Another case of demolition of a Buddhist statue has rocked news. But this time it is not the Al-Qaeda but authorities in China. An activist group claims that Chinese authorities have bulldozed a statue of a Buddhist master at Tibet’s oldest monastery.
International Campaign for Tibet claims that the 30-foot-high gold-and-copper plated statue of Guru Rinpoche was demolished in mid of May, an act of forceful enforcement of measures brought in Tibet earlier this year to regulate the creation of outdoor holy statues. However, Chinese authorities reproved the charges by the activist group saying that the statue being constructed by Samye monastery was against law. Tibetan government is mum on the issue.
Tibetans are Buddhist by religion. Buddhism has pervaded in their lives and China’s views this devotion as a threat to its hegemony. Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava is the patron saint for Tibetans. He is said to have established Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century, thereby laying the foundation for the Samye monastery.
Tibet has for long been suffering at the hands of China, that claims it to be a part of the country. Whereas, Tibetans assert that they are an independent state. However, the small Himalayan region has been under the Chinese occupation ever since Beijing’s communist troops invaded the land in 1951. Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetans or the Buddhists has been in exile ever since, thanks to China’s claims that the religious leader is a threat to its supremacy.
The latest act is an attempt by Beijing to attenuate Tibet’s exceptional Buddhist culture.
Via: Yahoo
