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has anyone else heard about the probe into the 17th Karmapa. it was kind of depressing to read about

Comments

  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    edited December 2011
    I'm unclear as to what the charges are. Having that much money stashed away seems kind of unbuddhist but the monastic system is a large institution and I'm sure needs lots to maintain its monasteries and feed the monks. He's not wearing a Rolex and being chauffered around in a limo or something.

    The article made it sound like it was illegal in India to have large amounts of foreign currency? I wonder what grounds the Indian police had to raid the monastery in the first place, that they then discovered the cash. The article also said that it was likely just ignorance of Indian laws.

    What was it that depressed you about the article? Was it the amount of money they had? I agree that its kind of strange for monks to have that, but like I said there is also a large institution to run. I think its more important to look at how they are spending and using the money. If they are spending it to feed monks, spread dharma and other positive things rather than spending it on luxurius lives for themselves thats good. Would you turn away money if it was donated to you?

    There is room for corruption here though and IMO Tibetan monastic institutions have alot of modernizing to do in their heirarchy and infrastructre to reduce the potential for corruption and abuse.
  • jj5jj5 Medford Lakes, N.J. U.S.A. Veteran
    i guess i was just afraid of a "good monk turned bad" scenario. i just have a habit of assuming the worst situation, though i know that is not skilled thinking. i was just surprised to read something like that. i guess i'm just used to reading the same story only it's about someone in the church or whatnot.
  • SileSile Veteran
    edited December 2011
    Tons of people come to see the Karmapa all year, and Chinese visitors often bring enormous cash donations. The Indian banking system is problematic to say the least, and a lot of people (not just Tibetans) are in the habit of keeping cash in their residence instead of a bank.

    If you read down the article, you'll find that "Indian authorities" actually ends up being local police filing charges in a local court.

    It's sadly quite easy to pay off high-level "authorities" in India, let alone local police, and China is fairly desperate not to have a new Dalai Lama on their hands. (My own country is plenty corrupt - I'm not trying to pick on India.)

    Unless he knocked over a credit union on the way to morning teachings, this whole thing should be moot and really no one's business. It's not even close to being enough money to get excited about. But - the PRC will do everything possible to ensure it is everyone's business. Imho, Indian right-wingers are letting Chinese pressure roll downhill onto Indian citizens.

  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    I thought the whole thing had been resolved. I thought the case had been dismissed, it was acknowledged that the money came from donations. India is paranoid about the "official" Karmapa because he's from China. The Indian authorities don't need to be bought off by anyone, they have enough reason in their own eyes to deny the Karmapa's legitimacy.
  • ThaoThao Veteran
    I'm unclear as to what the charges are. Having that much money stashed away seems kind of unbuddhist but the monastic system is a large institution and I'm sure needs lots to maintain its monasteries and feed the monks. He's not wearing a Rolex and being chauffered around in a limo or something.

    When the Dalai Lama left Tibet he took out truck loads of gold and other valuables that the lamas had stockpiled. This from the book, The Struggle for Modern Tibet.
  • SileSile Veteran
    It's not illegal to stockpile gold.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited December 2011
    The latest news: The police in India have filed criminal charges against the Karmapa. Several trunks of foreign cash were found, totaling over a million US dollars in value, including $166,000 in Chinese money, which the Karmapa's assistants say came in as donations from Tibetans visiting the K. from Tibet. His assistants say he hasn't handled the money, he doesn't get involved in day-to-day management. Here's the key point: the Indian government hasn't given him legal status to accept donations. So his assistants were keeping the money in trunks until it could be banked in the Karmapa's name. So it looks like a kind of set-up: the Indian gov't has prevented him from banking the money (donations from followers over years), then they arrested him for having a money pile.

    The Karmapa could face 2 years in jail, if found guilty.
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