NEW DELHI — The police seizure of large sums of Chinese currency from the Indian monastery of the China-anointed, but now India-based, Karmapa Lama — one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism — has revived old suspicions about his continuing links with China and forced him to deny that he is an "agent of Beijing."

The Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama and Karmapa Lama are the three highest figures in Tibetan Buddhism, representing parallel institutions that have intermittently been at odds with each other in history. China, seeking to tighten its grip on Tibet, has worked to control the traditional process of finding the reincarnation of any senior lama who passes away.

In 1992, Beijing helped select and install the 7-year-old Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the 17th Karmapa Lama. He became the first reincarnated "living Buddha" recognized and ratified by Communist China. But in 1999, Dorje made a stunning escape to India via Nepal. This attracted the world's attention, but the apparent ease with which he and his entourage managed to flee also caused deep suspicion.