Amid growing pressure to reveal the source of the unaccounted foreign currency seized from his monastery, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, broke his silence on Wednesday and blamed the current police probe on a “misunderstanding.”
“I trust that things will become clear in time. So be at ease. There is no need to worry," the Karmapa told restive devotees who had gathered at the Gyuto monastery in Dharamsala, where most of the Tibetan community in exile in India is based.
The devotees had staged a seven-kilometre peaceful march -- from the main Buddhist temple in McLeod Ganj to the monastery -- to express solidarity with the Karmapa.
Urging his followers to remain peaceful, the 26-year-old monk who heads the powerful Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism expressed faith that "truth will prevail”.
"The Indian government, in contrast to the communist regime in China, is a free and democratic country,” the Karmapa told his followers.
Over the last week, the police have quizzed the Karmapa and arrested several of his aides after nearly Rs6.5 crore -- including Rs12 lakh in Chinese yuan and Rs6 lakh in US dollars –- was recovered at his monastery during raids.
The Karmapa’s aides have maintained that the Chinese currency were offerings made by his large following of Tibetans from Tibet and Buddhists from the Chinese mainland.
{{/usCountry}}The Karmapa’s aides have maintained that the Chinese currency were offerings made by his large following of Tibetans from Tibet and Buddhists from the Chinese mainland.
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