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Content
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1)  Official Chinese Documents on Restrictions on Number of
     Monks and Nuns
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From:  HUMAN RIGHTS DESK
          Department of Information and International Relations,
          Central Tibetan Secretaiat, Gangchen Kyishong,
          Dharamsala      176 215, India March 1, 1994


China's  State Council  (Cabinet) recently issued  two series  of
sweeping new regulations  regarding  religious activities:  one
on  management of  foreign people's religious  activities in
China and  the other on  the Management  of places  of  religious
activities,  according to  recent  international  media reports.
The regulations reportedly came into effect on January 31, 1993.
In Tibet such  regulations have  always  been in  force under
Communist  Chinese occupation rule.  Specific  regulations were
formulated in  concrete terms  for ~hat  China now calls  Tibet
Autonomous  region  (TAR)  sometime  in 1986  ~hen  a  10-Article
regulation  titled "Provisional  Regulations for  the Management
of Religious Institutions  in  the  TAR"  was  issued.    Article
2   of  that  regulation specifically stated that  "No one shall,
without express permission  from the concerned  government
authorities,  build or renovate  and open,  on their own
initiative,  new places  of worship."   It  also stated  that  the
"government appointed  heads concerned  with  religious affairs
are  responsible for  the conduct of the monks and nuns under
their jurisdiction." Article  4 of the regulation  established for
each  monastery and nunnery what was described as a "Democratic
Management Committee", with the  provision that the Committee must
consist  of a Zhurin (Chairman), a Deputy Zhurin and  some
members.   It also  provided that  the total  strength of the
Committee would depend on the need  of the concerned institution
and that the Committee  must set up sub-committees for religious
affairs, production, finance, security and study.  Article 5,
which specified the duties of the Committee and the
sub-committees, provided, per clause 2, that "the monks and nuns.
must  properly be enrolled in their  respective  monastic
institutions  and study  the party  and government policies and
decrees and  thereby enhance their comprehension of  the ideology
of love for the nation on an uninterrupted basis."  Clause 3
provided that "no one who is  not of the concerned monastery or
nunnery and who had not obtained the  requisite  permission  shall
be  appointed  as  an  abbot, chant  master, teacher, etc."
Clause 4 imposed a duty  on the Committee to foster a band  of
young religious persons who are  patriotic  and respect the
leadership  of the Communist Party and socialism.  The duties of
the monks and  nuns enrolled in  the monasteries and  nunneries
were specified in  Article 6.  Clause 1 of that  Article provided,
among other things, that  they  "must  love the  socialist
motherland and  abide  by  the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China."

Article 8 of the regulation  required the number of monks and nuns
enrolled to be  fixed.  Regarding the  types of monks  and nuns to
be  enrolled, the Article provided  thus:  "Having  regard to the
actual requirement  of the concerned monastic  institution  and
its  capacity to  fend for  them,  the specified number of monks
or nuns may include those who on their own desire rejoin them
after having previously been separated from them  on condition,
however,  that they  have undergone  some change  of attitude  and
provided further that  they already have some degree of  religious
knowledge.  Also, those who are clear about their birth place,
those who are patriotic, young and  those who are knowledgeable
and who by their  own desire seek to join the religious
institutions may also be admitted.  For a specified period of time
the newly enrolled monks and nuns shall be under probation and at
the end of  it those who pass a religious test may,  on permission
given by the concerned Democratic  Management Committee,  be
admitted as  a full-fledged monk or nun of the concerned religious
institution." Clause  1  of Article  10,  a miscellaneous
provision,  provided  that the national  policy on  religion must
be  safeguarded at  all times.   It read thus:  No one  shall use
religion to carry out  campaigns to disturb public order,  harm
the well  being  of  the members  of  the  public, and  cause
hindrance to the national public education policy.  In September
1987, a much more  detailed Test-Regulation, titled  as Rules for
Democratic  Management of Religious Centres  in the TAR was
issued and implemented, incorporating everything that had
contained in the provisional document of the previous  year.  We
are yet to see,  if existing, a  final version of that regulation.
In September 1992, the Sixth Conference of Delegates of the Tibet
Branch of the Chinese  Buddhist Friendship Association (now
rechristened as Bureau of Religious  and   Nationalities  Affairs~
held   its  meeting.     A  brief confidential report of the
proceeding of a Sub-Committee of  Secretaries of that  Conference,
which  has come  into  our  hands,  reveal  some of  the
complaints and  suggestions put  forward  by delegates  to the
conference. They show  how under existing policies,  especially on
restrictions  on the number of  monks and nuns,  the practice of
religious freedom  is severely affected.   The document is  in the
form of a  summary of  suggestions put forward by the delegates to
the conference.  Below is a translation of that report, marked as
report number four, and dated 15 September 1992:  About the Number
of Monks and Nuns

