Ban on Bodhgaya visit: China has banned the Tibetans from attending the upcoming Buddhist event in Bodhgaya which will be attended by Dalai Lama. It has called the event a political tool and has forced several Tibetans to return to their homeland.
Ban on Bodhgaya visit imposed by Chinese Government
“Taking advantage of the presence of the Dalai Lama, the Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings have inveigled Tibetans into Illegally going abroad over the last decade”, Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said on Thursday.
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The 34th Kalachakra initiation at Bodhgaya, Uttar Pradesh, the place where Gautama Buddha had attained enlightenment, will be attended by thousands of people from across the globe.
The organising committee Chairman said that approx 7000 pilgrims were forced to return to China due to constant pressure coming from the authorities.
Furthermore, the pilgrims were given threats against their relatives in China if they didn’t return, the member of Tibetian government-in-exile, Yuthok said as reported by the pilgrims themselves. China had also confiscated passports of many Tibetans in November 2016.
China imposed a temporary travel restriction on its citizens visiting Nepal and “asked its travel agencies and airlines to cancel all travel plans and bookings made until January 10, with immediate effect.”
This is the first time that such a stringent action has been taken by the Chinese government and has imposed travel restrictions.
Buddhist spiritual head, Dalai Lama arrived in Bodhgaya on December 28. “Distance cannot dampen the sacred ties between a lama and a disciple. You can all pray from the far-flung areas in Tibet and I assure you that you will receive the Kalachakra empowerment”, he said.
