China’s cruel attack on Tibetan Buddhism sees more than 1,000 monks expelled from Larung Gar Academy

Chinese authorities have recently given a blow to the major center of Tibetan Buddhist learning by expecting more than 1,000 Tibetan monks and nuns from the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy.

According to sources quoted by Radio Free Asia (RFA), administrators said that they should reduce the number of Buddhist priests living in the academy from 6,000 to 5,000 due to lack of proper residence letters. This action is the most recent in a long queue of works by China to reduce and reduce the size of the academy by China, which was placed around 40,000 Buddhist monustics in the early 2000s.

The RFA reported that Chinese officials demolished the part of the compound and expelled thousands of nuns and monks in 2016. County officials issued an order outlining the intentions of forced expulsion and demolition between 2016 and 2017, the RFA.

Larung Gar is in the sage (Seda in Chinese), Kardaz (Ganji) of Sichuan province is part of the Tibetan autonomous province. According to a RFA report in December 2024, around 400 officers and police were sent there. According to sources, the authorities have pressurized hundreds of Buddhist religious members to leave voluntarily.

“They are strictly banned from taking photos independently and are allowed only to visit the specified areas within the monastery.” Many habitats of the expelled Buddhist priest have been marked for demolition, although they have not yet been destroyed, a formula said as quoted by the RFA.

According to the source, a plan is underway to construct a road through the monastery in April, resulting in additional demolition, RFA cited. Beijing’s large plan to reduce the number and power of religious organizations, especially people associated with Tibetan Buddhism, is considered to include the most recent cracks.