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 Panchen Lama reincarnation

Twenty-five years ago, Gedhun Choeki Nyima, the Panchen Lama selcted by the Dalai Lama was arrested by the Chinese.
Since then he has been kept under detention by the People's Republic of China.

I found an old article that I had written on the subject of the Panchen Lama's reincarnation in 1995 for Blitz magazine.
It was a few months after his arrest.
It shows again that the Chinese are planning their moves well in advance, though their justifications are as lame today as they were yesterday.
How can an atheist Government be knowledgeable about something that they don't believe in?
Is it not a highly spiritual matter?
In the meantime, the young reincarnation of the Panchen Lama remains a prisoner in China. This is tragic.

By foisting its own Panchen Lama on Tibet, China commits Sacrilege
December 23, 1995
Does history always repeating itself? One can only hope that it will not in the case of the Panchen Lama. When at the end of 1950, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops walked into the Eastern Tibetan province of Kham, a weak and divided Lhasa Government could not put up any resistance to the communist troops: it was the beginning of the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet.

A couple of months later, the Dalai Lama, his government and other officials from the big monasteries, had to flee Lhasa to take refuge at Yatung in the Chumbi Valley where the British had their trade mission, near the Indian border.  Soon the Communist Chinese became keen to officialise their occupation of Tibet by signing an agreement with Lhasa recognising that Tibet had been “peacefully liberated” by the PLA.
The only existing agreement on Tibet at that time was the Simla Agreement signed with Sir Henri McMahon after month­long negotiations in Simla between British, Chinese and Tibetan delegates. In order to erase this agreement at the earliest and to record as a fait-accompli the invasion of Tibet, in April 1951 Mao Zetong summoned Tibetan plenipotentiaries to Beijing to hold negotiations and sign a new agreement with the Chinese Communist government.
Two members of the delegation left Yatung the headquarters of the Dalai Lama and after a short stop over in New Delhi to seek the support of Nehru (which they did not get) proceeded to Beijing where they met the other members who had been brought from the occupied province of Kham. The leader of the delegation, Ngabo Jigme was at that time of the invasion the Governor of Kham and he had been a virtual prisoner of the Communist since October 1950.
The negotiations were scheduled to begin immediately but the Chinese refused to start unless the delegation recognised the new Panchen Lama born in Sining, China and chosen by them. Since 1942, the Tibetans had refused to accept the Chinese candidate as he was only one of the possible choices and he had not gone through any of the usual formal rituals and procedures to recognise an incarnate lama.
A few times, the Nationalist government unilaterally announced that their candidate was the official one and he was even once enthroned by the Chinese at the Kumbum monastery in the Eastern Province of Amdo, but the Chinese Communists (like the Nationalists earlier) knew that without the stamp of Lhasa it would be very difficult to get their choice accepted by the masses, thus their insistence on having their candidate accepted by Lhasa. For more than a month, Ngabo Jigme refused to cede to the Chinese pressure.
But at the end, he was forced to put his seal as he felt that it was the only way to come to the negotiating table.
However thereafter there were no further negotiations: a 17-point “Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” was signed under duress a few days later even though the Tibetan delegates who had objected to many points (in particular to the one referring to the role of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama and putting them on the same level) were given no choice, but to paragraph the text.
The Dalai Lama and his Government in Yatung were informed much later by telegram of the agreement, when it was already too late. This was the result of an extremely weak Tibetan government dominated by the conservative power of the large monasteries who never had wanted to have contacts with the outside world, the lack of concern shown by great powers like the USA and India (Nehru always believed that China and India should be friends whatever will be the cost) and of a 15-year old Dalai Lama who was far too inexperienced to fight political masters like Mao or Zhou En-lai.
On December 8 1995, history seems to repeat itself once more: a Chinese candidate was imposed by the Communist Party on the Tibetan People and “officially” enthroned in the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse, the second largest Tibetan town. The ceremony had been kept secret by the Chinese until the last moment as they feared the backlash of an angry Tibetan population at this unilateral imposition of their candidate.
The candidate, Gyaltsen Norbu had been chosen after a mock “Golden Urn” ceremony had been organised in the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa on 29th November by the dignitaries of the Communist Party. The parents of Gyaltsen Norbu are themselves said to be Communist Party members in Lhari. The usual traditional joy expressed by the Tibetan crowds when one of its high incarnate lamas (and specially the Dalai Lama or the Panchen Lama) has come back to our world to continue to fulfil his Bodhisattva vows to return again and again in order to help all sentient beings to be one day liberated from this world of suffering, was absent.
This time curfew was imposed in Shigatse, Lhasa and Chamdo, the three largest cities in Tibet and the boy had to be isolated under protection in one of the estate of the previous Panchen Lama in Shigatse after his arrival from Lhasa on 30th November. The high lamas, officials and monks of the Tashi Lhunpo were informed only on the eve of the event and threatened with dire consequences if they feign ill heath for not attending the enthronement.
The head of Religious Affairs in Beijing, Zhao Puchu had specially come from Beijing to supervise the ceremony and represent the Central government. More than 500 soldiers and members of the Public Security Bureau guarded the entrance of the monastery and screened the selected “invitees”.
The big difference with 1951 is that now the story has come to all the news agencies of the world and the wave of sympathy for the Tibetan Buddhist is widespread. Also this time the Tibetan people are united like never before around their leader: the Dalai Lama and firmly decided not to accept the “divide and rule” policy of Beijing. The fate of the Panchen Lama flashed for the first time in the news in May when on the occasion of the day of Buddha Poornima, the Dalai Lama formally announced that Gedhun Choeki Nyima, a six-year old boy from Lhari district in Tibet was the XIth Panchen Lama. This was the culmination of a long process started soon after the death of the Xth Panchen Lama in his Tashi Lhunpo monastery in 1989.
The Dalai Lama who had been performing different religious and spiritual practices for the past four years in order to recognise without fail the genuine reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, had been in touch with the Chinese-appointed head of the Search Committee, Chatrel Rinpoche who had twice consulted the Lhamoi Lhatso, the Lake of Vision in which signs are always seen to indicate the path to follow to discover the soul of a departed lama. For two years, the divination had indicated that the boy was already born in Tibet, but the time had not yet come to disclose more details. Each time this divination was confirmed by the Nechung, the State Oracle of Tibet and the Tsangpa Oracle who is specifically dealing with the Tashi Lhunpo monastery affairs. In 1994, the Nechung had confirmed that “if the Tibetans are united the incarnation will soon be found in Tibet.” It is only in early 1995, that the Dalai Lama through another divination found out that Gedhun was a “very good” candidate. It was confirmed during the following months and on May 13th, a last divination confirmed that his boy was the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and that it was now time to announce it to the world. This was done the next day. The Chinese reaction was not long in coming. Infuriated that they had been out played by the Dalai Lama who had announced the name of the boy before them and also by the fact that the Search Committee chosen by them had passed information to Dharamsala without their knowledge, they immediately arrested Chatrel Rinpoche who is since missing and the newly recognised Panchen Lama was brought to Lhasa were he is still under house arrest. One interesting point to note here is that even after years of indoctrination, communist education and re-education, even though Chatrel Rinpoche had been specially chosen for his pro-Chinese sentiments, still at the end of the process he chose to refer the matter for the final choice to the Dalai Lama. It is symptomatic of the immense faith the people of Tibet from the most humble nomad to the greatest abbot keep in their tradition. It certainly reminded the world of the role played by the previous Panchen Lama who was born in China, chosen by the Party, educated by the Communists, “re-educated” in prison for more than 15 years and generally considered for years by Tibetans and Western Tibet watchers as a traitor, but who denounced the forty years of Chinese rule in Tibet in 1989 only four days before his mysterious death and thus becoming a hero for the Tibetans. The worse thing for the Chinese psyche is to publicly loose face, and after the Dalai Lama’s announcement they had definitively lost face (at least in their own eyes). This explains why the matter was taken up at the highest level of the State and Jiang Zemin and Li Peng personally took charge of the case. It was decided that no time should be lost to announce their own candidate. The name of Gedhun Choekyi Choekyi Nyima was immediately deleted from the list of possible candidates while only a few weeks earlier he was for the Chinese one of the very strong contenders for becoming the Eleventh Panchen Lama. For months the Beijing government did its utmost to rope in senior Tibetan lamas and monks to participate in the selection and denounce the Dalai Lama’s choice. Finally, on November 8, Jiang Zemin, the Chinese President received some 75 monks in Beijing. Most of these monks, said to have been hand-picked from Beijing itself, met in a conclave to nominate out of a list of twenty seven names the three candidates whose names would be put in the Golden Urn.  