Tibetan Buddhist Centers Linked to Larung Gar Shut Down Under Suspected Chinese Pressure

[TomSea]

Tibetan Buddhist Centers Linked to Larung Gar Shut Down Under Suspected Chinese Pressure
 By Richard Finney
2020-01-02


Bodhi Institute for Compassion and Wisdom founder Khenpo Sodargye is shown in an undated photo.
International Campaign for Tibet

A worldwide network of Tibetan Buddhist centers founded by a senior abbot of the Larung Gar Academy in China’s Sichuan province has been closed down, with followers suspecting Chinese pressure behind the move, a Tibetan advocacy group said on Thursday.

The Bodhi Institute of Compassion and Wisdom, founded by Larung Gar’s Khenpo Sodargye, and its affiliated centers were declared closed by its founder on Dec. 30, 2019, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a Jan. 2 statement.

The move followed separate interrogations by authorities of the Khenpo and another Larung Gar leader, Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro, in November, ICT said, adding that claims of “illegal activities” carried out in the Bodhi Institute’s name are believed by some center followers to have been scripted by China.

More at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/centers-01022020164534.html