By Tenzin Monlam
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 2007, 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.