A French journalist reported from Beijing that “at this occasion, the television and the press have given a prominent place to the very unusual “family photo” of Jiang and four other members of the politburo (including the Army Chief Liu Huaquing in uniform) posing with the lamas.” The journalist added: “One could read on the faces of the religious men more reserve than enthusiasm and they did not appear to be as in a hurry as the officials”. The fact that a totalitarian communist regime could start dealing with the search of incarnated souls put a smile on the lips of many, except the Tibetans who were more and more concern about the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. The question could be asked as to why the Chinese leadership chose to have a confrontation with the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet at this point of time. A few years back, the Chinese government had for the first time decided to recognise Tulkus (reincarnated lamas), when the head of the Kargyui-pa sect of Buddhism, the 17th Karma-pa was officially recognised by the Communist government. What is worth noting is that the Karma-pa had been discovered by one of his disciples, Situ Rinpoche while conducting the search in Tibet and was subsequently approved by the Dalai Lama after the appropriate tests had been performed. It is only later that the Chinese government “officially appointed” the boy as the 17th Karma-pa and enthroned him in Tsurphu, north of the Lhasa the traditional seat of the Karma-pas. The process could have been the same for the choice of the Panchen Lama as in any case the boy, being born in Tibet, was going to remain “in the hands” of the Chinese government. In the case of the Karma-pa, though he was recognised by the Dalai Lama, the Chinese has completely taken over his education and he is already been used for political purposes.
On May 1st, he was paraded with Jiang on the rostrum of Tiananmen Square on the occasion of the celebration of the Workers Day. More recently he was offered the latest luxurious Toyota by the Party Central Committee. The story of the Panchen Lama could have been similar, but for other reasons the Chinese leadership decided “not to loose face” and show that they were in full control of the situation. The draw from the Golden Urn was an easy and the only way out for the Chinese as it did not require any special religious qualifications to go through. Prof. Samdong Rinpoche, the Chairman of the Tibetan Assembly-in-exile immediately issued a clarification on this procedure which was very rarely used in Tibet.
He quoted for the purpose the previous Panchen Lama who declared in 1988 “according to Tibetan history, the confirmation of either the Dalai or the Panchen Lama must mutually recognised.” This was published in China Reconstructs, an official organ of the Chinese government. Four days before his untimely death in 1989, the Panchen Lama again said: “In the past most of the reincarnates were confirmed by the Father and the Son Aryas (meaning the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama).”
Prof. Samdong Rinpoche raised also the question which is in everybody’s mind: “Does the Chinese communist regime believes in the reincarnation theory as practised by Tibetans? If not, then the whole process adopted by them is a mockery of its own philosophy!”
Since many weeks, meetings have been organised in the great monasteries of Tibet to inform the monks that there would be serious consequences if any Tibetan accept the choice of the Dalai Lama.
Another report from Tibet says that the monks from two of the largest monasteries of Sera and Drepung were recently invited for a great prayer ceremony. But soon the monks saw a monk known for his Chinese sentiments distributing offerings followed by a battery of video cameras; they suspected some foul play and that the participation to the ceremony would later be shown as a celebration of the Panchen Lama’s recognition and their acceptance of the Chinese choice, they all walked out of the puja. In October, the Dalai Lama appealed personally to Jiang Zemin: “I am deeply concerned that the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima whom I have recognised as the incarnation of the late Panchen Lama are not known publicly since some time”.
I appeal to you for your government’s recognition to the young Panchen Lama”. The Dalai Lama in his letter further regretted that the proclamation “has further strained our relationship” and he recalled all the efforts he had made in the past years to communicate with and seek assistance of the Chinese government in the search of the reincarnation. “Unfortunately, there has been no response at all from the concerned officials of your government. On the contrary, to my great disappointment the concerned official of your government repeatedly made categorical statements that no involvement on my part will be tolerated... The recognition of the Panchen Lama’s reincarnation is in no way intended to challenge your Excellency’s government”.
The Dalai Lama concluded by another appeal to the Chinese President to seat on a negotiations table “I hold in firm belief that it is possible for us to find a mutually acceptable and beneficial solution on the Tibetan question. With this conviction, I have consistently endeavoured to enter in negotiations with your government any time, any where, keeping in mind the long-term and larger interests of both the Tibetan and the Chinese people”.
The response to the letter was that the Chinese government decided to go ahead with the confrontation approach even at the probable risks of law and order problems, riots, etc… in Tibet. If one observes the situation in China during the last few weeks and tries to read into it, one can see an hardening of the position of the Chinese leadership in three directions: vis-à-vis Tibet, Taiwan and the internal dissidence.
The main reason for this is that Deng Xiao Ping will soon pass away and the struggle for his succession has accentuated over the last months. Jiang Zemin, for the time being the favourite in the succession line has been recently travelling abroad and through his meetings with President Clinton and other heads of state in particular on the occasion of 50th Anniversary of the UN has established himself as a leader with an international stature.
But this does not seem to be enough to make of him the new emperor: he has to assure his basis in China itself and for this he has to remove the three thorns from the Communist government foot. Wei Jingsheng, the most prominent dissident was officially arrested on 21st November on the very serious charges of “engaging in activities to overthrow the government”.
Despite of the protests of many Western countries, scholars and human rights activists, the government declared that Wei was arrested in accordance with the country’s judicial procedure and that “on the contrary, some foreign organisations violated international standard by trying to interfere with the internal affairs of China.” The second case of hardening in the Chinese stand was shown when at the end of November the Xinhua News Agency announced army exercises including amphibious landing.
This was obviously targeted at Taiwan which was on the eve of the legislative polls. The Beijing’s’ TV showed clips proving that the exercises were meant to show that the armed forces were capable of defending the State sovereignty and integrity and safeguarding the unity of the motherland”. Clearly the Chinese government was trying to intimidate the voters to vote against the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party and give their favours to the pro reunification New Party.
Another compulsion that the future emperor has, is to deal with is the army. The strong feeling amongst the generals of the People’s Liberation Army was shown in a recent interview given by Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai an Assistant Chief of Staff to the New York Times. It has been a fact since 1949 that no leader can rule in Beijing without the strong support of the PLA.
The Panchen Lama episode should be seen in the same line. The future leader of China has to show that he has full control over the minorities and specially over the most restive ones: the Tibetans.
Another question in the mind of all the Tibetans and their well-wishers is: is the Panchen Lama’s “recognition” and enthronement a rehearsal for a more important recognition: the Dalai Lama’s. The Chinese always like to create precedents to be able to quote them later as historical tradition. A few weeks back the Beijing Review consecrated four pages in an article to show (with totally distorted historical facts) that the XIVth Dalai Lama had been himself recognised and enthroned by them.
The news that a Chinese spy ring was recently broken in Dharamsala added to the anguish that one day the Tibetans will have to face a succession crisis for their revered leader.
The only hope for the Tibetans now is that they remain united and that democracies like India, the European Community or the USA will take a strong position in favour of the young Panchen Lama.
Already two hundred members of the French Parliament issued an official protest against the Chinese actions and expressed their support for Gedun whom they agreed to sponsor as the youngest prisoner of conscience.
Could not the new Panchen Lama be offered asylum Fang Lizhi and many other dissidents who had to take refuge in the free world after the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China?

