Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

says: “He [The Dalai Lama] is the Captain of Peace in the world; he is the overall head of all Buddhist
traditions on this earth; he is the master acclaimed by all the religious traditions of the world”.
The “Karmapa affair”
A spectacular example of how the Kundun is able to turn the divisions within the other sects to his
advantage is offered by the so-called “Karmapa affair”. The turbulent events played out between
various factions within the Kagyupa sect since the start of the nineties have included radical
confrontations and court cases, violent brawls and accusations and counter-accusations of murder.
The cause of this un-Buddhist disagreement was that in the search for the 17 th incarnation of the new
Karmapa, the leader of the Kagyupa, two principal candidates and their proponents confronted one
another — on the one side, Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche, who advocated a youth in Tibet, on
the other, Shamar Rinpoche, who proposed a boy in India. Shortly before the decision, a third abbot,
Jamgon Kongtrol Rinpoche, whose voice would have been very influential in the choice, was the
victim of a mysterious fatal car accident. Shortly afterwards, the remaining parties accused one
another of having brought about the death of Jamgon Kongtrol via magical manipulation. Brawls
between the two monastic factions and bloody heads resulted in India, shots were even exchanged, so
that the Indian police were forced to intervene (Nesterenko, 1992).
Situ Rinpoche advocated a Sino-Tibetan boy (Urgyen Trinley) as his Karmapa candidate, who also
had the support of the Kundun and the Tibetan government in exile. Shamar Rinpoche, however,
presented his own Karmapa (Thaye Dorje) to the public in Delhi on March 17, 1994. Since that time a
great rift has divided the Kagyupa lineage, affecting the numerous groups of western believers as
well. Superficially, one could gain the impression that Situ Rinpoche represented the Asian, and
Shamar Rinpoche the Euro-American segment of the Red Hat followers. However, closer inspection
proves this to be an erroneous picture, then Shamar Rinpoche has established a notable power base in
the kingdom of Bhutan and Situ Rinpoche also has many supporters for his candidate in the West.
There are no small number of groups who would like to mediate between the two rivals. But one
knows full well what is at stake for the Kagyupa lineage in this fundamental difference. At the end of
an open letter by “neutral” Red Hat abbots is to read, that if the differences continue then it is certain
that no side will emerge as the 'winner' or the 'loser'. The sole loser will be the Karmapa Kagyupa
lineage as a whole (Tibetan Review, October 1993, p. 8).