Tibetans in India seek blessing from newly arrived lama

January 11, 2000
Web posted at: 7:07 p.m. HKT (1107 GMT)

In this story: Analysts expect India to offer refuge Karmapa's trip prompts concern RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

DHARMSALA, India (CNN) -- Many Tibetans living in India are planning to celebrate the Tibetan new year in Dharmsala in the hopes of receiving personal blessings from the Karmapa Lama who left Chinese-ruled Tibet last week.

VIDEO CNN's Kasra Naji shows how the arrival of the Karmapa is having various effects in India. (January 11) Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Dalai Lama     RESOURCES TIME: Thunder Out of China

A monk preparing to leave for Dharmsala told CNN on Tuesday he hoped to be blessed by the Karmapa. "We are all honored," he said during an interview in a neighborhood of Tibetan exiles. The Tibetan new year, based on the lunar calendar, will be celebrated on February 6.

The 14-year-old Karmapa, considered by many to be the 17th reincarnation of Buddha, has been moved to a monastery outside Dharmsala, where the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile is located, for security reasons. He had been staying near the Dalai Lama's residence.

The Karmapa's arrival Wednesday -- after traveling eight days across the snow-covered Himalayas with five followers, including his 24-year-old sister -- has had a ripple effect across India.

Indian authorities have been pondering how to respond to the Karmapa's unexpected arrival. They said he had not applied for asylum, but analysts said it was likely India would offer him refuge.

"We have not applied to the government of India," K.A. Lontashiwangd, religious affairs minister in the Dalai Lama's administration, said Monday. "But if the government decided to give asylum, that can be accepted."

Indian newspapers reported Monday that the Dalai Lama requested asylum for the Karmapa. Reports said the young lama was frustrated by religious repression in China, and that he was upset he was not allowed to meet with his teachers.

Chinese authorities reportedly denied several requests for an entrance visa by the Karmapa's principal teacher, Tai Situ Rinpoche, who has a monastery near Dharmsala.

India's Foreign Office spokesman, Raminder Singh Jassal, told an informal press briefing Monday that the government was examining the circumstances and consequences of the Karmapa's arrival.

Excitement of the young lama's journey wasn't limited to the Tibetans, or India.

"Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the United States ... there are many practicing Buddhists there that are excited about it as they now have access to him," Lea Terhune, a writer on Tibetan Buddhism, said.

But the Karmapa's arrival also caused apprehension. Some people in Dharmsala expressed concern the young lama's rumored defection might prompt Chinese officials to step up purges and arrests of monks and Tibetans thought to be disloyal to Beijing.

Both China and India have reacted cautiously to the Karmapa's arrival. China's fragile ties with India suffered a setback after India, citing China as a security threat, conducted nuclear tests in May 1998. India and China fought a war in 1962.

The Karmapa's apparent defection is the most significant exodus from Tibet since the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of his followers departed their homeland after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. It is also an embarrassment to Beijing.

China approved the 17th Karmapa's enthronement in 1992 and used him as a symbol to project its toleration of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the only high lama whose accession had been agreed upon by both the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Jill Taft arrived in India on Monday and flew to Dharmsala. She is visiting Tibetans as part of her job to investigate the conditions of refugees and migrants. Taft's trip had been scheduled before the news of the Karmapa's arrival.

Correspondent Kasra Naji and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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