Politics of Reincarnation

China already playing politics with the 9th Panchen Lama (with Chiang Kai-chek on the picture)

My article Politics of Incarnation appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer

A few months ago, a board was placed outside a monastery in Tibet; it stated that Government officials and Communist cadres were not allowed to enter the premises of the gompa as the Chinese State was atheistic.
One can understand that the Communist Party of China (CPC), religiously following the precepts of its founding father, is not in favour of any spiritual practices.
More recently, the CCP issued a notice banning retired Tibetan government employees from taking part in any religious activities.
According to Human Rights Watch, the notice required “all Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government and retired government employees – regardless of whether those retirees are party members – to submit a list by August 18 of any ‘retired personnel performing the kora,’ the Tibetan practice of circumambulating a sacred site.”
Though the People’s Republic of China is atheist by definition and does not believe in the return of a soul, it wants now to control the reincarnation of the Tibetan Lamas; read the "Management measures for the reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" notified by the State Council on July 13, 2007, you will understand.
Article 1 spoke of “protecting religious concord and social harmony, and protecting the normal order of Tibetan Buddhism.” It asserted that: “Reincarnating Living Buddhas should respect the religious rituals and historically established systems of Tibetan Buddhism;” it insists on an old ritual rarely used, the Golden Urn, which can easily be manipulated …further “Reincarnating living Buddhas shall not be interfered with or be under the dominion of any foreign organization or individual.” In other words, the Dalai Lama is not allowed to be reborn in India.
Is China an atheist or a religious State?
The answer is: it depends on the interests of the Party. When it is convenient, it follows the Marxist orthodoxy, but when its interests differ, the CCP becomes expert in religious practices, particularly in the ‘reincarnation’ process.
Already in 2015, Padma Choling, then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the TAR People's Congress and then the only ‘ethnic’ Tibetan, member of the CPC’s Central Committee, created a flutter when he declared: “It's not up to the Dalai Lama to decide about his own reincarnation.” He objected to an announcement by the Dalai Lama that ‘his traditional religious role should cease with his death’. Padma Choling affirmed that the Dalai Lama’s renouncement was against “the Tibetan Buddhism tradition as the soul of a senior lama is [always] reincarnated in the body of a child on his death.”
Marx would have shuddered in his tomb, had he heard Choling uttering this Marxist blasphemy.
But this does not disturb the Communist leaders ‘in the new era’; today they argue that one can be Marxist and capitalist at the same time.
A recent development has brought some clarity.
On 29 November, the Dalai Lama addressed the issue of his reincarnation at a three-day Tibetan Religious Conference, a gathering of 117 Tibetan Buddhist and Bon senior leaders in Dharamsala.
On the occasion of the closing ceremony, the Tibetan spiritual leader told the rinpoches that there was no hurry to talk about his reincarnation; he affirmed “I am fine physically and mentally — is there any hurry to talk about my reincarnation?” He added that he will consult his advisors to decide on his reincarnation when he turns 90.
This is a welcome change from some contradictory statements made earlier, particularly that he was not keen to ‘return’, that the system was ‘medieval’ or that he will come back as an attractive lady.
On the first day of the Conference, the assembled Lamas had passed an important three-point resolution to counter China. The first point mentioned was the Karmic bond between the Dalai Lamas and the Tibetan people which is ‘unbreakable’; it added that all Tibetans “genuinely wish for the continuation of the Institution and Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in the future.” The Dalai Lama was supplicated to ‘come back’.
The second point made it clear that “the authority of decision concerning the way and the manner in which the next reincarnation of the XIV Dalai Lama should appear solely rests with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama himself. No government or otherwise will have such authority.”
It was the best way to counteract Beijing’s stance (and religious new ‘skills’). The third point, the monks’ gathering urged that “the same unique Tibetan traditional method, which has been continuously used until now, will be followed.”
Though it says that this method conforms to “the basic philosophy and tenets of the Buddhadharma and originated in Tibet over 800 years ago,” no details were provided, leaving the door opened to possible manipulation by China.
Incidentally, it is regrettable that among the 117 senior monks, the feminine gender was not represented; this is probably one of the reasons why the Dalai Lama terms the system as ‘medieval’.
The Chinese are aware that the reincarnation system is not purely a religious affair; it has always had a political angle. One historical example is the strife between the Ninth Panchen and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama which revolved around taxes to be paid by the Panchen Lama estate to the Dalai Lama’s government. As the result of the dispute, the Panchen took refuge in China in 1923; he was well-looked after by the Kuomintang, who had an eye on Tibet. A Chinese scholar recently wrote that “the treatment of the Ninth Panchen Lama was further enhanced in response to [China’s] needs on the border [with India]. In June 1931, the National Government appointed the Ninth Panchen Lama as an ambassador and set up an agency which was given a hefty monthly budget of 15,000 yuans.”
The Panchen Lama himself received 120,000 yuans monthly; it was not a salary said the scholar, but "for his personal expenses and the living expenses of his followers and monks.”
The fact that the US Congress recently passed a bill on the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders shows that it is still a highly political issue today.
The Tibetans should be left alone to decide their spiritual future, but even if India does not interfere, Delhi does have high stakes in the issue, particularly in connection with the Himalayan region where Buddhism has so far played a stabilizing role. The Dalai Lama is hopefully aware of this.

China readies for Next Dalai Lama

China objects to the Dalai Lama's birthday being celebrated in Ladakh

My article China readies for Next Dalai Lama appeared in Mail Today and DailyO

Here is the link...

The Dalai Lama’s answers about his succession often make the headlines; in some cases, his words were even misinterpreted. But, on August 18, a video addressed to members of the Minnesota Tibetan Association which received a wide circulation on social media, brought joy to his followers; the Nobel-laureate said that he was presently in the best of health and would live to be 110 years old.
Concerns were raised about his health in April, when the 84-old leader was flown from Dharamsala to Delhi where he was admitted to a private hospital for a serious chest infection.

Fears allayed

In his talks with the American Tibetans, he recalled a dream in which Goddess Palden Lhamo, the special protector deity of Tibet, while riding on his back, proclaimed that he would live for 110 years. "Tibetans have not forgotten me, and I will not forget you," asserted the Dalai Lama.
At the same time, on the other side of the Himalaya, the Chinese are actively planning for the return of his reincarnation.
The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the atheist Communist Party, recently reported that some 100 Tibetan Buddhist monks attended “a training session on reincarnation for a living Buddha in Tibet Autonomous Region, which includes government regulation on management of the reincarnation system, and was hailed by Chinese experts and officials as a necessary method to maintain religious harmony in the region.”
‘Living Buddha’ is a term invented by China to designate the tulkus, the Lamas who consciously return to this world to continue what they have not achieved in their previous life; Beijing appears busy making preparation to appoint its own 15th Dalai Lama.
According to The Global Times, the training session which was organized by the Institute of Socialism in Tibet, the Tibet Buddhist Association and regional authorities, covers the history and rituals for the reincarnation of Living Buddhas. The course lasted some 10 days; at the end of it, the newly-educated monks were received by Wu Yingjie, the Party boss in Lhasa.
Sonam Rinchin, a deputy secretary of the regional Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, explained that the reincarnation system was "never a religious-only issue or a living Buddha's personal right" but an important representation of the Communist Party of China's strategies and policies in the region. It meant that for Beijing, it is a Party affair, to be decided by the Communist leadership.
The "Management measures for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" were notified on July 13, 2007.
Article 1 spoke of “protecting religious concord and social harmony, and protecting the normal order of Tibetan Buddhism.”
It asserted that: “Reincarnating living Buddhas should respect the religious rituals and historically established systems of Tibetan Buddhism,” insisting on an old ritual rarely used, the Golden Urn which can easily be manipulated, …further “Reincarnating living Buddhas shall not be interfered with or be under the dominion of any foreign organization or individual.”
This is practically a ban on the Dalai Lama to return from India.

