China to renovate Dalai Lama’s Potala Palace in Tibet

[christine V]

China to renovate Dalai Lama’s Potala Palace in Tibet
— By PTI | Oct 05, 2017 05:53 pm

Beijing: The 1,300-year-old iconic Potala Palace, the official residence of the Dalai Lamas in Tibet, in the provincial capital Lhasa will soon undergo a USD 1.5 million renovation, state media reported today.

The palace was the centre of religious and political centre of Tibet till the present Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, who is the 14th in the line of Dalai Lamas, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland.

The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that a large- scale renovation project will soon begin as China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage has approved the plan.

The project will focus on repairing the gold-plated roof of the palace and improving its security surveillance system, Jorden, an official from the palace’s administration body was quoted as saying in the report.

Parts of the gold plating have been damaged by long-term exposure to wind, sun and rain, Jorden said, adding the renovation will prolong the life of the roof.

The project will cost more than 10 million yuan (USD 1.5 million).

The Palace has been converted into a museum. It was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994 and is the most famous tourist attraction in Tibet.

The construction of the palace took 45 years and was completed in 1694. Built on Mount Potalaka, the palace has 13 stories containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about two lakh statues.

It was built to withstand major earthquakes as the Himalayan region was prone to seismic disturbances.

It was reported to have sustained slight damage during the Tibetan resistance against China’s take over of Tibet in 1959.

Since then it has become major tourist attraction for foreigners and local Tibetans who visit its numerous temples and rituals within its campus.

Last year, 1.37 million domestic and international tourists   visited the palace. Tourists numbers were restricted to 1,600 per day to avoid overcrowding in its narrow rooms and corridors.

Source: http://www.freepressjournal.in/world/china-to-renovate-dalai-lamas-potala-palace-in-tibet/1148907

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Many monasteries in Tibet have been under the protection of China. The government willing to spend so much money to renovate the monasteries not only for the sake of tourism; currently China is promoting Buddhism to their people so that their people are not too materialistic and create social problems.

Looking at how China protect the monastery, we look at how CTA run their state, they not only do not protect the monasteries, but, they are making so much chaos in the monasteries by imposed Dorje Shugden's ban, and this acts have cause so much confusion in world of Buddhism.

[TARA]

This is wonderful news that the Potala Palace in Tibet is being preserved by China.  There are many precious gemstones, gold, memorabilia, stupa, statues which are kept in good condition in the palace. 

[Celia]

Regardless of China’s motivation of restoring it, this is indeed something to rejoice about as many will benefit spiritually from such restoration and an important part of Tibetan culture is preserved.

Of course, CTA will continue to politicise such restoration works into something negative and “attack” China’s move because it makes CTA look bad to a certain extent and CTA will twist anything to suit themselves. Doesn’t CTA realise that their actions might jeopardise restoration given China’s temperament?

If CTA is not in a position to do it, why do something which may jeopardise restoration? Especially, when people including Tibetans are benefitting? Given the UNESCO certification, there will be heavy scrutiny and even some reporting so CTA can’t even justify that Tibetan culture not respected and preserved. So, is it better to just let such holy site and a piece of Tibetan culture rot away?

Hardly surprising anymore as CTA only think about their own interest instead of the interests of Tibetans who have elected them. Anyway, in this restoration matter, it is fortunate that China don’t really care what CTA thinks and restoration work will likely not be jeopardised by CTA’s childish and selfish antics.

[Drolma]

One of the CTA's mission is to preserve Tibetan's culture and religion. But what have they done to preserve the religion in particular? Let's take a look at what the Department of Religion & Culture in the CTA has accomplished since their arrival in India.

Programs of the DRCM (Department of Religion & Culture)
1. The Religious Conference: This is primarily a biannual gathering of religious leaders and representatives of four major Tibetan Buddhist schools and Bon religion. Since 1963, the Department organized eleven such gatherings and the last one took place on September 22 , 2011 for three days at Dharamsala.

2. Religious Services: The DRC yearly organizes Chotrul Monlam Chenmo and Guru Bumtsok, conducts special services like “long life prayers” to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and leaders of four major Tibetan Buddhist schools and Bon religion on timely basis, and coordinates other religious services required to be done by community for the security of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and for welfare of Tibetan nation.

3. Research on religious issues: It has to establish and finance research workgroup appointed for special issue concerning religious matter. Since couple of decades a research on finding the possibility of introducing bhikshuni order compatible to the Tibetan Buddhist Vinaya tradition (Mulasarvastivada) is being pursued.

4. Scholarship for Newly escaped monks and nuns: This is support program in which monks and nuns who recently escaped from Tibet and aged between 6 and 25 years. Such a monk or nun is provided with monthly stipend of Rs. 200 for 15 years or until they leave the monasteries and nunneries where they are enrolled. This program was started in 1980s and during the course of its operation the DRC was able to provide support to more than 10000 monks and nuns.

5. Support to unregistered and destitute sangha: This is a support for destitute monks, nuns, and tantric who are not registered to any monasteries and nunneries and faced with difficulty in livelihood.

