Karmapa issue comes under fresh controversy

Kathmandu Post, 19 March, 2001

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 18 - The controversy surrounding the 17th Karmapa is here to stay.

An international conference of Buddhist monks and scholars belonging to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism has decided to write an open letter to the Dalai Lama asking him to keep out of the controversy over the ascension of Urgyen Thinley as the new Karmapa.

Seventeen-year-old Thinley was installed by China in 1992 as the new Karmapa, Tibet's number three spiritual head after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, but he clandestinely crossed the Himalayas last year and reached Dharmasala, igniting a fresh controversy.

Thinley is accepted by the Dalai Lama as the 17th Karmapa.

An International Karma Kagyu Organization (IKKO) to be based in New Delhi has been requested to write an open letter to the Dalai Lama, on the issue, said a resolution adopted at the end of the conference Saturday. The resolution has also decided to reject "The Dalai Lama's declaration that he is the authority in charge of recognizing the Karmapa reincarnation."

During the conference attended by about 500 Karma Kagyu representatives, the Dalai Lama was also blamed for attempting to split and ultimately take over the Karma Kagyu sect-one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The other three schools are the Nyingmapa, the Shakyapa and the Gelugpa.

The 14th Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelugpa school, which is said to have the largest number of followers, including high profile Hollywood stars, like Richard Gere and Pierce Brosnan.

As head of the Karma Kagyu school, the Karmapa is considered to be the number three spiritual leader of Tibet after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas.

While the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government back Urgyen Thinley as the 17th Karmapa, Shamar Rinpoche, the paramount regent of the Karma Kagyu school based at Rumtek, Sikkim, and thousands of his followers the world over recognise 17-year-old Thinley Thaye Dorje as the genuine reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa.

Dorje lives in a monastery in Kalimpong, India, and keeps touring the world. The search for the Karmapa Lama started after the death of the 16th Karmapa Lama in 1981 at the age of 56.