The number  of monks  for the different  monasteries in Tibet
were earlier fixed disproportionately and adequate attention ~as
not paid to the actual requirement  of the  concerned monasteries
by t*e  realistic process  of seeking  truth from facts.  As a
result many monasteries are now unable to perform their ceremonial
rituals,  to assume responsibility for protecting their religious
properties, to perform death rituals, etc, to the people in
surrounding areas, etc.  Many such problems have accumulated.

One:  Each monastery must  perform at  least  three fundamental
religious ceremonies  in a  year.    Most  monasteries  require a
teaching  hall)  a meditation room  and a debating  hall.  At
appropriate times,  arrangement must be made to enable members of
the public to visit the monasteries to  do prayers; visits must
also be made to the homes of surrounding villagers to perform
religious ceremonies such  as death rituals.   In addition, today,
arrangements must  be made  to receive tourists  and no  less time
must  be devoted to work in order  to maintain the monasteries in
a  self-supporting state.  However, as  at present, the number of
monks  fixed for must of the monasteries throughout Tibet is  from
two to fifty.  Most  of them have the number of monks  fixed at
less  than twenty.  As  a result it  is extremely difficult for
them to satisfy the religious needs of the Tibetan people.  Ludrub
Gyatso,  the  member from Shigatse Sub-Committee stated thus:
"The number of monks  fixed for the Sakya  monastery is only
eighty.   The sakya monastery  is the main seat of the Sakya
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.  A good portion  of  its  precious
religious  contents  have  survived  the destructions  during  the
Cultural  revolution.    The  responsibility for protecting  them
is very heavy.    In addition,  the  monastery has many meditation
centres and a teaching hall.  Apart from these, it  has numerous
devotee-visitors and  tourist visitors.  Because of these, it is
beyond the reach  of  the existing strength of  the monastery's
monks  to  attend to everything.  The  result is sometimes temples
have to  be closed down while at other times teachings have to be
stopped; and the monastery is unable to meet the domestic
religious needs of the members  of the public at  large. All these
have resulted  in heavy criticism  of the monastery for alleged
shortcomings."   It was,  therefore, requested that the  Sakya
monastery be sanctioned a monks strength of at least 200.  Tashi
Ouril from  the Shigatse  Sub-Committee submitted:  "At  the
Ryirong Phagpa Ling Gonpa I am the only monk.   The place is
notorious for  robbers and thiefs.  There had been cases in which
bandits committed murders in the area.  It is assured that if I
should die all the contents of the monastery will get dissipated
either due to destruction or  loss.  I was able to come to  this
meeting  only after asking someone to  look after  the monastery
during my absence." Sherab Tenzin from the Shigatse Prefecture
submitted:  "It is difficult for the monasteries to be
self-supporting with a very limited number of monks. Let me give
you  the example of Ralag Yungdrung Ling Gonpa.  It has planted
many fruit trees.  In  order to work the  land and take charge  of
business activities manpower is needed.   If our monastery  is to
be  sanctioned a monk-strength of one hundred I can assure you,
upon my responsibility, that it will be entirely self-supporting."
The delegates of Ngari stated in  the meeting:  "Most of the
monasteries in Ngari do not have even a single monk and members of
the local populace take turns to act  as care-takers.  Though in
a few cases there are one  or two monks or nuns they are  all of
very advanced age.  An  example may be given of  the  situation in
Thoding Gonpa,  a  monastery  of  immense  historic importance
with large number  of precious artifacts.   Even this monastery
has, to date, only four senile monks and no young novice.  Ours is
a border area  infested with  thiefs and  robbers and  traders.
Given  the present strength of monks and nuns it is  very
difficult to perform even  routine religious  services.    Not
only  that,  it  is not  possible  to   take responsibility for
safeguarding  the  monasteries' religious  object  and precious
artifacts."

At  the meeting, large  number of delegates from  Monasteries and
nunneries having one or two  monks or nuns or those with monks or
nuns strength just above ten made  a number of submissions to
state that because of inadequate number of monks or nuns they  are
not able to fulfil many  of their routine activities.  What has
been stated above are only a few examples.

