China: Buddhist Clergy Told To Not Protest Monastery Demolition

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As Chinese authorities prepare to tear down parts of a historic Buddhist monastery in Sichuan province, monastic leaders are urging calm, reports RFA.

Plans for the demolition for parts of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy go into effect on July 25, an anonymous source said.

“It will begin with the nuns’ dwellings, as nine of those areas have been marked for action,” he said. “The demolition crews will consist of Chinese soldiers and workers.”

Senior monastic leaders Khenpo Tsultrim Lodroe and Khenpo Rigdar urged monks and nuns living at the monastery to continue their studies and shun any demonstrations, RFA reported.

The demolition is expected to cut the number of monks and nuns at the monastery to 5,000, about half of its current number. According to Tibetan website Pahyul, Larung Gar became one of the world’s most significant centers for the study of Tibetan Buddhism after the Cultural Revolution.

UCA News

The Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News, UCAN) is the leading independent Catholic news source in Asia. A network of journalists and editors that spans East, South and Southeast Asia, UCA News has for four decades aimed to provide the most accurate and up-to-date news, feature, commentary and analysis, and multimedia content on social, political and religious developments that relate or are of interest to the Catholic Church in Asia.

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