Chine eyes succession
Pema Lhamo, head of the South Asia Institute of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences explained that holding such a training session helped the process of reincarnation, “written in government regulations and embedded in Tibetan Buddhism …to be carried out properly and not affected by any individual or the Dalai Lama's separatist clique.”
China wants a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama without Dalai Lama’s involvement!
But the Chinese preparations are not limited to ‘convert’ a few monks to a ‘socialist’ Buddhism, the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu has been conducting an extensive 'inspection tour' on the Tibetan plateau, including a village bordering Ladakh, trying to assert himself as the heir apparent to the Dalai Lama.
Norbu toured areas such as Purang (near the trijunction Nepal-Tibet-India), Mt Kailash, Manasarovar lake, the monasteries in Tholing, Ngari town, Rutok, the Panggong Lake (of The Three Idiots’ fame on the Indian shores) and even a village on the Indian border; all these areas are close to the Indian border.

Norbu's Border Tour
The Chinese media extensively covered his three-week long visit.
China Tibet Online reported that on July 26, Gyalsten Norbu traveled to Jaggang village in Rutok County “for survey and research”; he paid a visit to two Tibetan families. The Chinese website said that “Jaggang Village is located in the southern part of Rutog County, 70 kilometers away from the county town. It is a typical plateau village.”
But it is not an ordinary village, it is also known as Chiakang and situated close to Demchok in Ladakh.
It is the first time, that such a ‘senior’ religious leader, goes himself the Indian border, which China claims as ‘disputed’.
Norbu's visit was probably a message to Delhi and Dharamsala; Beijing is doing its homework on the ‘succession' of the Dalai Lama. For at least the next twenty years, Norbu will be the face of Tibetan Buddhism in China, which seemed decided to fully play the Gyaltsen Norbu card against the Dalai Lama.
Even if China selects its own Dalai Lama (with the help of Norbu), the latter will continue to ‘rule’ on behalf of the Communist Party for decades (provided, the Communist Dynasty lasts that long).
Incidentally, Norbu also visited a Nyingma (old school) monastery (Tirthapuri Gompa near Mt Kailash). This shows that China plans to use him as ecumenical leader, not just a Lama of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism.
China is clearly putting people and systems in place for the succession of the Dalai Lama.
One can hope that that Palden Lhamo’s prediction is right and the Dalai Lama will continue to live a healthy life for many years. It is important for Tibet, but for India too, particularly for the Himalayan region where he brings a great harmony, stability and a refreshing presence.

The succession challenge

The Chinese Panchen Lama (here near Mt Kailash)
is used by Beijing's propaganda

My article The succession challenge appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer

Here is the link...

The Lama had made it clear in 2011 that he shall leave clear instructions about who should succeed him. This should clear doubts and cut out the Chinese propaganda

China has mastered the Art of Information Warfare.
We saw it during the Doklam episode, though caught on the wrong foot on the ridge at the border of Sikkim and Bhutan, the Chinese spokespersons managed to convince many Indian scribes of the validity of a defunct 1890 Convention between the Manchus and British India.
More recently, the Dalai Lama was the victim of the Chinese propaganda; for the purpose, Beijing used some Indian journalists ‘invited’ to Tibet for a trip, to ‘see the facts’ for themselves.
On their return, one of the correspondents, quoting the Chinese authorities, wrote: “The successor of the Dalai Lama has to be decided within China and any interference by India on the issue will impact bilateral ties.”
The message that Beijing wanted to pass was faithfully reported by the gullible Indian scribe who quoted one Wang Neng Sheng, Director General (of Propaganda) in the Tibet Autonomous Region’s administration: “The current Dalai Lama was recognized by Beijing and his successor must be found through the ‘draw of lots in golden urn process’ within China. The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is not decided by his personal wish or by some group of people living in other countries.”
The ignorant Wang was probably unaware that no golden urn was used for the selection of the present Dalai Lama; but propaganda does not need to stick to facts.
Another official, Zha Luo, director of the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing confirmed that “any refusal by India to recognise the next Dalai Lama to be chosen within China will impact bilateral ties.”
In other words, if Delhi does not kowtow to Beijing’s choice, there will be ‘consequences’.
It was enough to provoke a flurry of reactions from Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration and from elsewhere India.
A Tibetan official, Tsewang Gyalpo Arya stated: “The Chinese officials pointed out two things as important historical criteria for the selection of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. First, the selection should be within China based on the 200-year old historical process. Second, it should have the approval of the Chinese Central government.”
Arya argued that the Golden Urn procedure and the approval of Chinese central government were not mandatory for the recognition of a Dalai Lama: “It is an aggressive and ignominious attempt on the part of the Chinese leadership to distort the ancient religious tradition of Tibet to serve its current political agenda.”
The problem is that the sometimes mischievous Dalai Lama has in the past given ‘controversial’ statements to the press. One, which recently made the headlines, was to Rajini Vaidynathan, a BBC journalist, who was obviously more interested by her audience rating than by a deeper understanding of a complicated question.
When Vaidyanathan asked the Tibetan leader about ‘returning’ as a female, the Dalai Lama said with his characteristic humour that his successor could be a woman, but she ought to be ‘attractive’.
Vaidyanathan used her Twitter account to spread excerpts of the ‘controversial’ video in the social media; the Tibetan leader had to sadly apologize for his ‘misogynist’ remarks.
I remember asking him this question about a female Dalai Lama more than 15 years ago; he had smiled and explained that it was possible, there was no bar on this in Tibetan Buddhism and he had added that if it was useful for the Buddha Dharma and the Tibetan cause, “why not?”
The issue remains that his Office should be aware that the world has changed, and today rogue journalists are only interested in sensationalism.
In any case, Chinese propaganda and ‘modern’ journalism do not help to clarify the complicate issue. The succession is indeed a serious affair, not only for China which has been working hard to prepare a post Dalai Lama scenario with a few pliable Tibetan Lamas presently living in Tibet, but it is also crucial for the Tibetans (in exile and in Tibet) and for India as well.
The succession process could go two-ways, first a ‘traditional’ reincarnation with the huge problem of having a child and later a teenager for two decades at the helm; the other solution would be an ‘emanation’; the latter system is favoured by many as it would bring some stability in the system (and disarm the Chinese ‘religious fervours’); it practically means that the Dalai Lama would ‘emanate’ in a young boy and groom him as his successor.
Though the Indian government would probably not interfere, it still has vital stakes in the outcome (particularly in relation to the Himalayan populations from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh).
After the BBC incident, the Dalai Lama declared: “One day you will hear that the Dalai Lama has passed away, but I will come back, even if the institution of Dalai Lama is no longer recognised. I will be back.”
That is the real question: will Tenzin Gyatso come back as a Dalai Lama?
In another statement to The Week, he said that the rule-by-reincarnation system is feudal and may be discontinued.
The result of all these declarations is that the Chinese are confused; but for them to bank on their own Dalai Lama may be risky.
They should also remember the case of the Tenth Panchen Lama, who in May 1951 was forced on a weak Tibetan government by China, against a candidate selected by Lhasa. From his early years, the boy was groomed by Communist China as a ‘model lama’. But slowly over the years, he became his own man. In 1964, a few years after the Dalai Lama had taken refuge in India, in a speech in Lhasa, the so-called puppet Panchen Lama told a large audience: “Long Live to His Holiness the Dalai Lama”. He was immediately arrested and only released in 1978 with the help of Xi Zhongxun …President Xi Jinping’s father.
Again in 1989, while visiting his monastery near Shigatse, he questioned the 30-year occupation of China; a few days later, he died of a heart attack.
The case of the Tenth Panchen Lama proves that China would be wrong to take a Tibetan for granted, even if he is chosen by the Party.
In 2011, the Dalai Lama had clearly stated: “I shall leave clear written instructions about this.”
It is perhaps time that he announces that instructions about his ‘succession’ have already been given, thus removing the doubt in everybody’s minds and cutting out the Chinese propaganda.

