(TibetanReview.net, Mar01’24) – China reported Feb 28 that 12 monks had been awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa following a sutra debate that day in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), apparently to make the point that religious freedom is respected and thriving there under its occupation rule. But compare to this the fact that in January this year, the same degree was awarded to more than 300 candidates in India at a ceremony attended by Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, at Bodh Gaya, India.
Given the fact that less than 3% of Tibet’s population live in exile, including around half of them in India, the difference becomes startling, even though those 300 awardees at Bodh Gaya represented the number of graduates over the past four years.
In contrast, in Chinese ruled Tibet, a total of 189 Tibetan Buddhist monks had been awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa since 2004, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency Feb 28.
Geshe Lharampa is the highest degree in the exoteric teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, equivalent to a doctoral degree in modern education, the report said while reporting the award.
Hailing from TAR and Yunnan Province, the 12 monks attended the debate and award ceremony held at the Jokhang Temple in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, the report said.
Yunnan, it should be noted, includes Dechen (Chinese: Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which is part of independent Tibet’s historical province of Kham.
There is a host of reasons why the number of Geshe Lharampa awards in Tibet is miniscule compared to that in India, including China’s imposition of severe limits and multitudes of restrictions on the enrolment of monks in monastic study centres; the requirement for monks to undergo patriotism tests and studies as part of their admission process, curriculum, and examination; and arrest of monks for perceived separatist activities that include calling for respect for Tibetan people’s human, religious, linguistic, and cultural rights.