalai Lama to the US, observers couldn't help claiming that the Karmapa was being groomed for a future role. The 22-yearold monk himself was quite modest. "I am still young. I have to complete my education before assuming any role," he told TOI-Crest , a day before boarding a flight to the US.

Technically, the Karmapa can't assume the role of the Dalai Lama. They belong to two different schools. But the Karmapas have ruled Tibet in the past. They lost power in a bloody struggle with the 5th Dalai Lama. Is Tibet's past coming full circle in India now? The answer probably lies in the heads of two lamas living in Dharamsala.