The Indian government in New Delhi has softened its hardline position on the status of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, one of two claimants to the title of 17th Karmapa. (The other is Trinley Thaye Dorje.) His travel restrictions, among other issues, have eased. Asia Times Online has an extensive article on this issue, which begins:
DHARAMSALA, India – In a gesture to rehabilitate the reputation of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, hurt by suspicions that he was a “Chinese spy” and involvement in money laundering, the Indian government has recently given permission for the Karmapa to travel out of Dharamsala and, for the first time, officially recognized him as a Tibetan religious leader.
The Karmapa, the third-highest monk in Tibetan Buddhism, has been given the green-light by New Delhi to take a month-long pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, Buddhism’s holiest place, and Varanasi, his winter retreat.
Read the whole piece here.
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