Rogues in Robes: An Inside Chronicle of a Recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism (Paperback)

by Tomek Lehnert (Author) "ISOLATION HAD BEEN A DISTINCTIVE FEATURE of Tibet for centuries..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dalai Lama, Situ Rinpoche, Shamar Rinpoche (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The movie, Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt, highlighted the religious conflict of that nation for many people living in the West. For those looking for a detailed "insiders account" of more recent Tibetan political and spiritual struggles (from a Western point of view), look no further.

Rogues in Robes pulls back the curtains on the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the search for the 17th Karmapa. The author provides insightful historical background, which proves interesing in and of itself, and sets the stage for this "real life" adventure.

The social fabric of the old Tibet was very much determined by the institution of the tulku. Nine centuries ago, Karmapa Pakshi, as a small child, declared himself to be the incarnation of the recently deceased Karmapa Dusun Khyenpa. From that time on, Karmapa kept coming back in an unbroken sequence of embodiments that has spanned nine hundred years. In similar manner, other highly realized lamas consciously reincarnate, bringing the mind's enlightened qualities of life after life into contact with their students. Hundreds of tulkus manifested throughout Tibet and the system served as a unique mechanism for preserving an unbroken transmission of Buddha's teachings.

Over the centuries, however, monasteries and their incarnate tulkus grew in wealth and started to wield considerable influence upon the social and political life of the country. A number of tulkus assumed political roles in addition to their religious duties. To locate and deliver the new incaranation of a tulku to his old monastery was to gain influence over, in some instances, a sizable amount of wealth and territory. In many cases the criteria according to which the incarnates were recognized left much room to maneuver, so the process became an instrument for political infighting.

Roges in Robes is a personal account of events by a Western observer. A two-year, chronological review of the happenings that nearly brought the Kagyu School under Communist Chinese control....Let the facts speak for themselves.

About the Author
Tomek Lehnert was born on August 15, 1956 in Gdansk, Poland. He studied Civil Engineering at the Polytechnics of Gdansk and English literature at the University of Poznan, Poland. He was active iin the students' Solidarity movement in Poland in the early eighties. In 1983 he became a practitioner of Buddhism. He left Poland in 1985 and during thenext three years co-ran the Karma Kagyu Buddhist center in Copenhagen, Denmark. He traveled extensively in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Burma, and Tibet, receiving initiations and teachings from high Kagyu and Nyingma lamas. He translated at Buddhist lectures into Polish and Spanish for more than ten years. He has contributed to the Buddhist magazines Kagyu Life in Germany and Diamentowa Droga in Poland. Since 1989 he has been involved in setting up Karma Kagyu centers in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, and Russia as well as Western and Eastern Europe.112

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Blue Dolphin Publishing (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577330269
• ISBN-13: 978-1577330264
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #939,194 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars strong bias makes factual account questionable, January 29, 2000

By	E. Paul (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having met many of the main characters in the book, I was interested in finding out more about what really happened during this controversy. Due to the strong bias in the book, I still don't feel that I have a complete picture of what really happened during the recognition of the Karampas. I now feel a need to read more from the opposing side in an effort to balance my knowledge of the controversy. The book is a good account from one point of view.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Strong bias weakens credibility of this book, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

I was looking forward to hearing more about the current controversy regarding the two Karmapas in the Kagyu lineage. Unfortunately, the author of this book, rather than being objective, has a very strong bias towards one side, and his invectives again the other show he has no interest in any sort of 'even handedness'.

After reading the shrill denouncements of anyone not in 100% agreement with the authors viewpoint, I felt all information in the book was suspect.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of otherwise unavailable info, but reliability is suspect, August 12, 2007

By	Elbert D. Porter "giggle3" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The main intended thrust of this book is to persuade followers of Tibetan Buddhism that an unscrupulous Tai Situ has knowingly imposed a fraud, complete with false Karmapa, upon the world. Lehnert's writing is unabashedly partisan. You could pick just about any single sentence from the book and read it on its own, and if it concerns a villain, you'll know from the rhetoric in that one sentence. This strident rhetoric detracts from any sense of reliability. Thirty-five letters from principals in the conflict are photocopied and reprinted in the back of the book; however, this fails to sufficiently document much of the content of the book.

The outline of the story is that the sixteenth Karmapa died, leaving four regents to handle affairs together until the seventeenth could be found and raised to maturity. Traditionally, the Karmapa leaves instructions for finding his successor, but this time, no one seemed to be able to find the instructions.

Tai Situ eventually presented a letter, which Shamarpa (the main regent) and Topga Yulgyal (General Secretary of the Karmapa Charitable Trust and controller of Rumtek Monastery, Karmapa's main seat in exile) considered to be a forgery. Shamarpa wanted the letter forensically tested by Western experts, but Situ blocked this.

Situ subsequently announced that he had found the seventeenth Karmapa, following the instructions in the letter. His candidate was one Urgyen Trinley, in Tibet. Shamarpa did not accept the boy.

Rumtek Monastery remained in the control of Shamarpa's camp. Situ tried to arrange a legal coup by changing the board membership of the trust which controls the monastery, but these maneuvers were ruled invalid by an Indian court. Situ, according to Lehnert, used cash donated by wealthy devotees of Chinese descent to bribe corrupt government officials in Sikkim and then sent gangs and mobs to Rumtek, where they took physical possession of the monastery by violent means, with the collusion of the bought governmental authorities.

Shamarpa, operating from Delhi after losing control of Rumtek, announced that the seventeenth Karmapa had been found, one Thaye Dorje. Unlike Situ, Shamarpa took care to extract his candidate from Chinese-controlled Tibet before publicizing his identity. (Urgyen Trinley, of course, was prevented by China from leaving Tibet. Chinese authorities intended to use their captive Karmapa to advance their own control over Tibet.) Situ sent gangs, "rogues in robes", to physically prevent Thaye Dorje's recognition ceremony. Throwing rocks and bricks, they seriously injured one, but were dispersed by Indian police, and the ceremony took place.

Situ, says Lehnert, has since been banned by the Indian government from entering India. Urgyen Trinley escaped from Tibet in 1999. Indian courts have confirmed that the Rumtek Monastery belongs to the Karmapa Charitable Trust, but it still remains in the physical possession of Situ's people, while legal proceedings continue.

Lehnert does not shy from one lesson learned, that some, at least, of the Tibetan Rinpoches are, shall we say, imperfect. Heck, let's say they can be Rogues in Robes. Besides the despicable tactics attributed to Situ, we have the weak-willed acquiescence of many other Rinpoches who had varying degrees of doubt as to Situ's assertions, but who found it personally convenient, under pressure, to sign documents his people presented. We have the implicit belief by at least some Rinpoches that the whole tradition of "finding" the true reincarnation of a Tulku is a pretense.