Sikkim Observer Nov 12, 2011
Thousands flock to Chorten Gompa to receive blessings from Dodrupchen Rinpoche
5-day Nyingthig Yabzhi initiation ceremony held in Gangtok
Hill Media Network
Gangtok, Nov 11: A five-day Vajrayana empowerment ceremony concluded here at the Chorten Gompa on Wednesday with a record crowd of over 10,000 attending initiations given by Kyabze Dodroupchen Rinpoche on the last day.
Thousands of Budhhist devotees, including Rinpoches/Tulkus and lamas, from all over the State, neighbouring areas and from abroad flocked to the Chorten Gompa to receive the blessing. A largest number of devotees were from Bhutan.
Dzogchen Rinpoche and Dojum Rinpoche were among those who participated in the ceremony. Other Rinpoches included Payul Lhatul Rinpoche, Khando Rinpoche, Kushok Gemu Rinpoche, Lachung Rinpoche and Namchi Rinpoche.
The empowerment of Nyingthig Yabzhi according to the Dzogchen tradition of Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddhism is a rare and powerful ceremony given mainly to Buddhist practitioners.
Dodrupchen (85), the highest and oldest Nyingmapa Rinpoche, is the lineage holder of this precious and sacred tradition. Chorten Gonpa, on the outskirts of Gangtok, is the main seat of the Fourth Dodrupchen Rinpoche, holder of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. Though born in Golog (Kham) in eastern Tibet, Rinpoche has been in Sikkim since 1957.
While Dzogchen (Great Perfection) teachings are well-known for their direct and instantaneous approach to practice, they are also rich in key instructions that concern more gradual and accessible ways to transform the mind. This collection of teachings is drawn from the Heart Essence or Nyingtik, an approach to spiritual practice that is considered the most profound approach to realization in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
The first text in this collection is a short text from the Nyingthig Yabshi, the Four-fold Heart Essence, a set of teachings compiled by Longchenpa that combines the Dzogchen lineages of Vimalamitra and Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). It presents a series of practical instructions that are to be followed before engaging in more advanced forms of Dzogchen practice.
Allow Karmapa to visit Sikkim on Nov 17: Chamling
Gangtok, Nov 11: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling wants His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Thinley Dorje to visit the State on November 17.
This day is observed as Lhabab Dhuechen, a holy day for Buddhists. Chamling made the demand during his recent tour of North Sikkim, a region dominated by minority Buddhist Bhutia-Lepcha tribals. He has now written to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, urging him to allow the Karmapa to visit the State on Lhabab Dhuechen.
If the Centre does not allow the Karmapa to come to Rumtek the State Government wants him be permitted to visit Phodong monastery, which belongs to the Kargyu order of Tibetan Buddhism to which the Rumtek monastery belong.
The Chief Minister said he would ask his MPs to raise the issue with the Union Government. Earlier, Sikkim’s Rajya Sabha MP OT Lepcha had raised the issue in the Parliament.
Though Rumtek monastery in east Sikkim is the seat-in-exile of the Karmapa Lama, Dorje, widely acknowledged has the genuine Karmapa, has not been allowed to come to Sikkim.
This is partly due to the controversy of having several claimants, including Trinlay Thaye Dorje, to the Rumtek throne.
BJP wants Hazare to visit Sikkim to expose corruption
SPCC going soft on Chamling: Chettri
Gangtok, Nov 11: The State unit of the BJP has urged social activist Anna Hazare to pay a visit to the State to highlight the need to take immediate action on alleged corrupt practices of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and his government.
It has also accused the Sikkim PCC of going soft on Chamling after threatening him with court cases on the corruption issue.
Though the SPCC had filed a graft case against Chamling and his Cabinet members before the Supreme Court and the CBI it has not been very consistent in pursuing the matter. There are unconfirmed reports that the SPCC’s graft petition against Chamling in the Supreme Court was withdrawn recently.
