[Buddha-l] The mess at Bodh Gaya

[jkirk]

I wonder if there had been similar ancient and on-going fights over holy
property in the medieval Christian or Jewish worlds, in Europe? Doubt the
BodhGaya situation is unique.
Seems to me I read somewhere of quarrels in old Japan over who controlled or
owned a temple, or two.
Joanna
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http://in.news.yahoo.com/reuters_ids_new/20080204/r_t_rtrs_nl_general/tnl-sc
andal-gnaws-at-buddha-s-holy-tree-223dd93.html

Scandal gnaws at Buddha's holy tree in Bodh Gaya Mon, Feb 4 08:26 AM

Tales of corruption, looting and religious rivalry are swirling around the
spot where Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment in eastern India some
2,500 years ago, sullying one of Buddhism's holiest sites.

Buddhist scriptures describe it as the "Navel of the Earth", and 100,000
pilgrims and tourists visit every year, packing the town of Bodh Gaya in
Bihar and its Mahabodhi Temple.

An ancient pipal tree, Ficus religiosa or sacred fig, grows at the back of
the temple, said to be a descendent of the one Buddha sat under for three
days and nights in the sixth century BC, before finding the answers he
sought under a full moon.

But with the tourists and pilgrims comes money, and with the money has come
mounting charges of less than saintly behaviour.

Priests and monks allege that thousands of dollars in temple donations have
mysteriously vanished, that a thick branch of the ancient holy Bodhi tree
was lopped off and sold in Thailand in 2006, and that ancient relics have
disappeared.

Hindus also revere the site and it is a Hindu monk, Arup Brahmachari, who is
leading a campaign to expose the wrongdoing.

"I am not fighting as a Hindu, I am fighting because I love God," he said.
"Buddha was a son of God, and someone is misbehaving with his property."

Many Hindus accept Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu.

The temple land has been owned by a nearby Hindu monastery for centuries,
and the temple is managed by a committee where Hindus retain a majority over
Buddhists.

But representatives of both religions stand accused.

Charges have been brought against the powerful former secretary of the
Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee, a Hindu, as well as the committee's
former public relations officer and the former Buddhist chief priest of the
temple.

A police report obtained by Reuters accuses the three men of "nefarious
activities" and asks for their private wealth to be investigated.

Witnesses questioned by police said the priest had ordered an employee to
cut off "substantial parts" of the tree and take them to his home. The trio
were also accused of selling off fallen leaves to pilgrims and pocketing the
proceeds.

Former temple secretary Kalicharan Yadav denies the allegations, saying the
branch was removed in 1978 when the tree was pruned, and said the charges
against him were political, trumped up only after his party lost power in
Bihar.



DEATH THREATS

Its central stupa rising 187 feet above the ground where Siddhartha Gautama
is said to have become the "Awakened One", the temple is thought to have
been built 1,500 years ago and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
2002.

Inside, in front of a giant golden statue of Buddha, pilgrims from Japan,
Sri Lanka, China, Thailand and the West kneel and chant. Outside, others
collect fallen leaves from the giant tree and others growing in the temple
courtyard.

Clad in white robes, the barefoot and bearded Brahmachari excitedly points
out the spot where the branch was chopped off, as well as empty niches
around the temple grounds where he says statuettes of Buddha stood until
recently.

"They sent the branch to Thailand, and sold it for 6 crore rupees ($1.5
million)," he said, adding he had been beaten up twice and had received
several death threats since starting his campaign.

The government, he said, was simply not interested.

"Nobody is listening. I am fed up of writing letters."

But he is not alone in his anger, joined by Buddhist priests running many of
the other temples and monasteries which have sprung up in Bodh Gaya.

Although its accounts are audited, the priests complain the temple does
nothing to support local schools and hospitals, despite having a substantial
income.

"Money is coming in, but where the money is going nobody knows," said Bhante
Pragyadeep, treasurer of the Buddhist Monks Association of India.

District magistrate Jitendra Srivastava has been running the temple
committee since the scandal surfaced and the last committee's term expired.

"All secretaries have been embroiled in controversy," he said. "It is very
unfortunate."

Significant amounts of money had been spent "beautifying the temple and
giving it world-class facilities", he said, and no allegations of corruption
had surfaced since he took over.

While the charge of cutting a branch was now sub judice, allegations of
deeper wrongdoing had not been substantiated.

"A lot of people say this but I have no credible evidence. It remains to be
seen if these people have taken this money."

Meanwhile, many Buddhist priests say they, and not Hindus, should be running
one of the holiest sites in their religion.

But magistrate Srivastava said that would be no guarantee of honesty in the
future.

"A thief can be a Hindu or a Buddhist," he said. "A thief is a thief, he has
no religion."


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