Tibetans and Buddhists in Taiwan said yesterday they were happy to hear the news of the recent escape from Tibet of the 17th Karmapa, Tibetan government-in-exile representatives told the Taipei Times.
They also expressed their hopes that the Karmapa would visit Taiwan.
"We are very happy for him," said Kunga T., secretary-general of the Tibet Religious Foundation of his holiness the Dalai Lama (
Kunga said there had always been restrictions on Karmapa and his studies of Buddhism, imposed by China.
"He needed to have some free space for learning," Kunga said.
In Tibet, under the rule of the Chinese government, individuals have no religious freedom and Karmapa is no exception, he said. His education had been in patriotism to the state, Kunga said.
One of the reasons for Karmapa leaving China was to look for his sect disciple and Buddhist teacher, Tai Situpa Rinpoche. According to Kunga, Tai Situpa is Abbot of the Sherab Ling Monastery in India, which is 30 hours' drive to Dharamsala.
Tai Situpa had applied many times to the Chinese Government to meet Karmapa but had been rejected every time.
Tai Situpa made a visit to Taiwan last November to conduct a blessing ceremony for victims of the 921 earthquake, on the invitation of the Huayu Foundation (
The visit coincided with the visit of another Karmapa, the Bhutan-based Thinley Thaye Dorje, which aroused controversy in Taiwan.
The controversy of the two Karmapas started in 1991, when two disciples of the late Karmapa claimed to have found the reincarnation of their master, one in Tibet and the other in Bhutan.
Thinley Thaye Dorje, 17, the Bhutanese incarnation, was recognized by the Karmapa's chief disciple Sharmapa Rinpoche.
Urgyn Trinley Dorje, the Tibetan based Karmapa, who just made his escape five days ago, was recognized by Tai Situpa Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama. He was later "ratified" by the Chinese government.
Lineage and learning are the two main reasons for his departure, said Chen Li-an (3紡i|w), president of the Huayu foundation and former Control Yuan president.
Chen said the late 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, had left the Black Crown, a lineage symbol of Karmapa, and other religious instruments to the Lonte Monastery in Sikkim. Those instruments need to be returned to him, so that he can be the real Karmapa, Chen explained.
Chen had met with Karmapa three months ago. He said Karmapa had always been eager to learn. Six years ago, he said, when Karmapa went to Beijing his wish was to go abroad and learn.
"Karmapa had often asked followers who visited him in Lhasa, `what did you learn outside?'" Chen said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique