Dalai Lama@90

My article Dalai Lama@90 appeared in The Times of India

 The Tibetan spiritual leader’s succession could see nasty exchanges between India and China. That’s why Dalai should quickly provide details about the process of finding his successor

Here is the link...

The Dalai Lama is 90 years old.
What an incredible destiny for Lhamo Dhondrub, a boy born in Taktser, in a remote hamlet of Amdo province in north-eastern Tibet; at the age of four Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the reincarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and for the Tibetans, the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The world is in turmoil today; time seems to have accelerated and violence has reached every corner of the planet. In the midst of all this, the Dalai Lama continues to preach love and compassion to other human fellows. 
He was hardly 15-years when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army walked unhindered onto the Tibetan soil. A new ideology, less compassionate than the Buddha Dharma which had come from India 12 centuries earlier, had according to Mao, ‘liberated’ the Land of Snows. A few months later, the young Dalai Lama was officially enthroned as the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetan State. 
In March 1959, following a mass uprising in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had to flee his motherland and take refuge in India where he still lives in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. 
Apart from possessing an extraordinary charisma, why does the Dalai Lama matter so much in today’s world?
I had the good luck (or good karma) to meet him over the years. First in July 1972 in Dharamsala: after this first encounter, I began to understand something that I had not so far realized: the poor Tibetan refugees and their leader had a different set of values than westerners have. 
In seeing this ‘simple monk’, as he prefers to call himself, I saw that inner strength and the power of compassion are qualities which are practically unknown today in the world, but he embodies a wisdom which was part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a nation that had spent most of its time looking ‘within’.
Though the Dalai Lama reached India in 1959, the world’s interest in Tibet began in the 1970s only, when the Tibetan leader started travelling abroad.
In May 2011, he took a radical decision: he relinquished his secular power, offering it to the people of Tibet, who thereafter started electing their own ‘political’ leader. Today, a Sikyiong or President runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala.
On September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an ‘emanation’, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl). 
In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that at the age of 90, he would re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.
It is what he did on July 2, when he reaffirmed that the Institution was there to stay. A few months ago, in a book Voice for the Voiceless, the Tibetan leader had clarified: “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China).”
It was certainly a shock for Beijing who expects to control the succession process …and the next Dalai Lama.
The recent statement is however does not give details about the succession of the Dalai Lama. In 2011, he had mentioned two possibilities; today he seems to have opted for the traditional reincarnation which often means a gap of 20 years or so before the new Dalai Lama is able to lead his people. 
The possibility of an emanation seems to have been dropped; it would have cut the time gap (till the Dalai Lama reaches majority) which can be used by China to interfere during the regency. 
This period has often been used in the past by China to intervene in Tibet’s religious affairs. Many Tibet watchers believe that this gap is too dicey; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone.
Beijing was quick to react to the July 2 statement; China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told the press: “The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition and approval by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws.” 
It is ironic that an atheist State which believes that “Religion is Poison” can be so affirmative on an esoteric issue like soul migration. 
When Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the decision would only be taken by the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, and “nobody else”, Beijing started threatening.
The Ministry of External Affairs then clarified that it “does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion.” Later, the Indian Prime Minister wrote from Argentina: “I join 1.4 billion Indians in extending our warmest wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday.”
Beijing will certainly not leave it at that, exchanges may soon become nastier and could end with two Dalai Lamas? But what legitimacy would the Communist one have? 
The point remains that a world in turmoil needs a Dalai Lama; we can only pray for a smooth succession and hope that Dharamsala will provide more details on the process in the coming months.

Succession stakes on the roof of the world

My article Succession stakes on the roof of the world appeared in The New Indian Express

No wonder that during the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectation could be felt around Dharamsala.

Here is the link...

