China Detains Buddhist Leader

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By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 19, 2004; Page A22

BEIJING, Aug. 18 -- Chinese authorities have detained a prominent, U.S.-based Buddhist leader in connection with his plans to reopen an ancient temple complex in Inner Mongolia province and have forced dozens of his American followers to leave the region, local officials said Wednesday.

The U.S. Embassy here said it has requested an explanation from the Chinese government and plans to protest the treatment of the Americans, several of whom accused police of physically removing them from the temple and seizing their property.

The embassy also urged the Chinese government to respect the rights of the detained spiritual leader, Yu Tianjian, 53, a Chinese citizen who holds a U.S. green card and has been the abbot of the Dari Rulai Temple in Los Angeles for nearly five years. His students consider him a "living Buddha," or an enlightened teacher who has been reincarnated, and the "dharma king," or leader, of a branch of Buddhism with perhaps millions of adherents worldwide.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11214-2004Aug18.html