The move reflects China’s tightening grip on religious activities, sources say.
-By Pelbar and Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan
Chinese authorities have forbidden the admission of new monks of all ages into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Chamdo prefecture in eastern Tibet amid growing restrictions on religious activities in the country, two sources familiar with the development told Radio Free Asia.
This is the first time Chinese authorities have prohibited the enrollment of monks of all ages, though previously only minors, or those below the age of 18, were restricted from joining the monastic order in Tibet, said a source from inside the region.
“Now, authorities have issued an order forbidding the intake of any new monks into Khyungbum Lura Monastery in Markham [county],” said the source, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. Khyungbum Lura Monastery is one of the largest monasteries of the Gelug, or Yellow Hat, sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the county, historically a part of Tibet’s Kham region. It currently has more than 80 monks, the sources told RFA.
The monks of the monastery are known to have resisted the People’s Liberation Army – which marched into Chamdo, Tibet, in 1950 – for over six years before soldiers destroyed much of the monastery, save for a lone stupa, the sources said. Subsequently, local Tibetans and the remaining monks worked to restore parts of the monastery after the so-called liberalization program introduced in Tibet in the early 1980s.
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