Truth will Prevail,
Gyalwang Karmapa assures devotees[Friday, 4 February 2011, 12:15 p.m.]

His Eminence the 17th Karmapa greets devotees, including a large gathering of Tibetans, at Gyuto Monastery at Sidhbari near Dharamsala, India, on 2 February 2011.The ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

DHARAMSHALA: His Eminence the 17th Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, addressed a large gathering of Tibetans who visited
him at his monastery to express their support and solidarity on
Wednesday (2 February). The deputy speaker of the Tibetan
Parliament-in-Exile along with a group of Tibetan MPs also met Gyalwang
Karmapa on the occasion. In his address, Gyalwang Karmapa said:
“Today, so many people have gathered to show their love, sincere
intentions and support, and I want to especially thank you and express
my heartfelt gratitude. We are now facing such a situation, which has
arisen due to misunderstandings and mistakes, that it has even caused
concern to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”“India has become a
second homeland to Tibetans. We all have taken refuge and settled here.
India, in contrast to communist China, is a free country, a democratic
country that is based on the rule of law. Therefore I trust that things
will improve and the truth will become clear in time. So please be at
ease. There is no need to worry,” he said.“You have all borne
hardship to come here under this hot sun, and I thank you for that too.
It seems there are too many people here today to receive you
individually. You can see me from there and I can see you, so perhaps
there is no need to give individual blessings,” he added.”Since
the investigation began, Gyalwang Karmapa has continued to receive
visitors and participate in a major annual ritual cycle taking place,
while also offering his full co-operation to the investigation,” the
Karmapa’s administration said in a statement. In a separate statement
issued on Tuesday, Gyalwang Karmapa’s administration refuted the
allegations being levelled against the Karmapa and his administration as
“grossly speculative and without any foundation in the truth
whatsoever”. “We can confirm that under 5 Crores (USD 1 million)
was taken by the authorities from the monastery. This sum represents
unsolicited donations that have been made by the followers of Gyalwang
Karmapa from around the world to enable the substantial social and
spiritual programmes of the Karma Kagyu order. Our administration has
sought to acquire clearance since 2002 to deposit cash donations under
the Foreign Currencies Regulation Act of India. Until the necessary
permissions are granted, the monastery diligently recorded and stored
the currency on its own premises. We are currently in the process of
providing this evidence to the authorities,” the statement said.“As
for the Chinese currency, we would like to stress that Gyalwang Karmapa
has a large and devoted following of Tibetans from Tibet and of
Buddhists from the Chinese mainland who make offerings in the Yuan. The
Yuan found constitutes less than 10% of the cash in question, which
included currency from over 20 countries. Moreover, the Yuan seized by
police include notes ranging from 1 Yuan to larger denominations,
clearly indicating that they come from multiple, individual sources,”
the statement noted. “Regarding allegations of improper land
deals, Gyalwang Karmapa has been hosted in a temporary residence in
Dharamsala since 2000. As the premises belong to another Tibetan
Buddhist order, the Karmae Garchen Trust has sought to purchase land and
build a new residence and monastery since 2007. When the trust
identified suitable land in 2010, it informed the office of the District
Collector of Dharamsala and sought their approval to proceed with the
purchase. The application was accompanied by a strong letter of support
from the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The trust obtained both an ‘essentiality certificate’ and a
‘no-objection certificate’ from the Town and Country Planning Department
of the Himachal Pradesh Government, indicating state government
approval to proceed with the plans for purchase,” it added.On 31
January, the home minister of India, P Chidambaram, stated:
“Investigations are underway in Karmapa case. No conclusion drawn
whether he is a Chinese agent or not.”Responding to the media
queries on the issue, His Holiness the Dalai Lama had said “Karmapa is
one of important spiritual leader and naturally people from different
parts of the world, including many Chinese, even from the Mainland
China, come to seek blessing from him and as usual offer money.  There
are devotees, including Chinese from the Mainland and some Chinese
businessmen, are among his devotees. So naturally some money from them
are received by him. I think he (Karmapa) should create some kind of trust so that all these donations
can be put in the trust.”Also read:Transcript of Tibetan Parliament’s Statement on
Gyalwang Karmapa‘Allegations Against Gyalwang Karmapa and
Administration Baseless’Statement of Gyalwang Karmapa on Seeking Refuge in
India