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DHARAMSHALA, June 8: Tibet’s largest
Buddhist center, Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Serthar County, Kardze
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, has been ordered by the Chinese government
to cut down its strength to just 5000 by September 2017, according to a
report by RFA.
Sources told RFA that the massive cut at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy
would see further reduction in the numbers of monks and nuns allowed to live
at center with the process of evictions of residents already taking place.
The source also added that around 60-70 percent of the dwellings are marked
for demolition and construction of roads as Chinese President Xi Jinping
takes keen interest in the process.
The order to reduce the number of residents at Larung Gar is not from the
Serthar County authorities ‘but comes from higher authorities,’ with Xi
Jinping taking a personal interest in the matter, the source said.
The source added that 600 members of the center were ordered to leave last
year, while around 400 members over the age of 60 were also asked to leave.
“This year, the authorities are talking about 1,200 members who will have
to leave, and it is said that China has now issued a document saying that
only 5,000 monks and nuns will be allowed to remain here [at Larung Gar],”
the sources were quoted condition of anonymity.
The gradual process of reducing the strength of an institute founded by
late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok that once boasted around 10,000 students to half
could be a preventive measure since Beijing consider the center a hub for
those who disseminate information to ‘exile separatist forces.’
The year of 2001 saw the dismantling of Serthar Institute. Over 8,000
students were evicted forcibly from the Institute and approximately 2,000
dwellings of monks and nuns were demolished.
Situated at 13,000 feet above sea level, the institute was founded in 1980
by late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok who passed away on 6 January 2004. It became
one of the world’s largest and most important centers for the study of
Tibetan Buddhism after the Cultural Revolution.
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