25 September 2006
Public burning of fur not permitted during Kalachakra in Amdo
(Phayul) During the Kalachakra ceremony recently held at Gersel Monastery, Luchu country, Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, (part of the area known traditionally as Amdo) by the 8th Aala Dewatsang Jamyang Thubten Gyatso, many Tibetans prepared to destroy a large collection of fur from endangered species. This follows a trend that has been sweeping Tibet following the Dalai Lama’s message in January 2006, where he told Tibetans to reject the use of endangered species’ skins. However, according to Phayul sources, members of the 150,000-strong crowd were prevented from doing so by the deployment of over 2,000 heavily armed security personnel and plainclothes officials from Lanzhou city.