Tibetan lama abandons monkhood to marry friend
A senior Tibetan lama based in India, who is one of the claimants to the title of Karmapa Lama, has married a childhood friend and abandoned monkhood, his office announced Thursday.
Thaye Dorje, 33, married Rinchen Yangzom, 36, in a private ceremony attended by close family members in New Delhi on March 25. His office described the couple as “close childhood friends” who have known each other for more than 19 years.
“I have a strong feeling, deep within my heart, that my decision to marry will have a positive impact not only for me, but also for the lineage,” Thaye Dorje was quoted as saying in a statement posted on his website.
“Something beautiful, something beneficial will emerge, for all of us.”
Rinchen Yangzom, whose Tibetan name means “precious prosperity gathered”, was born in Thimphu and was educated in India and Europe. Thaye Dorje proposed to her according to Tibetan traditions on January 19. A spokesman for Thaye Dorje told HT that he will no longer be a monk but will continue “as the lineage lama and as the Karmapa, including by offering teachings and blessings to students around the world”.
The statement said Thaye Dorje “appreciates that the news of his marriage will come as a surprise to many, and has faith that his students will understand his wish to have kept private this personal element of his very public life”.
He and his wife will make their first public appearance together in Bodhgaya in December.
Thaye Dorje has claimed since childhood to be the reincarnation of the Karmapa Lama, the 12th century leader of one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, another monk who fled from Tibet to India in 1999, is recognised by followers of the Karma Kagyu school as the Karmapa Lama. He is recognised by the Dalai Lama.
The spokesman said Thaye Dorje has been the “Karmapa from birth” and will “continue his activities as the Karmapa”.
In a bid to check student suicides in country’s coaching capital Kota, a hostel association here is considering installing springs in ceiling fans or replacing them with wall fans in hostel rooms.
The spring-fitted ceiling fans would not just come down if a student tries to hang himself or herself from the fans but would also sound a hooter to intimate hostel authorities of the suicide attempt.
Student suicides have remained a major issue in Kota and a majority of the victims have ended their lives by hanging themselves from the ceiling fan in their rooms.
Now, the Kota Hostel Association has decided to take step to rein in suicides.