China to reduce Larung Gar’s
strength to 5,000
June 08, 2016 Tenzin Monlam
Phayul.com
DHARAMSHALA, June 8: Tibet’s largest
Buddhist center, Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Serthar County,
Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, has been ordered by the
Chinese government to cut down its strength to just 5000 by
September 2017, according to a report by RFA.
Sources told RFA that the massive cut at the Larung Gar Buddhist
Academy would see further reduction in the numbers of monks and
nuns allowed to live at center with the process of evictions of
residents already taking place.
The source also added that around 60-70 percent of the dwellings
are marked for demolition and construction of roads as Chinese
President Xi Jinping takes keen interest in the process.
The order to reduce the number of residents at Larung Gar is not
from the Serthar County authorities ‘but comes from higher
authorities,’ with Xi Jinping taking a personal interest in the
matter, the source said.
The source added that 600 members of the center were ordered to
leave last year, while around 400 members over the age of 60 were
also asked to leave.
“This year, the authorities are talking about 1,200 members who
will have to leave, and it is said that China has now issued a
document saying that only 5,000 monks and nuns will be allowed to
remain here [at Larung Gar],” the sources were quoted condition of
anonymity.
The gradual process of reducing the strength of an institute
founded by late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok that once boasted around
10,000 students to half could be a preventive measure since Beijing
consider the center a hub for those who disseminate information to
‘exile separatist forces.’
The year of 2001 saw the dismantling of Serthar Institute. Over
8,000 students were evicted forcibly from the Institute and
approximately 2,000 dwellings of monks and nuns were
demolished.
Situated at 13,000 feet above sea level, the institute was founded
in 1980 by late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok who passed away on 6 January
2004. It became one of the world’s largest and most important
centers for the study of Tibetan Buddhism after the Cultural
Revolution.