Larung Gar Abbot’s International Centres Shut Down

By Kritika M Narula / January 5, 2020;

Larung Gar’s senior abbot Khenpo Sodargye issued a statement on December 30, 2019 about the closure of the Bodhi Institute of Compassion and Wisdom, an American non profit organisation, led by Khenpo Sodargye, which aims to propagate Buddhist teachings and philosophy around the world. He declared that all affiliated organisations will be dissolved, all activities being undertaken under the name be terminated and websites shut down. The move, according to the statement, is in response to conjecture about the conduct of “illegal activities” in the name of the Bodhi Institute.

It is, however, suspected that there is more to the closure of the centres. The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT)* has cited an anonymous Chinese disciple of Sodargye who is convinced that these reasons mentioned in the statement were “written by Sodargye under the direction of the Chinese authorities”. The concluding sentence in the statement, “I will continue to love the nation as well as the religion and be in the service of the faithful public. I hope the faithful public will remain honest and be law-abiding”, has raised concern as it insinuates underhand motives of the Chinese authorities. The disciple was also reported to believe that the closure of the Bodhi Institute was part of the agenda of the interrogations conducted with both abbots of Larung Gar, Khenpo Sodargye and Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro, in November 2019.

ICT said in a press release, “The closure of Sodargye’s international centres may represent an effort to restrict his religious and moral influence, which has grown in recent years. As recently as 2014, Sodargye was featured on the cover of Chinese magazine Renwu Zhoukan (People Weekly). This was probably the first time a Buddhist monk or a Tibetan had been featured on the magazine cover.

Larung Gar in Tibet is one of the largest and most influential centres of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the world. It has survived multiple attempts at demolition by the Chinese authorities in the past – including the destruction of the living quarters and expulsion of thousands of monks, and the construction of walls and checkpoints to prevent re-entry of those expelled. In April 2019, Larung Gar was also closed to new enrolments by the Chinese authorities.

*The United States based International Campaign for Tibet is the largest Tibet support group, helping Tibetans in their peaceful struggle for democracy and human rights and seeking to preserve Tibet’s ancient culture of wisdom.