The BJP has requested Hazare to visit the State as the State Congress party is “keeping mum” on the issue, BJP State unit President Padam Bahadur Chettri said.
He said the BJP has sent a letter to Hazare highlighting alleged corruption in the State administration involving the Chief Minsiter.
“During your countrywide visits, please include Sikkim in your itinerary. We will be delighted to have you in our midst. Mahatma Gandhi never visited Sikkim. Your visit will be like the visit of the Father of the nation,” Chettri said in his letter to Hazare.
While stating that the people of the State have been “extremely tormented” by the “corrupt State government” in the past 17 years, Chettri said, “A series of criminal complaints were filed against him but all ended in his favour.”
Chettri said if Chamling is clean, which he claims to be, “he should welcome CBI investigation” in the State. The BJP chief said Chamling was blocking CBI’s entry in the State mainly because he was corrupt.
Editorial
CHINA-INDIA TIES
The Final Conflict
The Indian army has predicted a war with its nuclear-armed neighbor China by 2017 as Beijing continues to strengthen its military muscle. A secret military exercise, called 'Divine Matrix', by the Indian troops visualized a war scenario with China in five years’ time. "A misadventure by China is very much within the realm of possibility with Beijing trying to position itself as the only power in the region," a senior army officer told a national daily following the maneuver. An Indian military's assessment has outlined that Beijing would rely on information warfare (IW) to bring New Delhi down on its knees.
Two years back the Pentagon released a report warning that China was busily trying to arm its forces with weapons that can be used to nullify the superiority of any naval and air power that could disrupt the balance of region.
According to one Indian analyst though, we're poised to attack them by 2012. Bharat Verma, editor of the Indian Defense Review, had said “there are multiple reasons for a desperate Beijing to teach India the final lesson, thereby ensuring Chinese supremacy in Asia in this century.” China and India comprise 40% of humanity and boast economies that are expected to loom large over the 21st century. They also represent two of the world's fastest-growing militaries, armed with nuclear weapons, and are expanding their spheres of influence across oceans.
Jonathan Holslag, a Brussels-based scholar of Chinese foreign policy and author of the recent book China and India: Prospects for Peace, is among a growing number of observers who have dismissed the idea of "Chindia" — a term once often invoked, expressing optimism over the joint geopolitical rise of the two Asian giants. He spoke about the fault lines between the two neighbours, Washington's place in the region and how tensions could escalate into war. The subtitle of your book suggests that conflict is already under way. Is greater confrontation and perhaps even war inevitable in the coming years? It's not inevitable, but peace cannot be taken for granted. The scope for these two countries to develop peacefully and fulfill their national interests without entering into competition is getting smaller due to internal social pressures and rising nationalism.
The last war fought between India and China was almost 50 years ago. How much of a strain is its legacy? Ever since the 1962 war, both sides have been extremely cautious and suspicious of each other. There has been no resolution to the border issue [over remote, heavily militarized territories in the Himalayas] in spite of numerous rounds of negotiations and tensions that have flared recently. It's a kind of historic scar that impedes progress. And this traditional sticking point is now compounded by a newer contest.
We see now that both sides' economic aspirations are leading to more competition, especially in Asia, and this is slowly spilling over in a negative way into the realm of high politics of security and diplomacy.
India still has to start the industrialization of its society — a process that China began well before. Inevitably, there will be a fierce contest for raw materials, mainly in Asia. We see this already happening in Burma, in parts of Central Asia, Africa and elsewhere. This is only going to become fiercer. It's also a myth that somehow the two economies, with their different strengths, will be able to complement each other in the long term. India has to turn to manufacturing and China is not going to give up suddenly its own industries. They're too important for the country's stability.
Observer News Service
Gangtok, Nov 11: Residents of Chungthang in Sikkim, devastated by the September 18 earthquake, have demanded compensation for the loss of life and property from the authorities of Teesta Hydel project.