In May 2011, the Dalai Lama decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own ‘political’ leader. Today, a Sikyiong or President runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, where the Dalai Lama lives since 1959.
On September 24, 2012, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an ‘emanation’, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl). 
In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that he would consult senior lamas: “When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.” During the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectations could be felt around Dharamsala. 
Finally on July 2, as promised in 2011, a statement was released reaffirming that the Institution of the Dalai Lamas will continue. The Tibetan leader also reiterated: “…responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama;” it will be “the sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter." It was a clear message to China.
Earlier this year, the Tibetan leader released a book, Voice for the Voiceless, in which he asserted: “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China) so that the traditional mission to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people, will continue.”
It was certainly a shock for Beijing who expects to control the succession process …and the next Dalai Lama.
After July 2 Statement, Beijing was quick to react; The Global Times asserted: “At its core, his [the Dalai Lama’s] intention remains the same -- to deny the traditional religious rituals and historical conventions that have governed the Dalai Lama reincarnation system for centuries, and to manipulate the reincarnation process for his own purposes.”
Of course, it is strange that an atheist State which believes that “Religion is Poison” (as per Mao Zedong’s words) can be so affirmative on such an esoteric issue like reincarnation. 
In recent years, the Dalai Lama’s succession has been widely debated. ‘Reincarnation’ is of course the fascinating topic at a time when everything is ‘scientifically’ decided (and soon by Artificial Intelligence).
However, it entails a 20-year gap (till the Dalai Lama reaches majority) in spiritual governance, a period often used in the past by China to intervene in Tibet’s religious affairs. Many believe that this gap is too risky; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone and certainly not of any Marxist government to decide where the Dalai Lama’s soul will migrate.
On June 6, President Xi Jinping summoned had the Panchen Lama, a young monk imposed by Beijing as the second hierarch after the Dalai Lama. Xi requested him to “play an even better role in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systemically promoting the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation.”
In plain words, it means the ‘sinization’ of Tibetan Buddhism and eradication of the Indian origin and influence in the spread of Buddhism on the plateau.
The Dalai Lama’s recent statement must have been a relief for the 200 journalists and more importantly the 120 senior lamas representing different schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon faith, assembled in Dharamsala; the latter unanimously welcomed the Dalai Lama’s message; though not providing details, the statement made it clear that it is the sole responsibility for the Dalai Lama’s succession lies with the Tibetan leader’s own Office. 
 

‘Beijing Cannot Select Dalai Lama’s Successor’

A recording for the Gist

‘Beijing Cannot Select Dalai Lama’s Successor’ by Ramananda Sengupta

Even if China and the Tibetan clergy select rival Dalai Lamas, Claude Arpi felt a spiritual schism is unlikely. “The Tibetan people will not accept a Chinese-appointed figure,” he said

 

The Planet needs a Dalai Lama

My article The Planet needs a Dalai Lama appeared in The Week

Here is the link...

In the midst of the present planetary chaos, one man preaches love and compassion to other fellow human beings. This man is Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, who turns 90 on July 6.
For the last 66 years, he lives as a refugee in India where he is considered the leader of all the Tibetans (including those in the Land of Snow), as well as of nearly one million Indian Buddhists in the Himalayan belt, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
Following an uprising in Lhasa on March 10, 1959, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa in the dead of night in dramatic circumstances. A week later, he reached Lhuntse Dzong, a couple of days march from the McMahon Line, the border between India and Tibet, from where he wrote to the Indian Prime Minister, seeking asylum in India.
Four days later, he reached the first Indian post at Chuthangmu, north of Tawang, then part of Kameng Frontier Division of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). A letter from Nehru was waiting for him: “We shall be happy to afford the necessary facilities for you, your family and entourage to reside in India. The people of India who hold you in great veneration will no doubt accord their traditional respect to your person.”
Since that day, the Indian Government and people have considered the Dalai Lama an honoured guest in the Land of the Buddha.
Was it a coincidence, but soon after his arrival in India, the Indo-Tibet border became tense? At the end of August 1959, a first serious incident took place at Longju in Subansiri Frontier Division? Several Indian jawans lost their lives. This marks the beginning of protracted dispute between India and China about the northern borders of India; it still continues today, as we have witnessed in Ladakh in May 2020.
For the Eastern sector, there was an agreed map of the border (known as the McMahon Line); it was signed in 1914 between British India and the government of free Tibet in Lhasa. After walking onto the Tibetan plateau in 1950, Beijing not only refused to recognize the 1914 agreement, but it also started to claim the entire NEFA till the foothills in the South, as its territory. 
In October 1962, a war erupted when the People’s Liberation Army marched into the Tawang sector; the very place where the Dalai Lama had entered three years earlier. Was it again a coincidence? The conflict rapidly spread to other areas like Walong in the Lohit Valley and Ladakh. The scar it left on India’s psyche still endures.
For years, the young Dalai Lama lived peacefully in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh taking care of the education of the young Tibetans and preserving their culture; it is only in 1973 that the Tibetan leader traveled to Europe for the first time; during the following decades, he would be instrumental in giving a concrete shape to the prophecy of the Great Indian Master, Guru Padmasambha: "When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the dharma will come to the land of the red faces." 
As the Dalai Lama tirelessly traveled over the five continents to spread the Buddha’s message of Love and Compassion, his focus widened and he became a global leader.
A turning point was an address to the US Congressional Human Right's Caucus in Washington in 1987 when he presented his Five Point Peace Plan; the first point was: “I propose that the whole of Tibet, including the eastern provinces of Kham and Amdo, be transformed into a zone of Ahimsa.”
It was an interesting proposal for India as a demilitarized Tibet could have been a solution to the border dispute. But the Tibetans were soon told by Beijing that it was unacceptable to China. 
In the following years, the Tibetan leader continued to travel abroad and to India’s Northern frontiers where he brought a new life to Tibetan Buddhism. 
Interestingly, the Dalai Lama always refers to his faith as “the Nalanda Tradition”, simply because several Indian gurus of the ancient Nalanda University visited Tibet to teach the Buddha Dharma. 
This old relation is especially important at a time when all the contacts between the Indian Himalaya and Tibet have been cut and the Tibetan monasteries in Tibet are subjected to what the Communist party calls the ‘sinization of Tibetan Buddhism’, which in fact aims to obliterate the Indian origin of the Buddha and his Dharma to replace it by the diktats of Karl Marx.
Today, the Dalai Lama’s followers are worried about his succession; what will happen if he departs for The Heavenly Fields? Will a Fifteen Dalai Lama replace him? Who will select him? These are still unanswered questions.
The Dalai Lamas traditionally ‘reincarnate’ in a young boy, who is then groomed to take-over as the next Dalai Lama.
The fact that the Dalai Lama has recently announced that his successor will be from outside China, makes Beijing extremely nervous; the Communist regime fully realizes the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama. 
Already in February 2023, The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, asserted that religious rituals for the selection of a new lama “have [for centuries] been supervised by the Chinese Central Government”; this is simply not true.
The Global Times also hides the fact that the boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama (the second highest hierarch in the Dalai Lama’s Yellow Hat School) was arrested in 1995 and 30 years later, he remains in the custody of the Chinese government somewhere in China. 
India is deeply concerned by the Dalai Lama’s succession as he has nearly one million followers in the Indian Himalaya …and Buddhism is born in India, not in China. It is also a fact that the Tibetan leader’s presence has always been a stabilizing factor for the northern borders. 
Today, in the midst of wars and conflicts, the planet needs a Dalai Lama; we can only pray for a smooth succession.

The Importance Of Being The Dalai Lama

My article The Importance Of Being The Dalai Lama appeared in Rediff.com

Here is the link...

One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace.
His presence is much required today on the planet, notes Claude Arpi, who has known His Holiness for more than half a century.

The Dalai Lama will be 90 years old on July 6.

Personally, it is an occasion for me to look back and realise the luck (or good karma) that I have had to meet him over the years. Let me start at the beginning of my 'Tibetan adventure.

The year was 1971. That summer I decided to visit Afghanistan during my university holidays.

In July, while I was in Kabul I heard some hippies speaking about what they called a 'cool' place called 'Manali.' I was also told that 'cool' Tibetan refugees were living there.

I did manage to come to India the very next year, and though I could hardly speak English, I decided to make the trip to Manali. I reached Palam airport early in the morning, jumped into a cab for the old Delhi railway station and boarded the first available train (and then bus) to the North.

It was on the road between Kulu and Manali that I saw my first Tibetan. This encounter was to change my life.

In India or in Tibet for that matter, everything that happens can be explained by one word -- 'karma.' It must have been my karma to meet this Tibetan!

The more I met with these peculiar people, the more I became interested in their way of being as well as their history.

They had lost everything: Their country, their wealth, very often members of their family and still they could stand on the side of the road that they were building and smile.

How could someone educated in a Cartesian country with a modern utilitarian education understand this bizarre phenomenon?

We are taught that if one loses everything important and dear in life, one must be sad and grim-faced, there are no two ways about it.
In the beginning I wondered whether the experience of the Chinese invasion and the destruction of their thousand-year-old civilisation had been too much for them and that something had cracked in their brains. It was not the case.