China needs a morality lesson

Ye Xiaowen, State Council's Secretary for Religious Affairs selecting the name

My article China needs a morality lesson appeared in The Edit Page of The Mail Today.

China is today a powerful State, probably more powerful than the United States, at least if one looks at the Huawei affair and the way the Chinese state-sponsored telecom giant manages to influence governments (the British Defence Secretary recently lost his job for not realizing this).
China is indeed powerful and can dictate to the world media its views on any subject. Take the case of the young Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama, who turned 30 year-old last week; he has spent the last 24 years under arrest …somewhere in China.

Where is the Panchen?
Not one of the media persons posted in the Chinese capital dared to ask the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) the whereabouts of the young reincarnation during the daily briefings.
The saga of the young lama’s disappearance (or more correctly kidnapping) by the Chinese State would indeed make a great Hollywood blockbuster.
In 1989, a promising young Communist cadre called Hu Jiatao was sent to Lhasa as Party Chief. It was to be the crucial challenge for Hu; he knew that he had to show results to repay the confidence placed in him by the senior leaders in Beijing.
Hu reached Lhasa on January 12, 1989. On January 23, he went to the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse; he was accompanied by the 50-year old 10th Panchen Lama, the second highest ranking Tibetan Lama after the Dalai Lama. The occasion was the consecration of a stupa containing the mortal remains of some of the previous Panchen Lamas. To everyone's surprise, during the function, the Panchen Lama denounced the Communist Party's role in Tibet: “although there had been developments in Tibet since its liberation, this development had cost more dearly than its achievements.” Four days later, he passed away in mysterious circumstances.
When a demonstration erupted on March 5 in the Tibetan capital, the People's Armed Police quickly took control of the situation; eyewitnesses later said that hundreds of Tibetans were massacred around the Central Cathedral in Lhasa on that day leading to the clampdown of martial law three days later. The tragic events in Lhasa seem to have been a rehearsal for another event: the student rebellion on Tiananmen Square three months later. But the young official would be rewarded for his actions; a few years later, he would become President of China and Secretary General of the Communist Party.
In May 1995, the ‘return’ of the Panchen Lama was announced on the world’s telescripters; the Dalai Lama had formally recognized Gedhun Choeki Nyima, a six-year old boy from Lhari district in Nagchu prefecture of Tibet as the 11th Panchen Lama. Soon, it transpired that the Tibetan leader had been in touch with the Chinese-appointed head of the Search Committee, Chatrel Rinpoche, who had twice consulted the Lhamoi Lhatso, the Lake of Vision, in which signs often indicate the way to discover a departed soul.
When Jiang Zemin and his colleagues of the Politburo, learnt that the Dalai Lama had announced the return of the Panchen Lama without consulting them, they were furious.
The Chinese President and his Premier Li Peng personally took charge of the ‘reincarnation’ issue. Gedhun Choeki and Chatrel Rinpoche were arrested.

China's Monk
In the meantime, the Chinese leadership decided that no time should be lost to announce Beijing’s own candidate. The name of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was deleted from the list of possible candidates, while a few weeks earlier he was for Beijing one of the very strong contenders for becoming the Eleventh Panchen Lama.
On December 8 1995, a new candidate Gyaltsen Norbu, was imposed by the Party and ‘officially’ enthroned at the Tashilhunpo monastery. The ceremony had been kept secret by the Chinese until the last moment as they feared the backlash of an angry Tibetan population at this unilateral imposition of their candidate, ‘selected’ after a mock ‘Golden Urn’ ceremony organised in the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa on November 29 by the governor of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, also Gyaltsen Norbu (some Tibetans found the courage to joke, “Gyaltsen Norbu chose Gyaltsen Norbu”). The parents of the boy were of course good Communist Party card holders.
The question remains, why twenty-four years later, has nobody to dar asking the Chinese government “But where is the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choeki Nyima?”
Like questions on Xinjiang, it is simply not allowed.
Is it the sign of a ‘great’ State or a nervous State?


A Nervous State
It is true that the BBC publicized the issue by commissioning forensic artist Tim Widden to flesh out the look that the Panchen Lama would have today. Widden used the only known photograph of young lama; he assumed an average height and weight …and a guessed upon hairstyle.
Why didn’t someone ask the MFA spokesman if the simulation looked like the real Panchen Lama (and if he is still alive)?
The answer is simply because China, as a great power, does not have to answer queries.
But is it the hallmark of a human State …in the new era often mentioned by President Xi?
If China wants to become a respected power, it is not enough to have a powerful Navy or the latest gadgets such hypersonic planes, plasma guns or AI Apps, which can control each and every move of its citizens, China needs to become a ‘moral’ State too; it means, it should stop supporting well-known terrorists, as it did for years for Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Masood Azhar; stop ‘reeducating’ its own minorities; stop trying to enlarge its territory by grabbing lands (or seas) around and stop spying on industrial competitors or political opponents. Goondagiri does not make a power truly great.
In the case of the Panchen Lama, to imprison a young boy just because the Dalai Lama had announced his recognition before Beijing could do so, is deplorable and unacceptable.

Reincarnation with Marxist Characteristics

Propaganda photo of the Golden Urn recognition of the Chinese Panchen Lama.
Party officials are watching!

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was born on 25 April 1989 in Lhari County in Nagchu Prefecture, North of Lhasa, was chosen by the Dalai Lama on 15 May 1995 as the 11th Panchen Lama, which is the second highest position in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Panchen Lama will be 30-year old tomorrow.
Since 1996, he is under house arrest somewhere in China (probably in Beijing).
The Comunist authorities have systematically refused to tell his well-wishers and the world about his whereabouts.
This is China in the new era...
On the occasion of Gedun Choekyi's birthday, I re-post something I had written in 2015.
Another article How the next Dalai Lama may be selected! has several pictures of the Golden Urn farce is worth reading.
Incidentally, Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama 'selected' by China is also born in Lhari.

