Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, March 20: The Chinese government is reportedly imposing severe restrictions on new monk enrollments across monasteries in the Amdo region(Ch. Qinghai), with particularly harsh measures at Dzoge Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery and Ngaba Kirti Monastery. Authorities have not only strictly prohibited young children from residing in monasteries but have also barred them from visiting for worship, pilgrimage, or any other religious purposes, according to sources inside Tibet who spoke to Radio Free Asia.
A Tibetan source from inside Tibet revealed that following the dismantling of the school at Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery last year, the government appointed surveillance personnel to monitor monastic activities closely. Even the presence of small children within the monastery premises triggers immediate questioning and follow-ups to identify the monks sheltering them. Individuals found harboring children face interrogation and detainment. Moreover, new monk enrollments at Ngaba Kirti Monastery now require stringent approvals from both prefecture and county-level authorities, reflecting the intensifying suppression of Tibetan monastic education.
Since October last year, Chinese authorities forcibly shut down the Buddhist preliminary school at Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery, detaining monk students who resisted transfer to government-run schools. Similarly, over 1,000 monk students from Ngaba Kirti Monastery were forcibly relocated to permanent government schools in Ngaba County. Under the pretense of providing basic Chinese language education, the students were subjected to over three months of Communist Party political indoctrination. Meanwhile, teachers from Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery have been repeatedly harassed, facing indefinite summons and interrogations under allegations of political dissent.
The Chinese government continues to justify these actions under the claim that minors are not permitted to reside in monasteries. However, the forced closure of monastery schools and the systematic removal of young monk students to government-run institutions—without the consent of parents or monastic authorities—has raised serious concerns about the erosion of Tibetan religious and cultural heritage. Reports indicate that last year alone, over 1,000 young monks from the two Kirti Monasteries were forcibly transferred to state-controlled schools.
In an alarming incident in early September last year, five students forcibly removed from Muge Monastery and placed in government-run schools attempted suicide due to the unbearable physical abuse and torture they endured. These distressing events, observers say, highlight the severe rights violations taking place under the guise of educational reforms, reflecting a broader strategy by the Chinese government to suppress Tibetan religious identity and dismantle monastic institutions.
One Response
Communist China is enemy of religion in general and especially ENEMY Tibetan Buddhism! Its invasion of Tibet started with RANSACKING of every monastery and murder of thousands of monks and nuns! Tibet is known as the “LAND OF LAMAS” named after a book by William Woodville Rockhill. William Woodville Rockhill was a US diplomat who is the first American to learn to speak Tibetan!
From the seventh century, during the time of Emperor Songtsen Gampo, sixteen Tibetan students were sent to India to study Buddhism. Most of them died sickness, the Indian heat and long journey on foot to distant India. Thomi Sambhota was the only one who survived the arduous journey and introduced the Tibetan calligraphy on the basis of Nagari writing. After, the introduction of Tibetan calligraphy by Thomi Sambhota, Tibetans started to translate Buddhist Sanskrit texts into Tibetan language. Many Tibetan translators travelled on foot to India with their backpacks packed with Tsampa and utensils to make the incredibly long and arduous journey to India to learn Buddhism from Indian masters and returned to Tibet to propagate it into the country. The great Marpa, the translator made three trips to India. He recalls the endless plains that he had cross and the endless passes that he had to traverse. Likewise, Chak Lotsawa (The translator Chak) writes how he had to wait for a week to cross a certain area where the buffaloes posed danger and was unable to continue his journey. For those who may not know, in Nepal, buffaloes are used for both agricultural purposes as well as for meat and milk. Often there are herds of buffaloes who chase Tibetans to gore them. This is because Tibetans smell as we come into warm and hot weather and this for some reason drives the buffaloes to chase and gore them. Another factor is the monks wear maroon robes and this attracts the attention of the buffaloes! The Tibetans invested their life and limb on the Buddha Dharma for centuries. There are monasteries everywhere in Tibet! Depending upon the size of the population, every village has a monastery because for the Tibetan people, the monasteries are the hub of the community. The shows such monk dances are both spiritual inspiration as well as entertainment. The monks are the advisers, confidante and medicaments for those who are sick and the monks also offer pujas for them to recover from their illness. If they die, the monks are the ones to perform the funeral rites and console the bereaved family. The monasteries and its monks are an indispensable part of Tibetan life! When the evil communists invaded and occupied Tibet, their number one target was the monasteries and the monk/nun community. For them religion is like poison and they vandalised every monastery and plundered centuries old treasure that ordinary people have offered to the monasteries. Communist China became rich just by pillaging Tibet’s monastic treasures which consists of gold statues in the hundred if not thousands, golden offering bowls and golden butter lamps some of them life size made of solid gold, silver and encrusted with valuables stones like coral, turquoise and lapis lazuli etc. Tibetans must realize that COMMUNIST CHINA IS DETERMINED TO WIPE OUT TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN OCCUPIED TIBET! Communists have a penchant to destroy religion and the Chinese communists see that TIBET’S RESISTANCE TO ITS ILLEGAL OCCUPATION COMES FROM THE MONASTIC COMMUNITY. Besides, it cannot tolerate the notion of the Tibetan masses having respect and adulation to the monk community. It wants the Tibetan masses to have respect ONLY for the evil CCP! It is an extremely jealous beast like a possessive partner! They demonise the Dalai Lama and call him names for the same reason!
They are trying to bring up a new generation of Tibetans who have shed all their allegiance to their religion and their leader the Dalai Lama! The CCP has therefore kidnapped one million Tibetan children from the age of four to be indoctrinated into violent doctrine of Chinese communism, where they are taught the wonders of Marxism and force the children to worship the CCP, the false God of communism!