Buddhist Reincarnation Requires Government Approval in China Starting Next Month
In one of the most bizarre rulings I have ever seen, China has declared that all Buddhist reincarnations must be approved by the government.
By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.
Is there a form they have to fill out? Perhaps an interview with the State Administration for Religious Affairs? This boggles the mind.
At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it’s under Chinese control. Assuming he’s able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks.
I really don’t thnk that it works that way. I can see a power play to intorduce a new “Government Approved” Dali Lama, but the chances of that individual being accepted either by Tibetan Monks, or the world in general, is pretty slim.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Oh yeah. There is no way that the Chinese government is going to get away with this one. The one that they pick will NEVER be accepted by anyone besides them. I’m pretty sure that the monks have a very strict set of rules they go by when choosing the Dali Llama. Like requiring that the new one know something that only the old one and a few very select monks would know. I highly doubt they just grab some poor kid off the street and go ” OK this one looks good. He’s the next Dali Llama.” They are setting themselves up to get the entire egg farm on their faces. Personally I hope that the current Dali Llama lives a few more decades and sees Tibet free once again.