[My 2015 posting]
The Communist leadership has recently developed a great knowledge about ‘soul’ reincarnation!
Poor Karl Marx!
Though probably he never heard about the possibility to ‘reincarnate’, he would have certainly disapproved and considered this a bourgeois revisionist ideological concept. But the times have changed.
This week, on the same day, China Tibet Online affiliated to Xinhua, published 5 articles on reincarnation of lamas, more particularly on the present Dalai Lama’s reincarnation.
One of the pieces explains that reincarnation is “a complete set of religious rites and historical mechanism” and “as China adopts the policy of freedom to religious belief,” the Communist Party accepts ‘reincarnations’. Of course, the recognition process must follow the Party’s rules and regulations, which prime over religious belief.
One of the articles goes into history and explains that the title of ‘Dalai Lama’ was conferred by the Central Government (China); it has a history of over 400 years, beginning in 1587 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The author conveniently forgets to mention the fact that ‘Dalai’ is a Mongol name meaning ‘Ocean’ (of Wisdom).  But probably, Mongolia belonged to China too!
The article mentions ‘The Regulations on Religious Affairs’ and ‘Tibetan Buddhist Reincarnation Management Approach’ enacted in 2007 by the atheist Party in Beijing; it stipulated that “the Dalai Lama should follow the religious rites, historical mechanism and the national laws and regulations.”
Today, Beijing says that the present 14th Dalai Lama, living in India has “no authoritative power on his [own] reincarnation issue”, it adds, quoting some of the Tibetan leader’s recent declarations, that the Tibetan leader even thought of appointing his own reincarnation while he was still alive, or reincarnating as a foreigner or a woman…”.
The article calls the Dalai Lama’s recent statements “a blasphemy towards the religious rites and historical mechanism of Tibetan Buddhism, a great disrespect to the followers of the religion, and an absolute provocation towards the authority of the central government.”
Why this virulent campaign in favour of a reincarnation process ‘with socialist characteristics’ at this point in time?
Beijing is becoming increasing conscious that it is unable to control the restive populations living on the Tibetan Plateau and once the Dalai Lama departs for the Heavenly Fields, the situation may degenerate further. The Communist leadership wants to prepare the stage for a ‘safe’ Chinese Dalai Lama, under the Party’s control. It will help the Communist cause, they believe.
The present leader has repeatedly made it clear that the final decision about his future life(s) remains his own. Beijing however believes that it is the Party’s responsibility.
Another reason for urgency is the 50th anniversary of the Foundation of the Tibetan Autonomous Region which will be celebrated in 2015, as well as the Sixth Tibet Work Forum which will decide the policies for the Roof of the World for the next 5 or 10 years, which will be held in the coming weeks.
The Communist Government is banking on the Golden Urn process to turn the issue in its favour.
Though historically wrong, another article affirms: “the procedure of drawing lots from the golden urn is the most significant religious rite and historic mechanism.”
Beijing’s tainted version of the history is that sometimes “several ‘soul boys’ appeared at the same time, it indubitably aroused disputes between different sides. To solve the problem, Emperor Qianlong granted two golden urns in 1792, one placed in the Lama Temple of Beijing and the other in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa.”
The Golden Urn was indeed used a very few times in history, especially when Tibet was too weak to resist China’s bullying tactics (interestingly, Beijing admits today that the present Dalai Lama was ‘exempted’ of the test).
Now, Beijing would like to use the Golden Urn again for the next Dalai Lama, as they have done for their Panchen Lama candidate, Gyaltsen Norbu (for the past 20 years, the boy selected by the Dalai Lama is still languishing under house arrest somewhere in China).
How Norbu was selected is recounted by a Tibetan Lama, who participated in the ‘test’ and later managed to escape China.
The Lama, Arjia Rinpoche, the Abbot of the Kumbum monastery in today’s Qinghai Province, was part of the great tamasha to ‘select’ the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995.
The process is explained in his book, Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years under Chinese Rule.
In 1995, Beijing, furious that the Dalai Lama had ‘unilaterally’ decided on the new incarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, decided to use the Golden Urn.
In November 1995, an emergency meeting was called in Beijing to ‘clarify’ the Communist Party’s position: “We must not allow the Dalai's separatist clique to interfere.” To avoid the Dalai Lama being involved in the selection process, the Golden Urn was the best method, it was decided.
A few days later, some Party cadres and high Lamas were called to Lhasa.
The test was to be held in the Jokhang Cathedral: “We landed at Gonggar airport in Lhasa, which was tightly guarded by People's Liberation Army soldiers and armed policemen. …Soldiers were lined up along the entire route ‘for our protection’. …At the Lhasa Hotel, I saw squads of PLA soldiers with machine guns, as well as regular police, surrounding the hotel so that no one could slip in or out,” recalls Arjia.
The Communist officials told the rinpoches:"The Golden Urn Ceremony will take place tonight, please be prepared. …If a separatist clique [followers of the Dalai Lama] attempts any disruption of the ceremony, everyone will be protected.”
The ceremony took place on November 29, 1995 at 2 am: “As we walked toward the statue of the Buddha [the famous Jowo], we saw undercover policemen standing in every corner and shadow.”
Arjia Rinpoche continues the narration of the dramatic event: “In front of the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was a large table covered with a yellow silk cloth. Alone on the table stood a golden urn about 15 inches high, surrounded by seated high officials.”
Luo Gan, a Minister (later, a member of the Politburo’s Standing Committee) presided over the ceremony: “Inside the gold urn was a small case, which contained three ivory lots, an inch wide and seven or eight inches long. The names of the three candidates were written on three separate pieces of paper, each of which was then slipped into a tightly fitted pouch of yellow silk. …The three ivory lots were placed into the Golden Urn.”
Arjia remembers: “I expected him to lift the vessel and shake one of the lots out of the urn, but instead he passed his hand quickly over the lots and pulled one out.”
The name of the ‘selected’ candidate was Gyaltsen Norbu
An official present later told Arjia: “When we made our selection we left nothing to chance. In the silk pouches of the ivory pieces we put a bit of cotton at the bottom of one of them, so it would be a little higher than the others and the right candidate would be chosen.”
That was it.
There is no doubt that the selection of the next Dalai Lama will be done in the same manner, if Beijing is allowed to have its way.
There is another factor that Beijing is aware of, though not mentioned in the recent articles.
Traditionally, the Panchen Lama has to put his seal on the entire process. To make sure that the Chinese protégé obeys, President Xi Jinping gave him an ‘audience’ at Zhongnanhai in Beijing on June 10. The encounter looked more like summons-cum-lecture than an ‘audience’. Xinhua announced that the meeting showed that the Party “has consistently given a high level of attention to Tibet.” It also indicated, said the news agency, “the great importance that the Central Committee attaches to the religious work.”
Apparently Gyaltsen Norbu, though selected by Beijing in a dubious manner, needed to be briefed: could he rebel like his predecessor and refuse to follow the diktats of the Party?
In all probability Norbu was told what he should do …in case of a new Dalai Lama needs to be ‘recognized’ by the Communist Party. 
But, will this solve the Tibetan issue? Certainly not!

In Tibet, an atheist regime talks of reincarnation

The Dalai Lama in Tawang (April 1959)

My article In Tibet, an atheist regime talks of reincarnation appeared in The Asian Age/The Deccan Chronicle


Here is the link...

A worse contradiction is about the position of the atheist regime on the Dalai Lama’s rebirth.

