LARUNG
GAR, China — Atop a hill, a growling chain saw drowned out loudspeakers
broadcasting a lama’s chants from a nearby temple.
The
chain saw, wielded by workers demolishing a row of homes, signaled the
imminent end of thousands of hand-built monastic dwellings here at
Larung Gar, the world’s largest Buddhist institute.
Since
its founding in 1980, Larung Gar has grown into an extraordinary and
surreal sprawl — countless red-painted dwellings surrounding temples,
stupas and large prayer wheels. The homes are spread over the walls of
this remote Tibetan valley like strawberry jam slathered on a scone.
Larung Gar has become one of the most influential institutions in the Tibetan world,
the teachings of its senior monks praised, debated and proselytized
from here to the Himalayas. In recent years, disciples have popularized a
“10 new virtues” movement based on Buddhist beliefs, spreading its
message across the region.
Now
Chinese officials are tightening control over the settlement, in what
many Tibetans and their advocates call a severe blow to Tibetan religious practice.
For the rest of the story, pictures and a video see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/world/asia/china-takes-a-chain-saw-to-a-center-of-tibetan-buddhism.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
