Karmapa visit to monastery upsets Tibetan sect

Karmapa visit to monastery upsets Tibetan sect
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3: Disciples of Karma Kagyu sect and followers of ThayeDorje, rival to the Tibetan 17th Karmapa, on Friday cautioned that any visitby the 14-year-old monk to the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim would prove"disastrous" and trigger large-scale violence.

"In pursuit of the wealth and influence of the Rumtek monastery, the`Chinese boy' and his group of villains would destroy the 900-year Kagyutradition," Lama Sonam Rinchin, emissary of the Thaye Dorje, told reportershere after releasing a book on their version of the `Karmapa' story.

Rinchin, who is here on a month long trip from Hongkong, said he was here totell the "truth to the world and protect the Karmapa's flock from beingmisled by perpetrators of violence".

He was here to release the book The Siege of Karmapa, which dwells on"infamous violent attack unleashed against the Kagyu sect in 1993 by thegroup".

Rinchin and two other followers Khenpo Tsering Samdrub and Khenpo Tenzingclaimed that contrary to the 14-year-old Urygen Trinley Dorje's claim andthe Dalai Lama's `recognition' and assertion, Thaye Dorje is the "genuine"17th Karmapa.

"The sentimental appeal and request made on behalf of the Trinley Dorje isjust a facade," Rinchin said referring to "a request already made by theTrinley Dorje's group to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to allow hisvisit to Rumtek".

Rinchin said that Thaye Dorje, currently in France, is likely to visit Indiasoon. He maintained that though his sect has "great respect" for the DalaiLama and his political leadership, "the Dalai Lama does not have authorityto choose the Karmapa".