6. Support to Russian and Mongolian people: It is a scholarship support for Russian and Mongolian (whose country has strong cultural relation with Tibet) enrolled in Tibetan monastic and other learning centers. Each person is given scholarship of Rs. 200 per month for 15 years or until they leave the institution to whom they belong.

7. Salary for Teachers: The DRC provides salary for religious teachers of smaller and financially weaker monasteries and nunneries, including institutions in Himalayan region, and Chinese language teachers of other institutions.

8. Stipend for Temple Chamberlains: Chamberlains or caretakers of temple and monasteries located in several Tibetan settlements are provided with monthly stipend.

9. Supervising and Funding of Dharma Awareness Organizing Committees: The DRC has to provide guidelines and finance the activities of Dharma Awareness Organizing Committees formed in almost every settlements. The role of these committees is to promote learning of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and science amongst laities. It has to organize at least three campaigns in a year.

10. Project Funding: The DRC also provides small grants to projects that are compatible with the aim and objectives of this office, like temple and mural restorations, publication of scriptures, and small-scale religious and cultural awareness campaigns.

Source: http://tibet.net/department/religion/#code0slide1

The above is what the CTA has done in preserving their religion and culture, nothing tangible if you ask me. Whereas for China, since the 1980s, they have allocated more than 1.4 billion yuan (US$219 million) to restore Tibetan cultural relics and refurbishing key monasteries.

[Alex]

Regardless of China’s motivation of restoring it, this is indeed something to rejoice about as many will benefit spiritually from such restoration and an important part of Tibetan culture is preserved.

Of course, CTA will continue to politicise such restoration works into something negative and “attack” China’s move because it makes CTA look bad to a certain extent and CTA will twist anything to suit themselves. Doesn’t CTA realise that their actions might jeopardise restoration given China’s temperament?

If CTA is not in a position to do it, why do something which may jeopardise restoration? Especially, when people including Tibetans are benefitting? Given the UNESCO certification, there will be heavy scrutiny and even some reporting so CTA can’t even justify that Tibetan culture not respected and preserved. So, is it better to just let such holy site and a piece of Tibetan culture rot away?

Hardly surprising anymore as CTA only think about their own interest instead of the interests of Tibetans who have elected them. Anyway, in this restoration matter, it is fortunate that China don’t really care what CTA thinks and restoration work will likely not be jeopardised by CTA’s childish and selfish antics.

China's move to renovate the Potala palace might be a move to get into Tibetan's good books. They have been actively preserving holy places, monasteries and iconic places in Tibet. China is certainly doing a way better job than CTA before. Roads and highways are being built. Monasteries are being refurbished. Monks are being funded. Sounds like Tibet is actually is improving and moving forward instead of being stagnant like how it used to be under the reign of CTA.

[Alex]

China's move to renovate the Potala palace might be a move to get into Tibetan's good books. They have been actively preserving holy places, monasteries and iconic places in Tibet. China is certainly doing a way better job than CTA before. Roads and highways are being built. Monasteries are being refurbished. Monks are being funded. Sounds like Tibet is actually is improving and moving forward instead of being stagnant like how it used to be under the reign of CTA.

On the other hand, let's look at CTA's effort to build up Tibetan Settlement in India. After 60 years it is still so backward and incomplete. They have so much of donation and funds from the western countries but it seems like none of it had reached the Tibetans nor any of it has been used to upgrade the Tibetan settlements.

I heard that the Tibetans are still hoping for a miracle where they can go back to Tibet and that is why they do not invest much in building the infrastructure in the Tibetan settlements. India is just like a hotel for them and they just want to use it and leave without contributing anything to India.

[Drolma]

Even though the Potala Palace is closely related to the Dalai Lama but the Chinese government is still willing to invest money to renovate the Potala Palace. Did China renovate to preserve the Potala Palace for its spiritual value or because the Potala Palace can generate a lot of income? The reason might be both.

The Potala Palace is the landmark in Tibet. Whenever people talk about Tibet, they will relate it to the Potala Palace. It is a must go site for in Lhasa. There are many valuable items and relics in the Potala Palace. If the Chinese government is not sincere in keeping the heritage, they could have taken all the valuable items away but they did not.

The Chinese government has done more preservation work than CTA. The CTA only talks but they don't do. The Chinese government doesn't boast about what they are doing but they just do it. If CTA is the leadership in Tibet, they might sell the precious items in the Potala Palace away to make themselves rich! The CTA is not trustworthy, don't believe their lies!

[SabS]

Despite what the CTA constantly accused China of, China had been pumping in billions of Yuan to restore old historical buildings and assisted monasteries to upgrade their buildings in Tibet. Restoring the seat of all the Dalai Lamas before the 14th's escape to India, to me, shows that China is actually impartial and whatever is advantageous they will take action. Wonder if the 14th Dalai Lama will have his wishes of returning to Tibet granted before his time is up or even if 15th Dalai Lama will have the opportunity to be reinstated to this glorious historical Potala Palace. With China's might and wish to use Buddhism as a method to bridge friendships, the Dalai Lama would do well to work with China to ensure the glory and continuity of Tibetan Buddhism for the future.