Beijing: China is doling out subsistence allowances to the Buddhist clergy in the restive Tibetan province, as part of efforts to woo them against the backdrop of a number of self immolations by monks and nuns.
Over 200 monks and nuns at a monastery on the outskirts of the Tibetan capital Lhasa received subsistence allowances yesterday, a move made to improve their living conditions, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.
The allowances were granted to ensure that each member of the clergy at Tsurpu Monastery can have a minimum monthly income of 360 yuan (USD 57.2) equivalent to the per capita subsistence allowance for Lhasa’s citizens, said Chungkyi, chief of civil affairs in Todlung Dechen county, located 70-km from Lhasa’s city centre.
“A total of 223 monks and nuns at Tsurpu Monastery received their allowances for the first quarter on Friday,” Chungkyi said. Tsurpu is a major monastery for the Karma Kagyupa, or ‘White Hat Sect’, of Tibetan Buddhism. It has more than 300 registered clergy people. (PTI)