My First Encounter in July 1972

While in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, I met their leader, the Dalai Lama and I began to understand something that I had not so far understood: These people had a different set of values than the Westerners have.

In seeing this 'simple monk', as he prefers to call himself, I saw that inner strength and the power of compassion are qualities which are practically unknown today in the world.

This monk seemed the embodiment of a wisdom which was part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a nation that had spent most of its time looking 'within', into the heart of man.

World Interest in Tibet

Today there is an explosion of interest in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama is central to this interest, especially at a time when the planet is plunged in violence and chaos.

This interest has multiplied after the Dalai Lama reached India in 1959 and was granted asylum by the Government of India.

Suddenly Tibet was no more the last 'hidden' kingdom of the planet and the 'God-King' could be approached.

The Dalai Lama and Auroville

In recent years, my main contact with the Tibetan leader has been through Auroville.

Since January 1973, when the Dalai Lama spent two days in Auroville and Pondicherry (on January 17, he met the Mother in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram), the exchanges between the community of Auroville and the Tibetan refugees and their leader have been frequent and regular.

In 1978, a group of us met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala where he encouraged us to start a Tibetan Pavilion in the International Zone of Auroville.

In December 1991, the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture officially became part of Auroville Foundation thanks to a resolution of the Auroville governing board under Dr Karan Singh and Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, the famous art and Tibetan scholar.

In January 1993, His Holiness agreed to be the Patron of the Pavilion.

Later in the year, the Dalai Lama came to Auroville to lay the foundation stone of the Pavilion and in January 2009, he returned to inaugurate the building.

Some anecdotes

Fifty-three years after my first encounter with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, what can one say about him?

Too many things, of course, to fit into an article, but his sense of humour, his down-to-earth attitude, and his capacity to bring together opposites in a world often torn apart by different faiths, different religions or different cultures, stand out.

When I met him for the first time in 1972, he was truly an 'ordinary monk' walking freely out of his 'palace' (Z+ security cover was not yet necessary at that time); he used to visit construction sites or the main temple (known as Tsuglhakang) for prayers or pujas.

He then had a Land Rover that he would share with his two teachers, Ling and Trichang Rinpoches.

In the early 1970s, there were hardly two and three cars in McLeod Ganj (then known as 'Upper Dharamsala'); of course, there were no traffic jams like today.

Whenever Tibetans would hear the sound of a car approaching, they would bend low in reverence, not daring to look up; it was sure to be either 'His Holiness' or one of his gurus.

To see such devotion was deeply touching for my Cartesian mind.

I have to admit that during that first year, I did not ask for a private audience as my English was more than limited and I would not have known what to say.

The Dalai Lama travelled for the first time to Europe in September/October 1973. I managed to go to the airport in Geneva (he was to arrive from Italy where he met the Pope).

There was hardly anybody to receive him; however I was thrilled when he told one of his attendants: "I have seen him in Dharamsala".

Unfortunately, the photos of his arrival in Geneva have been lost.

His sense of humour

In the late 1990s, I had gone to Hunsur, Karnataka to interview him for my first book The Fate of Tibet, (he granted me three long interviews to clarify some points of Tibet's modern history).

One senior police officer who was not given a room near the Tibetan leader was very upset; he told the Dalai Lama's attendants that he would take revenge.

I arrived just then for the interview. He stopped me from going to meet the Dalai Lama; it took a good half an hour for the Dalai Lama's secretaries to finally 'negotiate' my release.

During all this time the Dalai Lama was waiting in his apartments.

When I reached I profusely apologised; he then said: "It is fine, they [the police] are aware that most of the French are terrorists" and he kept on laughing!

A couple of years later, The Fate of Tibet was released by him in Delhi; once the function ended, I bragged and several times said 'Thuk-je-che' (Thank you); he immediately cut me: "You don't know Tibetan. I know as much French as you know Tibetan, Merci beaucoup monsieur."

My face went red.

Tawang

During the series of interviews, I once asked the Dalai Lama if the Tibetan government had not committed a great blunder at the time of India's Independence, when it refused to immediately acknowledge the 1914 border agreement and the Simla Convention.

He thought about it and told this this story which took place just before independence, he said: "About Mon (Tawang) in NEFA area, I remember that around 1945/45, at that time I had no responsibility. I heard and noticed that a special Tibetan national assembly took place as a British [Indian] mission came to see the Kashag [Tibetan cabinet] in the Potala.