In a memorandum to the Managing Director of Teesta Urja, the residents have demanded compensation due to the damages caused by the earthquake as their houses had been rendered weak at the project site due to blasting for the project, PTI reported.
The memorandum cited a report of the Mines and Geology department, a couple of years ago, on the causes of house damage in the area due to blasting and other construction activities.
The memorandum also quoted the report as having raised the issue of damage in the event of an earthquake.
Subsequent to the report, a claim for damage compensation for 170 families was filed as also public request made for one time payment of three times the cost of visible damage and also insurance cover for all the houses, the memorandum stated, the report said.
With maximum casualties in the quake taking place in Chungthang and adjoining areas, the memorandum said 20 people had died in the project area prior to the earthquake.
"It proved beyond any doubt that the fear and apprehension of the people regarding the negative impact of the project were correct," the memorandum said.
The memorandum underlined the fact that a survey of the Mines and Geology department clearly established that there had been definite damage to public property by the blasting in the project area.
While Teesta Urja authorities have announced compensation for the damages and the lives lost, the residents point out that this is a 'paltry' sum considering the magnitude and extent of damage and loss of life and property.
Stressing that the people of Chungthang Gram Panchayat Unit and Shipgyer GPU in Lepcha reserve of Dzongu, had sacrificed their ancestral land for the development of the project, they demanded that the company reconstruct their houses and rebuild their lives and also provide for other infrastructural development in the area.
Appointments temporary: SBS
Observer News Service
Gangtok, Nov 11: State Bank of Sikkim has clarified that five persons appointed as Jr. Accounts Assistant, as reported in local newspapers, are purely on temporary basis to meet up the increased workload of the bank at the time of recent crisis due to earthquake and also due to increased workload in view of the opening of four new branches this year.
SBS said the Board of Directors has given approval to create posts of 10 Jr. Accounts Assistant to meet up the increased work load, according to an official release.
It said all the 10 posts will be filled up through competitive examination and interview shortly.
Sikkim may lose Kanchenjunga ritual after death of Lepcha priest
Gangtok, Nov 11: The Lepcha tribe believe their ancestors were made from snow on Kanchenjunga's summit.
Members of a mountain tribe in India say one of their most important rituals may never be performed again, after the death of their spiritual leader.
The Lepcha community, in the state of Sikkim, pray every year to the world's third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, BBC reported.
However, their 83-year-old priest, Samdup Taso, who used to conduct the elaborate ceremony, died last week leaving no anointed successor. The Lepchas regard Kanchenjunga as their guardian deity.
They believe their earliest ancestors were created from the snows on the summit of the peak, which towers over their homeland.
Around 50,000 members of the Lepcha tribe live in the tiny Indian state of Sikkim, which lies in the heart of the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
Although many have converted to Buddhism and Christianity, they still follow some of their traditional rituals.
The Lepchas have been praying to Kanchenjunga for hundreds of years, with the ceremony always led by descendents of their original priest.
However, Samdup Taso's son decided not to follow his father's profession, and there is no sign of any other family member stepping forward to take on the role.
"The tradition has ended forever," a local resident, Sherap Lepcha, told the Times of India.
The Lepcha are regarded as the original inhabitants of the Indian state of Sikkim
"It is not possible for another person to learn the rituals and take Samdup Taso's place."
Jenny Bentley, an ethnographer specialising in the Lepchas, said: "He was the last one in an ancient lineage of shamans who could perform the royal Kongchen [mountain deity] ritual."
"With his death a large part of the oral tradition and memory is lost irrevocably," she told the Sikkim Express. A local filmmaker, Dawa Lepcha, said it was a sad situation.
"Of course it's a great loss to us, because it's a part of our history and part of our identity that is being erased."
Kanchenjunga was first climbed by British mountaineers in 1955. The first member of the team to complete the ascent, Joe Brown, stopped just short of the top, out of respect for the belief in Sikkim that the summit of the mountain is sacred.
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