ITANAGAR, May 23 - Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has said that henceforth, he would not appoint the abbot of Tawang Monastery and instead the appointment would be done by Sera Je Monastery.
The spiritual leader�s reaction came in response to an application from the monks and administration of Tawang Monastery for appointment of a new Abbot at the world�s second largest monastery following the resignation of the incumbent Guru Tulku Rinpoche. His resignation came close on the heels of a violent protest at Tawang on May 2 last that led to the death of two persons, including a young monk, in police firing.
Responding to the application, the office of the Tibetan leader has said in a communiqu� that the revered Rinpoche is among the top Buddhist scholars and was appointed as the abbot of Gaden Namgyal Lhatse (Tawang Monastery) by His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama himself.
The Nobel laureate said: �I have selected several abbots to the Tawang Monastery. The present abbot, Guru Rinpoche, at a very young age studied at Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala�I have selected a well-qualified person as Abbot of Tawang Monastery.
Yet, if there are people who are not satisfied with the Abbot�s activities, then I shall no longer appoint the Abbot to Tawang Monastery. Instead the Abbot will be directly appointed by the Sera Je Monastery.�
In his resignation letter to Dalai Lama, Guru Tulku Rinpoche had on May 6 said that he was deeply perturbed and in a sorrowful state of mind because of the recent disturbance in Tawang town which went against the philosophy of Buddhism.
