BEIJING: A well known Tibetan monk who established the first monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Europe was stabbed to death in Trengdu near Chengdu city in China on Tuesday.
Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche (73) was killed along with his nephew and another monk. He has played a significant role including finding the present Karmapa who now lives in India.
"I am very, very sorry to inform you all that tragically, my brother Choje Akong Rinpoche, my nephew and one monk who was travelling with then were all assassinated in Trengdu today," his brother Lama Yeshe Rinpoche wrote in the website of the UK-based Samye Ling monastery.
The police in Chengdu suggested the murders may have been caused by a money dispute with other Tibetans. It suspects three Tibetans for involvement in the stabbing. But the Rinpoche's family is describing it as an 'assassination'. The statement on the Samye Ling monastery website confirmed the report saying its founder has been "assassinated".
"Rinpoche's body has been taken to hospital where a post mortem will be carried out," the posting said. The Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, head of one of the four branches of Tibetan Buddhism, have been informed and they are saying prayers for the Akong's soul, it said.
Akong left Tibet around the time the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 when China took over Tibet. He founded the monastery in UK in 1967 and later developed good relationship with Chinese government visiting the country regularly to promote charity organization.
He led a search party that discovered a seven-year-old nomad boy as the Karmapa and the Chinese government accepted the choice. But the Karmapa later escaped from Tibet at the age of 14 because he felt he could pursue his studies better in India.
In a statement from Gyuto monastery near Dharamsala, the Karmapa said, "Akong Tulku has been my friend from the time I was seven. A social activist, he showed great kindness to Tibet by founding schools and hospitals, printing old texts, and helping many people. Thus I am shocked to hear that he along with two others has been taken from us so suddenly."
Top Tibetan monk killed in China - The Times of India
Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche (73) was killed along with his nephew and another monk. He has played a significant role including finding the present Karmapa who now lives in India.
"I am very, very sorry to inform you all that tragically, my brother Choje Akong Rinpoche, my nephew and one monk who was travelling with then were all assassinated in Trengdu today," his brother Lama Yeshe Rinpoche wrote in the website of the UK-based Samye Ling monastery.
The police in Chengdu suggested the murders may have been caused by a money dispute with other Tibetans. It suspects three Tibetans for involvement in the stabbing. But the Rinpoche's family is describing it as an 'assassination'. The statement on the Samye Ling monastery website confirmed the report saying its founder has been "assassinated".
"Rinpoche's body has been taken to hospital where a post mortem will be carried out," the posting said. The Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, head of one of the four branches of Tibetan Buddhism, have been informed and they are saying prayers for the Akong's soul, it said.
Akong left Tibet around the time the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 when China took over Tibet. He founded the monastery in UK in 1967 and later developed good relationship with Chinese government visiting the country regularly to promote charity organization.
He led a search party that discovered a seven-year-old nomad boy as the Karmapa and the Chinese government accepted the choice. But the Karmapa later escaped from Tibet at the age of 14 because he felt he could pursue his studies better in India.
In a statement from Gyuto monastery near Dharamsala, the Karmapa said, "Akong Tulku has been my friend from the time I was seven. A social activist, he showed great kindness to Tibet by founding schools and hospitals, printing old texts, and helping many people. Thus I am shocked to hear that he along with two others has been taken from us so suddenly."
Top Tibetan monk killed in China - The Times of India
