Dearest Students and Friends,

In the recent turmoil of news about our Karma Kagyu Lineage, it has not been easy to keep facts straight. Therefore here my latest views about the well publicised flight from Tibet of Urgyen Trinley. He is a political candidate for the great position of the Karmapa lamas; Tibets's first incarnates.

It must have been quite a show recently when a Red Chinese committee under police escort entered our Hong Kong centre to protest the allegation of having manipulated the flight of the Karmapa candidate but I now actually think that they are right.

Though my Viking instinct always makes me look for the biggest possible opponent: my former thoughts about the surfacing of Urgyen Trinley in India disregarded important facts. China would have earned world-wide praise by allowing him to travel and would probably have staged the event with some style.

The real but probably short-time beneficiary of this flight is of course Tai Situ Rinpoche but I deeply resisted facing that fact. With his titles and standing I simply couldn't imagine that he would sacrifice others to such an extent to obtain his goals. Probably the striking success of Karmapa Thaye Dorje in East Asia and Central Europe left him little choice. In 1992 he sold only the nomad boy Urgyen Trinley into a luxurious life of performing for the Communist Chinese but this time he has delivered up the boy's family and especially his servants to their revenge. As countless statements and videos confirm, they routinely torture people and react very strongly to loosing face on a world level.

The boy is hopefully out of danger. He may now stay in democratic Asian countries or receive political asylum in the USA who invite prominent cases. His development, be it in robes or on a skateboard, will thus happen in a free atmosphere. Our humanistic concern should therefore focus on condition and health of the cook and teacher of Urgyen Trinley. They feigned monitoring his retreat for days after he had crept out of the window and fled and such an acts are seriously punished. We know that Tsurphu monastery was raided by Red Chinese police around Jan 10th and that they and maybe others were arrested. They are Kagyu like we are and truly sacrificed themselves for their lama. Whatever pressure you can assert to protect them, please do.

Yours, Lama Ole Nydahl

On behalf of 250 Diamond Way Buddhist centres worldwide