Two:  About the fixation of number of monks in monasteries over a
period of several years and their review and ascertainment by the
Socialist Re-education Work Inspection Teams  and the concerned
Religious Affairs Brigades

1.    In one category  of areas, such as Ngari, though  the number
of monks and nuns  had been  ascertained  and  the  ceilings
thereof  fixed,  some monasteries and nunneries have still only
one or two monks or  nuns or none at all. This  is because at the
time of  renovating or re-opening attention was not properly paid
to correlating policy and the plan of  implementation thereof.

2.    In most areas, the  ceiling of monks and  nuns had been
fixed  unduly low.   The result  of this is  that not  only are
the  monasteries and  the nunneries not able to carry out their
routine religious services, for want of the requisite number of
monks and  nuns, but also even monastic security could not be
ensured.

3.    In one category  of monasteries and nunneries, though the
ceiling on the number  of monks and  nuns fixed had not been
attained,  in most areas orders had  been issued not  to admit
new monks  and nuns  following  the disturbances in Lhasa.  As a
result the previously fixed ceilings could not be implemented
successfully.

4.    Though  before fixation of ceilings  on the number of monks
and nuns there had  been some  monks and nuns  who had  already
received the  Getsul initiation  they were expelled even though
they numbered only three or four in excess of the officially fixed
ceiling.  There would be no cause for any difference of opinion if
those  expelled had violated some secular legal or religious
canonical rules.   But to pick out a few from amongst a community
of  equals for expulsion presents a number of contradictions and
difficulty of taking decision.

5.    In a category of slightly larger monasteries and nunneries
the number of monks or nuns  already on the roll  exceeded the
official ceiling  fixed later  on br few numbers.   For example,
take  the case  of monasteries or nunneries in which the original
numbers of monks or nuns were slightly more or less than  one
hundred.   How one is to  go about enforcing  the ceiling with any
degree of appropriateness is a dilemma with no clear-cub guidance
for resolution.

6.    Ralag Yungdrung Gonpa had been fixed a monks-ceiling of
fifty whereas the actual number on its rolls is about seventy.
Most of them are Tibetans from other provinces.   It had been the
time-honoured tradition in the past for Tibetans  in other
provinces to  come to this monastery to  enrol in it for studying.
There are  other monasteries too  whose situation  resemble this.
The difficulty in regard to them is that there is no clear
provision in the guidelines to  determine whether such monks  have
to be  treated as being properly on the rolls of the concerned
monasteries.

7.    Unlike in the  old society, today Tibetans enter the
monastic order, to  become monks  and nuns,  by their own free
will and  out of personal interest.   Speaking from the  point of
view of  the general masses it is a matter  of freedom  of
religion.   Speaking from the point of  view of the monastic
institutions it is a matter  of many things such as their care and
maintenance, and being self-supporting.   But because of strict
enforcement of the rule on ceilings,  the number of monks and nuns
amongst  the members of the public  is increasing considerably.
There is no one to  teach and guide them properly.   Many among
them are  therefore seen  to indulge  in indiscretionary
conducts,  thereby bringing bad name  to  the religious
institutions and  the character  of monks and nuns in  general.
Not  only that, it also disturbs the public order.

Three:     Some matters pertaining to the announcement af the
population of monks and nuns throughout TAR

Though  over a period  of several  years no new monks  and nuns
had been admitted to monasteries and nunneries  in TAR, their
number recorded by the various religious institutions  that stated
by leaders  in their speeches, that  written in newspapers, etc.
show wide divergence.   The main reasons for this are:

1.    Some monks and nuns are counted  thrice.   These are people
who  had received  their ordination  for one monastery or nunnery
but ordinarily spent  their time on  their farmland  or pastoral
area in  routine secular occupation.  These monks and nuns join
their monastery or nunnery, in which  they had received their
ordination, when there is relatively little work on  the  land or
pasture and  are,  hence, counted  there.   On  occasions  of
important religious festivals,  however, they join the monks  and
nuns of a  nearby monastery or nunnery  in prayer  services  where
again they are  counted.  Some times they go for retreat and join
hermitages for short term  meditations.    They are  again
counted with  the monks. and nuns  of the  hermitage.  Thus one
person is counted three times.

2.    There is  a category of monasteries  and nunneries in  Tibet
in which both monks  and nuns  as  well as  lay people participate
in  religious services.   Often,  the members of  the laity have
physical  appearance of monks  and nuns.  Majority of these
villagers and nomads from a particular village  or several
villages and pastoral areas  have also  been included among the
monk and nun population of Tibet.

