Many aspects of Tibetan monasteries and nunneries are systematically controlled and restricted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The methods and the degree of control and persecution vary widely throughout Tibetan areas, with some regions experiencing more freedom than others.
China's top leaders have expressed deep concern at the continued popularity and rapid growth of Tibetan Buddhism. The CCP has publicly ordered a halt to further spread of religion in Tibet; in addition, authorities have launched a new wave of regulations subjecting monasteries and nunneries to greater scrutiny and control.
Recent trends
Since 1996, the Party has rigorously enforced a patriotic re-education campaign by sending "work teams" into monasteries and nunneries throughout Tibet. In the course of conducting patriotic re-education sessions, work teams seek to identify, expel or arrest dissident monks and nuns and ensure that Party principles prevail over any competing Buddhist doctrines. Monks and nuns are indoctrinated to oppose separatism; support the unity of Tibet and China; recognize the Chinese appointed Panchen Lama as the true Panchen Lama; deny that Tibet was ever or should be independent; and denounce the Dalai Lama.
Background
From 1959 through the late 1970s, Chinese authorities methodically sought to destroy most aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. At the height of the Cultural Revolution, the Party intended to eradicate religious belief and practice in Tibet and committed acts of genocide. Over six thousand monasteries and temples were destroyed, dismantling the entire monastic system of Tibet. Tens of thousands of monks and nuns were executed, sent to concentration camps or sent back to their villages. All religious activity was banned.
In the late 1970s, the end of the Cultural Revolution and the subsequent easing of restrictions on religious expression ushered in a period of comparative leniency for religion. Tibetan monasticism re-emerged and individual religious practice gradually accelerated.
Chinese Government policy
In 1994, the Third National Forum on Work in Tibet introduced more far reaching restrictions on religion. These guidelines included: stricter control over the monastic institutions; a ban on the re-construction of religious buildings except with official permission; limits on the number of monks and nuns per monastery; and the screening and re-education of the monks and nuns in order to register or deregister them. Renewed and more vigorous efforts were aimed at preventing Tibetan Communist Party members from displaying religious devotion. Furthermore, the Third Forum initiated an especially hostile and aggressive campaign against the Dalai Lama's authority; the CCP identified the influence of the Dalai Lama and the "Dalai clique" as the root of Tibet's instability.
A range of government structures have been erected in Tibet to keep religious practice under limits acceptable to Chinese leadership. The Democratic Management Committee,(DMC), set up in all monasteries and nunneries to implement Party policies and regulations, monitors regions distant from Beijing. DMCs act as the eyes and ears of the Party in monasteries and nunneries. In conjunction with ad hoc government "work teams," DMCs search for suspected dissidents in monasteries and nunneries. A number of monks and nuns have been expelled from their institutions and even arrested on the recommendation of their DMC. Many monks and nuns have faced imprisonment for possessing a picture of Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, or for refusing to formally declare his or her opposition to the Dalai Lama and his policies--actions that are now considered political crimes.
Other restrictions limiting religious practice in Tibet include: age limits for novice monks and nuns; numeric limits on monks and nuns in each monastery; interference in the choice of monastic and religious leaders; expulsions of monks and nuns involved in peaceful demonstrations; and restrictions on monks traveling outside their monasteries.
Imprisonment of monks and nuns
Approximately half of Tibetan prisoners of conscience are monks and nuns. At any given time, hundreds of monks are being held in jails, detention centers and prisons in Tibet. An overwhelming majority of detained monks and nuns are routinely and brutally beaten during their confinement, particularly during the initial phase of questioning. Torture often includes beatings, suspension by the arms, electric shock to the mouth and genitals, exposure to intense cold, and rape.
In 1995, the Dalai Lama identified a six-year-old boy to be the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Soon afterwards, Chinese authorities abducted the boy and his whereabouts still remain unknown. China selected a second boy to be recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama and ordered monks as well as Tibetan cadres to officially denounce the Dalai Lama for making his announcement. These actions signaled an attempt by Beijing to drive a new schism into Tibetan Buddhism and to consolidate control over the religious and temporal affairs of Tibetans.
Recommendations
- Establishing religious freedom in Tibet requires deep structural and systematic reform of the Chinese political system. Initial steps must include:
- Dissolve the Democratic Management Committee presence in Tibetan regions;
- Halt the use of Work Teams in monasteries and nunneries;
- Release religious prisoners of conscience, including the Panchen Lama;
- Allow Tibetans to identify and install religious leaders of their own choosing;
- Permit Tibetans to worship the Dalai Lama, and display his photo in accordance with tradition;
- Abolish minimum age requirements for entering a monastery or nunnery.
Further Reading
International Campaign for Tibet, "A Season to Purge: Religious Repression in Tibet." Washington: 1996.
MacInnis, Donald E. (Ed), Religion in China Today. New York: Orbis Books, 1989.
Panchen Lama. A Poisoned Arrow: The Secret Report of the 10th Panchen Lama. London, 1997.
Schwartz, Ronald, Circle of Protest. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
Ya Hanzhang, Biographies of the Tibetan Spiritual Leaders Panchen Erdenis. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1996
