Monk’s marriage adds to Karmapa conundrum
Official anointment of religious head of a Tibetan Buddhist sect has been held up over differences between India and China, already at loggerheads over border disputes
RUMTEK (SIKKIM) : Marriages, they say, are made in heaven. But ever since Thinley Thaye Dorje abandoned his monkhood to marry his childhood friend last month, the wedding plunged the normally idyllic state of Sikkim bordering China into rare disquiet.
Dorje is one of the three claimants to the position of Karmapa — the religious head of the Tibetan Buddhist sect of Karma Kagyu. An official anointment of a Karmapa has been long held up over differences between India and China, already at loggerheads over festering border disputes and diplomatic tensions.
But Dorje’s marriage has emboldened supporters of one of his rival claimants to demand that New Delhi recognise Ugyen Trinley Dorje as the 17th Karmapa. For the past nine months, monks of the famous Rumtek monastery have been holding a relay hunger strike in support of Trinley Dorje.
Thaye Dorje’s marriage has now prompted them to hold protest marches too.
To maintain order, both the Dorjes are barred from visiting the monastery, which is being guarded by armed personnel of the Indo-Tibetan border force.
The recently married Dorje, who lives in New Delhi, has not given up on his claim. “...My decision to marry will have a positive impact not only for me, but also for the (Karmapa) lineage,” he was quoted as saying.
But the clamour for recognising the other Dorje has only grown. “We now want the Centre to treat Ugyen Trinley as the 17th Karmapa and be allowed to visit the sect’s two other monasteries in Ralang in south Sikkim and Phoodong in north Sikkim,” insisted Sonam Lama, the only legislator in the Sikkim assembly representing the community of revered monks.
“Previous state governments did not pursue with the government of India the people’s demand of allowing Ugyen Trinley to Rumtek. Now we have renewed our demand with both the state and Centre,” said Lama, who is leading the hunger strike.
Both India and China want a pliant Karmapa as whoever occupies the position considered next only to that of the Dalai Lama will wield tremendous influence over Tibetans on either side of the border. Ugyen Trinley, who fled China in 1999 at the age of 14, enjoys greater support, but New Delhi eyes him with suspicion. Indian authorities are particularly worried as to the real reasons behind his escape from Lhasa, pointed out a retired top Sikkim police officer.
“Central intelligence agencies have been watchful of Ugyen Trinley, who they believe is Beijing anointed. They also are wary of allowing him to visit Rumtek since it would give legitimacy to one claimant,” the official said.
Unable to visit Rumtek, the temporal seat of the Karma Kagyu sect, Ugyen Trinley has made the Gyuto monastery near Dharamsala his home. “Bringing the 17th Karmapa to Sikkim has become an emotive issue,” pointed out Karma Tempo Gyaltsen, spokesperson of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front and a legal advisor to chief minister Pawan Chamling.
The 16th Karmapa died in 1981 and a consensus on appointing his successor has eluded since then. Patience has begun to run out and monks across Sikkim are hitting the streets. “There is a consensus among a large section of Buddhist followers here over the selection of Ugyen Trinley and the CM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request him to allow the Karmapa to visit Rumtek,” Gyaltsen said.
There is also a third claimant — Dawa Sangpo Dorje who lives in a monastery in Damthang in south Sikkim.