3.    With  Chamdo as  the  main,  in  several parts  of  Tibet
there  has traditionally been  a  category of people  usually
engaged in  farming, pastoral or business occupations  who have
the appearance of monks.   These people  sometimes participate  in
religious  services   in  their nearby monastery.  On such
occasions, they too  had been counted  among the  monk population
of these monasteries.

4.    In many parts  of Tibet there  are a large number of people
who  had been  disrobed as monks and nuns  at various points of
time.  These forever monks and nuns when voluntarily taking part
in the renovation of  their old monasteries and nunneries have
also been counted as monks and nuns.

5.    Because  of the above stated reasons the echelon of
religious affairs offices  and the authorities concerned with
monastic affairs do not have a definite criteria for  determining
the number of monks and nuns.  Not only that, even the  concerned
monasteries and nunneries themselves do  not know for sure whom to
count in and whom to exclude.

Over a period of several days during.which we have been sitting in
meeting the majority of the  delegates expressed their views  on a
large number  of causes for discrepancies between the officially
fixed ceiling on the number of monks  and nuns for  the
monasteries  and nunneries  and the  actual circumstance in which
they have to  be implemented.   These have not  been brought  out
in this  report in any detail.  But  the heart of  the matter
concerning their  complaints is  that while there  is a  definite
need  for fixing limit  on the  number of monks  and nuns  - for
without  it their population  would be  too much  to manage  for
purpose  of  their proper education and  also the  monasteries and
the  nunneries could not  be self supporting - if their number  is
too less the customary religious services and  ceremonies  could
not  be performed and  responsibility could not be properly
assessed for maintenance  of monastic  security and protection of
religious objects and precious artifacts.  Besides, the
monasteries and the nunneries could not be self-supporting.  These
are the complaints.

Other  relevant views  had also  been expressed  concerning the
affairs of monasteries  and nunneries and monks and nuns  in
recent  years, plans for monasteries and nunneries to be
self-supporting and the matters  concerning recognition of tulkus.
These will be  compiled and published serially  in due course of
time.

(On this the fifteenth  day of this month,  the delegates had been
divided into groups  to  visit Sera,  Drepung and  Gaden
monasteries,  and to  made offerings and do prayers.)

The foregoing document contained,  as is obvious, complaints
about onerous restrictions on religious freedom.  They  are
complaints made by none other than trusted Chinese government
appointed officials.  The report, marked as confidential, has also
been brought out  by a  Chinese government  agency. None of  the
suggestions and  complaints put forward by  the delegates had,
however, been seen to be implemented.  Recent announcement by
Beijing about increased restriction  on religious freedom show
that  the official control has, in fact, been tightened.
Another  document relating to  religious freedom in Tibet  that
has come to our knowledge is Document number  27 of 1992 issued by
the Purang (Chinese: Burang)  County s  United  Front Department,
in  Ngari  Prefecture.   This document implements  a  reported
1992  Document  number  10  of  the  area Communist  Party and
Government.    The  document is  stated  as  being  a regulation
to implement the  regional government's directive for "Area-wise
Fixing  of  the  Number of  Monks  in  Monasteries  and  their
Assets  for Productive Efforts".

A detailed table of monasteries and their  sanctioned ceiling of
monks, and other  things, prepared by the Purang County s  United
Front, dated 24 July 1992,  is worth  mentioning.   The table
lists twelve  officially approved monasteries located within the
county.  Khorchag, a Sakya Monastery, is the largest with a
sanctioned monks-strength of eighteen  against the existing
strength  of nineteen.  This meant  one of the nineteen  had to be
selected for expulsion.  Gyangdrag Gonpa, a Kargyu monastery,
which had an existing monk population  of fourteen was sanctioned
only six.  More  than half the strength  had, therefore, to be
expelled.  Four monasteries with one, five, five, and six had
their original strength maintained.  Zutrulphug, a Kargyu
Monastery, was the only one  which had been sanctioned more than
it already had: It was increased  from one to four.  The rest  all
had their number of monks reduced.   Only three monasteries  are
shown to be  permitted to hold land of given fixed  areas.  Two
monasteries  are shown to be permitted  to own one vehicle each.
Six monasteries are shown to be permitted to own one shop each.
Except for the one monastery with only one monk all are allowed to
own animal herds, ranging from two for Gungphug Lhagang, a Kargyu
Gonpa, to one hundred and twenty for  the Kargyu monasteries of
Serwalung, Jiwugon and Gyangdrag and the gelug monastery of
Truego.

HUMAN RIGHTS DESK
March 1, 1994

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 * Origin: BODY DHARMA * Moderator, TIBET_NEWS - DharmaNet (96:101/33)