China is the land of dichotomies, not to say contradictions. On March 31, 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet crossed the Indo-Tibet border in the Kameng Frontier Division, north of Tawang; he met a detachment of the Assam Rifles waiting to welcome him. He had had no choice but to flee his native land, as severe repression had taken place in Lhasa.
Three days before the Tibetan leader reached the Indian border, the Communist regime declared that the “feudal lord” had left his native land; that this would allow the serfs to be emancipated. Though thousands had died in Lhasa in the process of “emancipation”, Beijing still celebrates the massacre as the “Serfs Emancipation Day”.
On March 26, the 24-year-old Tibetan leader had sent a message to Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India: “Ever since Tibet went under the control of Red China and the Tibetan government lost its powers in 1951...”
The Dalai Lama had decided to take refuge in India — a free nation.
On March 11, 2019, the Global Times affirmed: “Sixty years since the epoch-making democratic reform in Tibet, people in the plateau region have enjoyed unprecedented human rights in history.”
The tabloid of the Communist Party added: “The democratic reform in Tibet in 1959, led by the Communist Party of China, ended the cruel serfdom system and emancipated one million Tibetan serfs, or more than 90 per cent of the region’s then population.”
The article compares the massacre of the Tibetans in Lhasa in March 1959 by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to “the Abolition Movement led by former US President Abraham Lincoln, viewed as an immortal achievement for civilisation and human rights, the end of Tibet’s feudal serfdom”.
But it is not the last of the contradictions.
While proclaiming that the “Tibetan people enjoy unprecedented human rights in history”, the region has not only been closed to foreign tourists, but according to Human Rights Watch, on March 7, the Chinese authorities “staged mass rallies in Lhasa and other provincial cities”. A parade of armoured vehicles and military hardware was seen on the streets of Lhasa. Thousands of armed police and other security forces from across the region gathered to “pledge” loyalty to the party and its political objective of “comprehensive, long term stability”.
Though Beijing’s propaganda said “human rights” in Tibet have never been so good, it was announced that “24-hour patrols of some 100 police service stations in Lhasa had greatly improved the city’s peace and stability. …Not a single criminal case was reported in the palace area in the past eight years, mainly because of the police service station since 2011, which can respond to emergency calls in three minutes”.
Wang Yongpu, a police station chief working in Tibet for seven years, explained to the Global Times, “through the surveillance system, 24-hour patrols, security checks and cooperation with traffic departments, police in the service station can prevent crimes”.
The Epoch Times reported: “Having perfected facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence-enhanced surveillance systems, the Chinese regime is now applying the technology to taxis in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.”
The US-based publication quoted a report which appeared in Tibet News on March 6: “a Chinese state-run online news site, 200 new taxis were put into operation in Lhasa in February — equipped with real-time video surveillance — before they were assigned to taxi drivers. The GPS (Global Positioning System) has been upgraded from running on 2G mobile networks to 4G to optimise real-time monitoring”.
This technology was intended to “prevent drivers from violating safety regulations such as smoking and making phones calls while driving”.
So much for human rights!
The Chinese propaganda has a tragicomic side.
The reason given for banning foreign visitors visiting Tibet was given by Wu Yingjie, Tibet’s Communist Party’s secretary during the National People’s Congress (NPC) — he said that the restrictions were necessary because some visitors suffered from altitude sickness.
Where it become more grotesque is when it comes to the Dalai Lama, China’s bête noire.
Again, according to the Global Times, during an open-door discussion with the Tibetan delegation to the 13th NPC, Wu Yingjie came down heavily on the Tibetan leader: “The Tibetan people have more affection for the government. The Dalai Lama has not done a ‘single good thing’ for Tibet since he left (in 1959).” Wu added that the people of Tibet were “extremely grateful for the prosperity that the Communist Party has brought them”.
Tashi Gyaltsen, a young Tibetan grassroots delegate from Lhoka, affirmed that “there is no such thing” as adoration for the Dalai Lama among Tibetans.
This should be easy to test — let Beijing allow the Tibetan leader to visit Tibet for one week — the adulation of the Tibetans for their spiritual guru and protector will be seen by all.
Go Khok, deputy party chief and mayor of Lhasa, however, asserted that maintaining stability would be a key task for the city government this year.
A worse contradiction is about the position of the atheist regime on the Dalai Lama’s rebirth.
The Tibetan leader jokingly told Reuters: “China considers Dalai Lama’s reincarnation as something very important. They have more concern about the next Dalai Lama than me,” before adding: “In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas, one from here (India), a free country, (and) one chosen by the Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect (the one chosen by China). So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese! It’s possible, it can happen.”
A couple of years ago, a Chinese “expert” quoted by the Global Times, affirmed that it is so ridiculous to talk about reincarnation “when the 14th Dalai Lama is still alive.”
It is ridiculous, but Beijing has been working hard since years to put everything in place for when the day comes.
Already in 2007, the stage was set for the tragicomedy when China decided to implement the “Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism”.
Beijing had started preparing for the Lama’s succession: the Chinese government had decided to use the Manchu-favourite type of selection, the Golden Urn lottery, which can easily be manipulated.
Today, China is actively preparing for the post-Dalai Lama period.
On March 7, 2019, a panel discussion took place during the People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing; the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama Gyaltsen Norbu presided. Apart from the young lama considered as “fake” by the Tibetans, a few lamas, mostly unknown to the Tibetans, met to discuss the future of Buddhism; it included, Dupkang Thupten Kedup, vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of China, Tsemonling, a former regent of Tibet in his previous reincarnation, Gomangtsang Rinpoche, Rinchen Namgyal Rinpoche, from Qinghai province and Lodro Gyatso Rinpoche from Sakya Monastery. China would like these lamas to lead the process to find the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Is it not a contradiction when an atheist regime works hard on soul reincarnation? It does not seem to disturb the apparatchiks in Beijing.

The Lamas who will select the Chinese 15th Dalai Lama

China is working hard to prepare the post-Dalai Lama era.

Interview with Reuters
In a recent interview with Reuters, pondering what might happen after his death, the Dalai Lama “anticipated some attempt by Beijing to foist a successor.”
The Tibetan leader jokingly told the news agency: “China considers Dalai Lama’s reincarnation as something very important. They have more concern about the next Dalai Lama than me,” but more seriously, he added: “In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas, one from here [India], a free country, [and] one chosen by Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect [the one chosen by China]. So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese! It’s possible, it can happen.”
Beijing did not appreciate his point.
The Dalai Lama further commented: “If the majority of [Tibetan people] really want to keep this institution, then this institution will remain. …Then comes the question of the reincarnation of the 15th Dalai Lama.”
The Chinese Government was quick to counter; Geng Shuang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, immediately relayed by The Global Times, the Communist tabloid, stated: “The reincarnation of Living Buddhas, including the Dalai Lama, should abide by the laws and regulations of the state, as well as religious rituals and historical conventions.”

Wu Yingjie: "The Dalai Lama has not done a single good thing"

Buddhism and the Dalai Lama at the Center Stage in Beijing
During the recently-held 'Two Meetings', Tibetan Buddhism was at the centre stage of many discussions.
In an interaction with the Tibetan delegation to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), the Party Chief of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Wu Yingjie came down heavily on the Dalai Lama.
Wu said, "The Tibetan people have more affection for the government. The Dalai Lama has not done a 'single good thing' for Tibet since he left."
The Hong Kong newspaper also quoted Go Khok, deputy Party chief and mayor of Lhasa, as saying that maintaining stability would be a key task for the city government this year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the departure of the Dalai Lama for exile.
According to the ‘political advisors’ who attended the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing beginning of this month, Buddhist religion is well-respected and well-preserved in Tibet.
China displayed a collection of Tibetan ‘Living Buddhas’ as the Communist atheists term the reincarnated lamas; all are known for their loyalty to the Communist Party.
Xinhua reported: “Chinese religious figures serving as political advisors at this year's ‘Two Sessions’ [or Two Meetings] are pleased with the country's protection of Tibetan Buddhism in southwest China's TAR.”
Several of the Tibetan lamas were quoted by the news agency.

