The state government had pleaded for the replacement of curtains, window panes and minor repairing of Rumtek monastery’s treasury room of which the lock and key have been under the custody of the Sikkim High Court since 1992.The Rumtek Dharma Chakra Center had been erected in 1960. Originally it was built by the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje in the 16th century. Rumtek served as the main seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage in Sikkim for some time but when the 16th Karmapa arrived in Sikkim in 1959 after fleeing Tibet, the monastery was in ruins. Despite being offered other sites, the Karmapa decided to rebuild Rumtek.

The Civil Miscellaneous Application of the State Government has been seeking permission to open the sealed room for repairs in the treasury room of the late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, one of the highest leaders of Tibetan Buddhism and it was given the ‘go ahead’ by the Division Bench. The High Court has further directed that all work has to be done in the presence of representatives of all the parties involved in the Writ petition filed by Goshir Gyatab Rinpoiche and the also the district administration under the supervision of Register General of Sikkim High Court.

The High Court has further permitted two counsels each from the parties, along with the Home Department Additional Secretary, District Collector East, and Superintendent of Police East headed by High Court Register General. The bench has further directed the officials to fix the date for carrying concerned replacements and should be completed within one month.

It has been reported in international media that the total wealth of the Rumtek Monastery is worth 1.2 billion dollars. The ‘vajra mukut’ (the sapphire-studded black crown of the Karmapa) is also believed to have been kept in the main treasury room along with other precious articles.

The last we had heard of Rumtek Dharma Chakra’s main treasury room was in July 1992, when Reserve Bank of India officials accompanied by representatives of the monastery and the Karmapa Charitable Trust entered the main treasure room to carry out a count of precious articles kept there.

Rumtek, the seat of the Karmapa Lamas since the 1960s, has been a subject of dispute since 1992 with a lengthy battle being played out in Indian courts. Two rival organizations, both supporting different candidates for the 17th Karmapa claimed stewardship of the monastery and its contents. The two organizations are the Karmapa Charitable Trust which is supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje and the Tsurphu Labrang which is supporting Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Neither candidate resides at Rumtek since monks supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje were thrown out of Rumtek by Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s followers.

Anoop Rai