"Mr H. Richardson [later head of the Indian Mission in Lhasa] was one of them. From my window in Potala, I noticed that and I was told that the Tibetan national assembly was taking place; the session was going on because the British army wanted to enter Tawang area and the Tibetan government wanted to protest. ...

"At that time, because Tawang and these areas had been in possession of the Tibetans [in the past], and the [national assembly] wanted to hold on to these areas although in 1914 at the Simla Convention the border had already been demarcated and [the McMahon Line] was agreed by the Tibetan government.

"But most of the Tibetans did not know that (laughing). But they did not know that the government had already decided in 1914 [about the border between Tibet and India].

"So they did not know what had been decided [in 1914, i.e. the McMahon Line]." The Dalai Lama could stop laughing, "such a wonderful government!" he repeated.

This truthfulness, this straightforwardness, this capacity to be able to make fun of oneself or those close is extremely rare for a head of a State.

One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace. His presence is much required today on the planet.

The High Stakes In Dalai Lama's Succession

My article The High Stakes In Dalai Lama's Succession appeared in Rediff.com

Here is the link...

On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor.
This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.

Nobody will disagree that the world is in turmoil; time seems to have accelerated on every continent and violence has reached every corner of the planet.

In India, we witnessed a four-day war between India and Pakistan, triggered by constant acts of terrorism from Islamabad; in the Middle East, a bloody war has been going on for months between Israel and Hamas; now a new conflict has erupted between Iran and Israel while there is no solution in view for the Ukraine-Russia war; yet while another bloody conflict may now take place between China and Taiwan for control of the rebel island.

In the midst of all this, a man preaches love and compassion (Ahimsa and Karuna) to other human fellows.

For 66 years, he lives as a refugee in India, his name is Tenzin Gyatso, he is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, but also the leader of one million Buddhists from the Indian Himalayas (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh) as well as several million Buddhists from every continent.

This man will turn 90 on July 6.

His followers are worried about his succession; what will happen if he departs for The Heavenly Fields? Will a 15th Dalai Lama replace him? Who will select him? These are still unanswered questions.

According to The Deccan Chronicle: 'The Dalai Lama will issue a message on July 2, days ahead of his 90th birthday and a hugely anticipated decision as to whether he will have an eventual successor.'

Earlier this year, the Tibetan leader released a book, Voice for the Voiceless, in which he asserted: 'Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China) so that the traditional mission to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people, will continue.'

It was certainly a shock for China who expects to control the succession process ... and the next Dalai Lama.

The Background

On October 7, 1950, Chinese troops crossed the Upper Yangtze and began their 'liberation' of Eastern Tibet, then known as Kham province.

Ten days later, after sporadic battles, Chamdo, the capital of Kham, fell and Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the Tibetan Governor, surrendered to the Chinese without fighting.

It would take more than two weeks for the information to filter out.

Till October 25, the Tibetan government in Lhasa knew nothing, the Indian government had heard nothing, and the Chinese were keeping quiet; other governments, depending on India for news, were not 'informed' either.

On October 26, a brief communique of the New China News Agency (Xinhua) broke the news: 'People's army units have been ordered to advance into Tibet to free three million Tibetans ...the conquest of Tibet was a 'glorious task' which would put the final seal on the unification of Communist China.'

Hardly three weeks later in Lhasa, the Gods spoke through the Nechung State Oracle: 'Make Him King'.

Thus, Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet at the young age of 15; the 'God King' became the temporal and religious leader of Tibet.

Nine years later, under mounting Communist pressure, the Dalai Lama had no choice but to take refuge in India, where he was received as an honoured guest by the Government of India.

In the early 1970s, the Tibetan leader started travelling all over the world; for more than five decades he would be instrumental in giving a concrete shape to the prophecy often attributed to Guru Padmasambha: 'When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the dharma will come to the land of the red faces.'

The Dalai Lama tirelessly traveled to spread the Buddha's message of Love and Compassion.

Origin of the reincarnation system

Dusum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa Lama, was a disciple of the Tibetan master Gampopa, himself a disciple of the famous yogi and poet Milarapa.

The First Karmapa is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of 50; he then became known as the Karmapa.

The Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204-1283), was recognised as the reincarnation of Dusum Kyenpa, who had predicted the circumstances and time of his rebirth.

