The Rumtek row

A court order for the preparation of an inventory of valuables in the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim revives a slew of issues.

ON the face of it, this dispute in the Himalayan State of Sikkim centres around the vajra mukut, a sapphire-studded black crown, housed in the Rumtek monastery in East district. The question is: does anyone, including the Reserve Bank of India's Regional Director, have the right to touch the crown?

Lines of segregation that not only divide the various bodies of monks but also dictate the actions of the State government have surfaced. The dispute has also revived the controversy over succession to the leadership of the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism.

The row over the crown intensified when District Judge S.W. Lepcha asked for an inventory of movable and immovable valuables in the Rumtek monastery to be taken by the Regional Director of the RBI in Kolkata. The order followed the filing of an application before the Judge by the Karmapa Charitable Trust claiming that the valuables belonged to it and that it was the true administrator of the Rumtek monastery.

In its application, the Trust said that in 1993 its members were driven out of Rumtek by Gyaltsab Rimpoche, a Tibetan monk. It argued that the court order of 1986 had entrusted with it the responsibility to administer the monastery until the enthronement of the 17th Karmapa. The Trust pleaded for the appointment of a commissioner who could prepare the inventory of the monastery's properties, which, it said, were being misused.

The issue has given the Pawan Kumar Chamling government an opportunity to dabble in matters of religion and faith. The Chief Minister has written three letters to the Centre seeking permission for Ugyen Trinley Dorje, a claimant to the position of Karmapa, to visit Rumtek. The logic of the demand is that he would prepare the inventory and not the RBI official, as religious articles can only by touched by Ugyen Dorje. The State government does not want to take on the Buddhist associations such as the all-important Denzong Lhadey Tsokpa or the Tsurphu Labrang which runs Rumtek, both of which are against the Rumtek Charitable Trust. Tsokpa's leaders have maintained that no one but the Karmapa is authorised to touch the property.

On March 15, more than 5,000 monks belonging to the Lhadey Tsokpa gathered in a demonstration in Gangtok demanding that the inventory be undertaken by the Karmapa and not the RBI official. Chamling told the demonstrators that he had written to the Centre requesting permission for the entry of Ugyen Dorje to Sikkim. It was evident that Chamling did not want to antagonise the congregation whose members cut across the local communities - Bhutias, Lepchas and Nepalese.

The only voice of opposition is that of the Karmapa Charitable Trust and organisations such as the Dharma Chakra Centre. "From the first Karmapa to the 16th Karmapa there has always been a caretaker administration appointed by the preceding Karmapa. The caretaker administers the properties and keeps his monastery functional till the next Karmapa is recognised and enthroned," wrote the Dharma Chakra Trust in a letter to Chamling dated March 22. The Trust requested the Chief Minister to stay out of the issue.

But it is clear that the State government has made up its mind. A senior official said: "The Central government has to understand that if it wants the emotional integration of Sikkim with India it has to permit Ugyen Dorje's entry into Rumtek."

He went on: "The longer his seat is kept vacant the more anxiety it will cause to all concerned. All political parties in Sikkim have accepted Ugyen Dorje, who is also recognised by the Dalai Lama. It is time the Central government woke up to this reality."

What the court order has done is to revive the succession issue. Sikkim is home to two of the four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism - Karma Khagyupa and Nyingmapa. The former is headed by the Gyalwa Karmapa, whose last incarnation, the 16th Karmapa, who fled to Rumtek in 1961, passed away in 1981. As Buddhist tradition goes, the Karmapa is a reincarnation. At present there are three claimants to the Karmapa title - Thaye Dorje, Dawa Sangpo Dorje and Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who has been recognised as Karmapa Lama by the Dalai Lama.

Ugyen Trinley Dorje was born at Bakor in Lhatok district of Kham province of Tibet on June 26, 1985. Those who back his claim to the Karmapa throne state that he has been identified as per the prediction letter left by the previous Karmapa.

Matters came to a head in January 2000 with the sudden appearance of the 14-year-old Ugyen Trinley Dorje from the remote Tsurphu monastery in Tibet at Dharmasala in Himachal Pradesh. This started the tussle over the control of the Kagyupa, or the Black Hat. Shamarpa Rimpoche, a regent of Rumtek, reiterated his demand to instal his candidate Thaye Dorje as the 17th Karmapa.

If these claims and counter-claims were not complicated enough, a new claimant entered the scene in the form of Dawa Sangpo Dorje. On December 9, 2001, the situation reached boiling point when Dawa Sangpo's attempts to enter Rumtek were thwarted by the State government. At that time too the government wrote to the Centre requesting it to allow Ugyen Dorje to claim the Karmapa throne as its rightful owner.

Much of the controversy has, however, revolved around arguments between the candidature of Ugyen Dorje and Thaye Dorje. Contesting Thaye Dorje's claims is the joint action committee of all Sikkim Buddhist organisations. The committee has challenged Shamarpa's introduction, stating that the lineage of Shamarpa was discontinued in Tibet for he "frequently created trouble in the religious order".

THE issue of the black crown has been central to the war of succession. It came to the fore when Ugyen Dorje arrived in Dharmasala. Shamarpa then alleged that Ugyen's arrival was part of a Chinese ploy to steal the crown. At another point, Shamarpa said that whoever was in possession of the crown would be recognised as the Karmapa. The JAC dismissed this suggestion, maintaining that if that be the case there would be absolute anarchy.

Following the court order, the Dharma Chakra Centre, which is backed by Shamarpa, said that it would not oppose the preparation of an inventory. "Inventories are a practice of any institution and such inventories have been done on many occasions at different levels," it wrote to Chamling. The letter went on to say that the present inventory "would be taken in the presence of Rimpoches like Shamar and Gyaltsab along with other people. So where is the question of religious sacrilege?"

Members of the Tsurphu Labrang and the Denzong Lhadey Tsokpa are against such an exercise. "We do not oppose the court order. We are only demanding that if an inventory needs to be done, then Ugyen Dorje should be present there. The objects in the monastery have historical and spiritual value attached to them. This is an opportunity for the Karmapa to come to Rumtek," said Sonam Ongmu Denzongpa, coordinator of the Tsurphu Labrang. "The black crown is the most sacred item. It cannot be touched by a lay person. This would be sacrilege and would undermine the religious sentiments of the Buddhist community not only in Sikkim but all over the world," said Khenpo Tsultrim, a spokesperson of the Tsurphu Labrang. On March 23, the joint action committee moved an application in the Supreme Court against the court order.

The court order has thus opened a Pandora's box. The order is being used by Tsurphu Labrang, Denzong Lhadey Tsokpa and the State government to demand the entry of Ugyen Dorje to Rumtek. This has led to the escalation of tension in the monastery, which has been under police protection for a decade now. The armed forces are holding vigil outside the monastery. "Rumtek has 13 treasure boxes (the treasures are estimated to be worth $1 billion.) Aside from the black crown it has rhino-horn statues made by the 10th Karmapa," said Ugyen Jigme, secretary of the Tsurphu Labrang.

Designed as per ancient Tibetan traditions, the monastery has many similarities with the Tsurphu monastery in Tibet. A spacious courtyard and quarters surround the four-storey monastery. At the centre of the courtyard stands a pillar on which the history of the monastery is inscribed in the Tibetan language. The first and second floors of the main temple are decorated with six Gyaltsen or victory banners. The entrance to the main temple are adorned by the paintings of saints of Nalanda university and lineage holders such as Tilopa and Naropa.

Whether the doors to the treasures of the rich monastery will be opened by the RBI official remains to be seen, but the recent events have certainly helped reinforce the demand for allowing Ugyen Dorje entry into Rumtek.