Authorities Intensify Deployment of Troops in the area

Troops arrive in the streets of Tsoe

Troops arrive in the streets of Tsoe as Tibetans gather for the Kalachakra.

Chinese troops have been deployed in a town in Gansu this week where thousands of Tibetans have gathered to attend a Kalachakra ceremony taught by a respected elderly monk.

The Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) ceremony is being conducted in Tsoe (Chinese: Hezuo) in Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the Tibetan area of Amdo, by Setsang Lobsang Palden, a senior lama in Tsoe monastery who also holds a number of important official posts including Vice President of Gansu Buddhist Association.

Security has been intensified in Tsoe since thousands of Tibetans began to gather for the ceremony. Radio Free Asia reported a Tibetan source saying: “Armed paramilitary forces, police, security personnel, and secret service agents have been posted all over Tsoe, and army trucks have been positioned in different places around the city to intimidate the crowd that has gathered for the teaching. Officials from different counties in the prefecture have been ordered to monitor their citizens’ movements and report on their activities.”[1]

A local source told Radio Free Asia that government employees of Kanlho prefecture, Tsoe city, and local government schools were forbidden from attending the Kalachakra teaching. The source said: “All staff have been informed that they cannot take leave during the teaching and join the congregation. Those violating the ban will not be named on any list of outstanding employees for the year.”[2]

This is the fourth Kalachakra ceremony in Tibet being conducted by Setsang Lobsang Palden, who was recognized as a reincarnation at the age of four. Not every Tibetan lama has the spiritual authority to bestow this complex empowerment. Several hundred thousand Tibetans attended the last Kalachakra empowerment conducted by Setsang Lobsang Palden in Dzoege (Chinese: Ru’ergai) in Ngaba last June.



Large crowds gathering for the Kalachakra ceremony in Tsoe. (Image via Weibo)

Large crowds gathering for the Kalachakra ceremony in Tsoe. (Image via Weibo)


A fresh awning in place along the outer wall of Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.

A fresh awning in place along the outer wall of Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.


A traditional tent and Buddhist flags flying in Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.

A traditional tent and Buddhist flags flying in Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.


Tibetans gather under the tent in Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.

Tibetans gather under the tent in Tsoe monastery the week before the Kalachakra teachings.

Footnotes
[1] http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/tightens-06102014164037.html

[2] http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/forbidden-06112014150305.html