Dalai Lama to unveil 135 ft tall Buddha statue in Sikkim

[WisdomBeing]

I thought this article was interesting because the Dalai Lama is going to this politically sensitive area. I wonder if he will visit Rumtek, or talk about the 17th Karmapa he endorsed, Ogyen Trinley, as opposed to the Shamarpa Rinpoche endorsed Thaye Dorje, and persuade the Sikkim authorities to let Ogyen Trinley enter Rumtek.

A friend of mine told me that Tai Situpa has said that Dorje Shugden is bad, but Ogyen Trinley has apparently not said anything either way. Perhaps since he is Chinese endorsed, do you think Ogyen Trinley will be more open to Dorje Shugden practice? After all, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpay Dorje was known to have been against anyone putting down Dorje Shugden (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1809.0).


Dalai Lama to unveil 135 ft tall Buddha statue in Sikkim
India TV webteam [ Updated 04 Feb 2013, 18:41:20 ]



Gangtok, Feb 4 : The Tibetan temporal head Dalai Lama will inaugurate a 135-feet tall statue of Buddha at Ravangla in Sikkim on March 26.

The Dalai Lame will also open a Buddha Park being built here.  Buddhist devotees from Southeast Asian countries have been flocking to Sikkim in recent years, after it has been added to the Buddhist tourist circuit.

Parts of the holy Buddha relics will be brought on this occasion from Southeast Asian countries, a state government official said.

Ravangla is a small tourist town in South Sikkim from where the moutain peaks of Kanchejunga, Pandim, Sinialchu and Kabru are clearly visible.

Ravangla has a sizeable Tibetan community, and the ralang monastery of the Kagyu school of tibetan Buddhism is located six km away from Ravangla.

[vajratruth]

A huge Buddha statue might just be what Sikkim needs seeing that it is a site with a high potential to be a flashpoint for not only Indo-Chinese conflict but also another clash within the Karma Kargyu sect. Sikkim is where Rumtek Monastery - the seat of the Karmapa, is located. In 1993 the peaceful grounds of Rumtek Monastery was stormed by monks and Sikkimese policemen as parties loyal to Ogyen Trinley forcibly ousted the legal occupants of the monastery, that is, the Karmapa Charitable Trust managed by Shamar Rinpoche in accordance with the 16th Karmapa's wishes. Shamar Rinpoche is also the mentor of Trinley Thaye Dorje who is Ogyen Trinley's rival for the seat of the 17th Karmapa. By now the story of the two Karmapas is well known (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/the-controversy/the-karmapas-and-the-forbidden-buddha/) and it would not be difficult for anyone to see that the Karmapa controversy may have been resolved peacefully and internally within the Karma Kagyu sect if not for the Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration's involvement in the matter which was clearly ultra vires.

The Dalai Lama and subsequently the CTA made the unprecedented move of supporting Ogyen Trinley as the Karmapa. What is surprising about this move is not only that Ogyen Trinley has also been enthroned in 1992 by the Chinese government and was even thought of as a Chinese agent, but also that by endorsing one candidate over another, the Dalai Lama drove a wedge within a sect to which the Dalai Lama does not belong and by right, has no say in.

By his action of supporting Ogyen Trinley, the Dalai Lama might by inference be interpreted to be saying that Thaye Dorje whom 3 Indian courts of law found in favor of, is a fraud, an impostor to the crown. The Dalai Lama legitimized a candidate whom by Indian law was not the valid claimant of the Rumtek Seat and by tradition, was selected and enthroned outside the Karma Kagyu's customary and accepted process.

In both the Karmapa controversy and the Dorje Shugden ban, the Tibetan government's action did significant damage to harmony within the Tibetan sangha community, the effects of which is still being felt today.

[Ensapa]

A friend of mine told me that Tai Situpa has said that Dorje Shugden is bad, but Ogyen Trinley has apparently not said anything either way. Perhaps since he is Chinese endorsed, do you think Ogyen Trinley will be more open to Dorje Shugden practice? After all, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpay Dorje was known to have been against anyone putting down Dorje Shugden (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1809.0).

If both of them happen to be the authentic reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, for sure neither would say anything against Dorje Shugden. If they were to do so, then it is pretty obvious that neither of them was authentic. How can it be that the Karmapa endorsed Dorje Shugden in his previous reincarnation but not the present one? It dosent logically compute. But I am glad and very glad that they have not decided to make Dorje Shugden an enemy or speak out against Dorje Shugden just to get on the Dalai Lama's good side. Sometimes, not saying anything is one of the best ways for the high lamas to show support. But what I am still wondering is why is it that neither of the Karmapas have publicly visited Trijang Rinopoche yet. Perhaps the 'real' Karmapa would publicly meet Trijang Rinpoche.