by Nirmala Carvalho

Thousands of people march in support of the third ranking spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism, who has been accused by some of being “Beijing’s spy”. People and the government-in-exile are unwaveringly behind him, after police found Chinese currency in the monastery where he lives.

Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – Despite the scandal that hit his monastery, the Karmapa Lama “has been calm and serene,” Deki Chungyalpa told AsiaNews. “He is encouraging us to be calm. His followers are very upset about the allegations” of espionage and corruption in favour of China, but he told them to “trust the system, trust the Indian government and the situation would end up being very positive. His primary focus in on the state and conditions of his followers who appear to be reacting strongly to the allegations,” added the spokesperson for the third ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism, who spoke on the sidelines of a mass demonstration in favour of the young Karmapa.

The faithful met to protest against an investigation undertaken by police last week at Gyuto monastery, the lama’s official residence. Indian authorities seized Indian and foreign currency valued at more than US$ 750,000 hidden in six suitcases in the room of Shakti Lama, the right-hand man of the 17th Karmapa. Known as the ‘black hat lama’, many see him as a potential successor to the Dalai Lama as the leader of the Tibetan people.

The Karmapa Lama is the third ranking lama in Tibet’s religious and political hierarchy. Only the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama come before him. The three are connected to each other since each has had to recognise the other, and this for centuries. China now wants to break the line and has abducted the real Panchen Lama putting a political appointee in his place.

When the Dalai Lama dies, Tibetans believe by and large that the Karmapa should lead the exiled community until the rebirth and recognition of the next Dalai.

The current investigation has cast a shadow on him since under Tibetan law, high lamas are responsible for the acts of their subordinates.

After the police raided the monastery, some media outlet began circulating rumours that the Karmapa was Beijing’s spy, given the extraordinary nature of his flight from Tibet into exile in Dharamsala, India, headquarter of the Tibetan government-in-exile and home to Dalai Lama.

For Deki Chungyalpa, the rumour is nonsense because the “Karmapa is always surrounded by security” who protect him. There is always someone around him: security, government officials or monks. For her, it is impossible to think the Karmapa is a spy.

His followers agree. They marched 20 kilometres to make that point, shouting, “He is not a spy, he is not a spy”. Members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, the Tibetan Women's Association, the Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet, the National Democratic Party of Tibet, and the Students for a Free Tibet also participated in the rally. Seven members of the government-in-exile and the deputy speaker of parliament-in-exile were present on the platform where the Karmapa addressed the crowd.

Speaking to his followers, the Karmapa said, “India has become a second homeland to Tibetans. We all have taken refuge and settled here. India, in contrast to Communist China, is a free country, a democratic country that is based on the rule of law. Therefore, I trust that things will improve and the truth will become clear in time. So please be at ease. There is no need to worry.”

• tibet
• india
• china
• karmapa
• lama
• police
• raid
• investigation
• illegal
• funds