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The government of India has indicated that it is reviewing its stance on the status of His Holiness the Karmapa in India. “India doesn’t doubt . . . [that the Karmapa] is the future face of Tibetan Buddhism,” Amitabh Mathur, advisor on Tibetan affairs in the Ministry of Home Affairs told The Indian Express. “We have no doubts about his commitment to the Tibetan struggle, his loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and his attachment to India. If anyone feels that the old situation [of suspicion that he is acting as an agent] may arrive again, we are trying to dispel that notion. There are no restrictions on his travel. Apart from the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa is the only [Tibetan] Buddhist leader who had met elected representatives of the government.”

Photo: kagyuoffice.org

Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born in 1985 in Lhatok in eastern Tibet, and received his initial education at Tsurphu Monastery, the traditional seat of the Karmapa lineage. At the age of 14, he fled to India where he was received by His Holiness the Dalai Lama who has recognised him as the 17th Karmapa.

After his arrival in India, his movements were closely monitored by the Indian government. In 2000, a state security committee passed an order restricting the Karmapa’s freedom to travel to sensitive parts of the country without prior permission. In 2015, the government eased the travel restrictions. He has been residing in the United States since October 2017.

Since 2000, the governments of India and China have been active in promoting their respective Buddhist histories, positioning themselves as the source of Buddhist thought and culture in order to bolster their political power.

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest lineage of the Kagyu, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The institution of the Karmapa is the oldest tulku lineage in Tibetan Buddhism. Due to a disagreement within the Karma Kagyu school the identity of the 17th Karmapa remains a matter of dispute. The majority of Tibetan Buddhists recognize Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, while others recognize Trinley Thaye Dorje.