MB Civic

China Destroys Giant Buddhist Statue in Tibet
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by the Ethical Traveler News Team
Ethical Travel News, CA
July 2, 2007

In a demonstration of tightening controls
over religious freedom in Tibet, the
Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP)
destroyed a 30-foot high statue of the
Buddhist figure Guru Rinpoche, or
Padmasambhava, in Samye Monastery, the
oldest monastery in Tibet. Guru Rinpoche is
worshipped by Tibetan and Chinese
Buddhists alike as the founder of Buddhism
in Tibet in the 8th century.

Chinese authorities claim that the statue,
which was constructed using funds from
two Chinese Buddhists, violated
regulations passed in January 2007 stating
that “organizations and individuals not
belonging to religious organizations or
places of religious activity may not erect or
construct large-scale outdoor religious
statues or mani lhakhang [prayer wheel
temple].”

The adoption of these recent regulations–
and the demolition of the Guru Rinpoche
statue–suggest a frightening trend toward
further religious suppression of the
Tibetan people by Beijing. As Buddhism
rises in popularity worldwide, including
among Chinese people, the Chinese
government has responded by gripping
the reins ever tighter over religious
practices.

Because Buddhism is intricately connected
to Tibetan culture and national identity,
Chinese measures to suppress it are
especially severe.

One Tibetan in the Samye area told the
Tibetan Center for Human Rights and
Democracy (TCHRD) that “Tibetans in
Lhoka, particularly in Dranang county, did
not dare to challenge the officials openly
but deep inside their heart, people fear
and worry that the demolition of Guru
Rinpoche’s statue and transportation of its
rubble bear a resemblance to the dark era
of the Cultural Revolution.”

After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in
1949, over 6,000 monasteries, nunneries,
and temples were looted of precious
religious artifacts or destroyed entirely.
Over 110,000 religious leaders (including
monks, nuns, and others) were tortured
and put to death; an additional 250,000
were forcibly disrobed. Thousands of
refugees continue to flee Tibet each year in
search of religious freedoms they can no
longer enjoy in their own country.

Reported by Jenny Williams