China to train cadre of Tibetan monks to counter Dalai

BEIJING: The Chinese government is setting up the first-ever academy of Tibetan Buddhism in the Tibet autonomous region in south western China. Construction on the $11.7 million project began on Saturday. The project located near Lhasa is being fully funded by the Central government in Beijing.

The academy will train "patriotic and devotional religious personnel" with strong religious accomplishments and moral character, a senior government official said.

This is seen by government critics as an attempt to build an officially approved cadre of monks in order to dilute the influence of defiant monks in Tibet, some of whom have faith in the Dalai Lama.

The academy will conduct research on Tibetan Buddhism besides acting as a bridge for exchange of ideas on religious practices with the world outside the secluded province of Tibet, official sources said.

Chinese government critics saw in this move an attempt by the Communist Party to reinforce its belief that Tibetan Buddhism with its many variations is independent of the Dalai Lama. The party regards the Dalai Lama as a politician, who is set to damage Tibetan culture.

"Dalai Lama and his clique and the anti-China forces in the West conspire to force the Tibetan ethnic group and its culture to stagnate and remain in a state similar to the Middle Ages," the government said in a recent White Paper on Tibet.

The Communist Party has all along emphasised the need for religious personnel including Tibetan monks and Christian priests to adopt the spirit of patriotism, which is regarded as a more important virtue than their spiritual accomplishments.

There are several research facilities on Tibetan Buddhism in different parts of China including Beijing but this is the first project of its kind on the land of its origin.

The government White Paper also said: "The Tibetan people have developed their culture by means of interaction ad fusion with other cultures, especially that of the Han people".

Human Rights groups have for long accused Chinese leaders of changing the demographic and cultural landscape of Tibet by pushing in vast numbers of Han Chinese people from mainland China.

Source.

This does not surprise me at all since the Chinese Govt. has attempted to dilute the Tibetan people since the 1950'