This is the origin of a system which has been prevalent in Tibet since then.

The Dalai Lama is 90 years old; due to his age and health, he has practically stopped going abroad; he remains most of the time in his residence in the Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala, north of Delhi.

In recent years, his succession has been widely debated in the media, the diplomatic and other circles.

Dalai Lamas 'reincarnate' in a young boy, who is then groomed to take over as the next Dalai Lama.

'Reincarnation' is, of course, the fascinating topic at a time when everything is 'scientifically' decided (and soon by Artificial Intelligence).

However, it entails a 20-year gap in spiritual governance, a period often used in the past by China to intervene in the Roof of the World's religious affairs; it does not seem to be a system adapted to our quick-changing world.

Traditionally, the Dalai Lama had two roles, one temporal (as head of the Tibetan State, though today in exile) and the other spiritual (guiding millions of Tibetans, but also Himalayan and foreign followers of Tibetan Buddhism).

In May 2011, the Tibetan leader decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own 'political' leader.

Today, a Sikyiong or president runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala.

A few months later, on September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: A traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions how to find the reincarnation) or an 'emanation', which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl).

In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that it was entirely his decision, though he would consult senior lamas: 'Reincarnation is a phenomenon which should take place either through the voluntary choice of the concerned person ... Therefore, the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth.'

The 2011 statement further explained: 'When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.'

It is what his followers (and probably the Indian Government too) are expecting to happen on July 2 or 6.

This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama.

Already in February 2023, The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist party, asserted: 'Recognition of new Dalai Lama must be conducted in China'.

It emphasised that the religious ritual for the selection of a new lama 'has been supervised by the Chinese Central Government and conducted within Chinese territory since the late 13th century', omitting that in the past 'religious rituals' (if any) for the recognition of the Dalai Lamas were conducted by Tibetans, not by the Communist party.

But half truths and blatant lies in Beijing's narrative continue: The Global Times dishonestly omits that the boy recognised as the Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama was arrested and more than 30 years later is still in the custody of the Chinese government somewhere in China.

The Panchen Lama was the second highest lama in the Yellow School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Xi Jinping meets the Chinese Panchen Lama

On June 6, China's President Xi Jinping summoned Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama imposed by Beijing, to Zhongnanhai, the official compound where live the Communist party's senior leaders.

Xi requested the young lama 'to make greater contributions to promoting ethnic unity and religious harmony.' The Chinese leader called upon the young lama to 'play an even better role in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systemically promoting the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation'.

In plain words, it means the 'Sinization' of Tibetan Buddhism and eradication of the Indian origin and influence in the spread of Buddhism on the plateau.

Many believe that the times of Dusum Kyenpa have gone and a gap of 20 years in spiritual governance is too risky; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone and certainly not of any Marxist government to decide on this highly esoteric issue.

It remains that the planet needs a Dalai Lama.

« La succession du dalaï-lama n’est pas qu’une question spirituelle, c’est un levier géopolitique »

My article in Le Monde
Claude Arpi, spécialiste du Tibet : « La succession du dalaï-lama n’est pas qu’une question spirituelle, c’est un levier géopolitique »

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Alors que le chef spirituel bouddhiste doit fêter ses 90 ans le 6 juillet, l’historien et tibétologue appelle, dans une tribune au « Monde », la communauté internationale à ne pas rester passive face à la mainmise de la Chine sur le Tibet.

Les célébrations pour le 90e anniversaire de Tenzin Gyatso ont débuté cette semaine à Dharamsala, en Inde, et une prise de parole du quatorzième dalaï-lama est attendue mercredi 2 juillet. Figure mondiale de la paix, défenseur infatigable de la non-violence, il incarne depuis plus de soixante ans la mémoire vivante du Tibet libre et la conscience spirituelle de millions de bouddhistes. Mais cet anniversaire symbolique met en lumière une question cruciale et largement ignorée du grand public : sa succession.

Traditionnellement, le dalaï-lama est reconnu comme la réincarnation d’un bodhisattva – un être éveillé voué à la compassion envers les êtres humains. Sa désignation ne relève ni du hasard ni d’une élection politique, mais d’un processus religieux complexe fondé sur la reconnaissance de signes spirituels. Cette transmission a toujours été assurée par les autorités religieuses du Tibet.

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