Fists fly over living god's crown
On a narrow winding lane on a Himalayan mountainside, past Indian army soldiers and burly, shaven-headed monks, lies a monastery at the centre of a feud that has split normally gentle Tibetans who revere a living god crowned with a black hat. Two rival factions of Tibetan Buddhism are fighting for control of the 30ha site of the Rumtek monastery, a few kilometres outside Gangtok, capital of the Indian state of Sikkim. The rivalry is such that there have been violent brawls between the monks, accusations of graft and corruption and a travel ban placed on the protagonists by Indian authorities, who want to keep a lid on Tibetan passions. more...

Religion struggling with exile and feuding
Tibetan Buddhism is a fusion of Buddhism with the ancient, animistic religions of the rooftop of the world: Bon and Hinduism. It has four schools of thought. The oldest is Nyingmapa, founded by the monk Padmasambhava, who spread Buddhism from the Indus to the Tibetan plateau in the 8th century. more...

17th Karmapa to visit UK
The spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, 17th Karmapa, Thaye Dorje, will visit the UK, for the first time, this week and will be guest of honour at a special inter-faith celebration to be attended by the Bishop of London. more...

The Hindu Forum of Britain hosted an evening of Friendship and Trust
Leaders from the World’s seven largest Faiths; Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Jainism and Sikhism this week. more...

AFFIRMATION OF GEOFFREY BRIAN SAMUEL
The specialist field of my research is religion and politics in Tibetan societies, and I have written and researched in this field since my doctorate, which was awarded in 1976 for a thesis on religion and politics in Tibetan societies. This thesis, and my principal book on Tibetan religion, Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies, published in 1993, both discuss the role of reincarnate lamas (tulku) in Tibetan religion at length, and I have continued to gather material on these topics subsequently, also working on other aspects of Tibetan culture and society. My research is based on interviews, participant observation, and study of documentary materials in Tibetan and in Western languages. more...

The Karmapa's Dance of Politics (IPS)
It is over five years since a 14-year-old Tibetan monk made a dramatic escape over the Himalayas to India, travelling over 1,500 kilometres from his monastery in Tibet, evading Chinese border troops and risking death by exposure to the cold. more...

Karmapa's return to Rumtek depends on India
The return of the 17th Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje, who is currently staying in Dharamsala, to the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim depends entirely on India, the Dalai Lama has said. more...