The Use of Tibetan Lamas for Communist Propaganda
The use of ‘Living Buddhas’ for political purposes is not new, but it appears that it has intensified since the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) issued a State Order No.5 for the “Management Measures For the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism” in 2007 and the unrest on the plateau in 2008.
It is done in a very systematic way mainly in view of the hopefully not too soon, departure of the Dalai Lama and in preparation for his reincarnation.
I am compiled a list of the Communist ‘lamas’ who will be co-opted to find the Chinese reincarnation of the 15th Dalai Lama.

Phagpala Gelek Namgyal
Phagpala is presently the Vice-chairman of 13th CPPCC National Committee; he is also honorary president of Buddhist Association of China and chairman of CPPCC Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee.
The CPPCC’s vice-chairmanship gives him a Central Minister rank.
He was born in February 1940 in Litang, presently in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. He is known as the 11th Chamdo Phagpala Hutuktu, (Hutuktu is a Mongol title for a high incarnated lama).
He formerly served as a Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China; he was vice chairman of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th CPPCC national committees.
He was one of the first Tibetans to join the Communist Party soon after the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1950/51.
Incidentally, Phagpala is one of the senior member of the 'Chamdo Clique' as the reincarnation of the head lama of the Jampaling Monastery in Chamdo - he is also known as Chamdo Phakpalha.
Lobsang Gyaltsen, the head of the TAR Government, a member of the Central Committee, is also from Chamdo.
On March 14, 2013, Jampa Phuntsok, also from Chamdo, was appointed as Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.
At that time, Pema Thinley (alias Padma Choling) became Chairman of the TAR People’s Congress; further, he was the only ethnic Tibetan, seating as a full member in the 18th CCP’s Central Committee.
Phagpala, Jampa Phuntsok, Pema Thinley, and Lobsang Gyatsen are the highest ethnic Tibetan cadres in the Communist hierarchy in Tibet today; all from the Chamdo Prefecture.
It is also rumoured that they all support the Shugden cult, against the Dalai Lama.
Can you guess from where the Chinese 15th Dalai Lama will come from?

Gyaltsen Norbu, 11th Chinese Panchen Lama
This is the Panchen Lama ‘found’ by China.
He is presently Vice President of China Buddhist Association (BAC) and Member of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC.

Gyatsen Norbu was born in Lhari County, Nagchu Prefecture on February 13, 1990.

On November 29, 1995, he was recognized by Beijing as the 11^th Panchen Lama in front of the statue the Buddha Sakyamuni in the Jokhang cathedral in Lhasa. 

The Golden Urn was used; later the outcome was approved by the State Council.

See Reincarnation with Marxist Characteristics on this blog. 

He is the person who ultimately will 'recognize' the 15th Dalai Lama.

7th Drukhang Rinpoche Thubten Khedrup
He was born in December 1955 in Naqu. He joined the Party in July 1980.
He is presently the Vice Chairman of the TAR’s Political Consultative Conference, BAC’s Vice President, President of the Tibet Branch and Dean of the Tibetan Buddhist College.
He is regularly used by the Communist regime when senior Party cadres visit Tibet.
See The Ethnic Religious Faces of China.
See also China lacks 'Buddhist' credibility.

Tsomoling Rinpoche
Vice Chairman of the TAR’s Political Consultative Conference and BAC’s Vice President.
Tsemonling Tenzin Trinley Rinpoche was born in 1950 in Lhasa; he was one of the Four ‘Lings’, who from time to time acted as regents of Tibet (mostly when the Tibetan state was weak; particularly during the 19th century).
The Four 'Lings' (Ling Shi) were Kundeling, Demoling, Tsemonling and Tsechokling. They had their estates in Lhasa and around Lhasa.
Like his colleagues Reting, Phagphala or Dorje Phagmo, Tsemonling also  shoots for the Party from time to time.
Tsomonling has been a deputy in the National People’s Congress (NPC) from the 7th NPC (1988) to the 13th (2017).
He once declared that he was most impressed by the last report of Premier Wen Jiabao in the National People’s Congress. He found it inspiring and truth-reflecting. According to him, despite difficulties and challenges, the Chinese government has behaved well and there can be no development and innovation without Beijing’s support. This is what the Party wants to hear.
He has undertaken the task of re-carving (on wooden blocks) the Kangyur, which is a collection of Buddha’s sayings.
A few years ago, he spoke about self-immolation which, for him, is an insane act and violates Buddhist doctrine. He believed that the Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream is ‘related’ to the improvement of people’s livelihood, maintenance of social stability and steady economic development. Once again, the Lama is used by the Party to pass on its messages to the masses.
Also read A Battery of Rinpoche guns for China.

Drikung Chungtsang Rinpoche
The Drikung Kyabgön Chungtsang, the 36th throne holder of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage and the 8th reincarnation of the Chungtsang Rinpoche; he is said to be a manifestation of Manjushri.
He was born in the Water-Horse-Year 1942 in Lhokha as the youngest of five sons into the prominent aristocratic Lhagyari family, one of the oldest noble houses of Tibet descending from the ancient royal dynasty. The family branch is called Dewa Lhagyari Trichen.

Gomatsang Rinpoche, Lobsang Jampa Gyatso
He is from the important Labrang Tashikyl Monastery in Gansu; he is Vice President, Chinese Academy of Tibetan Buddhism.

Samding Dorjee Phagmo
Born in 1942, at the age of five, the Lady Lama was chosen as the incarnation of the abbess of Samding monastery, near Lhasa.
Deputy Director of the TAR’s Standing Committee of the People's Congress and Director of the China Tibet Cultural Protection and Development Association.
Dorje Phagmo was the only female reincarnation in Tibet.
In 2008, she declared that she was upset and angered by riots in Lhasa and accused the Dalai Lama of violating Buddhist teachings. She publicly affirmed that before Tibet’s incorporation into Communist China, Tibet was a backward feudal society. People were largely illiterate serfs with no medical care. The female ‘Living Buddha’ remembered that when she was a child, Tibet was dark and cruel; the so-called serfs lived worse than horses and cattle. Today, Tibet is transformed, thanks to the Party.
Her statement regarding Tibet needing to be ‘incorporated’ nonetheless shows that it was earlier a ‘separate’ entity.

After the unrest of 2008 and a few months before the Olympic Games, she was extensively used by the Party for propaganda. She was quoted as saying that the acts of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism’s good reputation.

Lhakpa
He is born in August 1967 in Drung Dechen District. He joined the Party in June 2016. He is currently the vice chairman of the Lhasa CPPCC Vice Chairman of the Lhasa CPPCC, Vice President of the TAR’s Buddhist Association, Vice President of the Lhasa City Buddhist Association and Executive Deputy Director of the Jokhang Temple Management Committee.
He was used by the Chinese propaganda during the 'Two Meetings' (see interview quoted below).

Jewan Koondor Tulku
67 year old tulku originally from Champa Ling Monastery in Chamdo which has strong Dorje Shugden connections and has been present at every CPPCC in last 15 years. When 8 years old, his parents took him and followed the Dalai Lama to India. He eventually ended up in Switzerland. In 2011 he returned to China. Today he was made Vice Chairman of the TAR Overseas Friendship Association.

7th Taksang Tulku，Garang Thubten Lashay Gyatso
The 51-year old Tibetan tulku is from Taksang Monastery in Dzoege, Ngaba county.
He was born in July 1967 in Sichuan province. He joined the Party in November 2006 after graduating from the Chinese Department of Tibetan Languages.
He is currently a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and the president of the Ngaba Prefecture Buddhist Association.

3rd Shangen Tulku, Phalden Dorje
He was born in April 1949 in Litang, Eastern Tibet (today Sichuan province). The-69 year old Tibetan Rinpoche is Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Garze Prefecture People's Congress, Deputy Director of the National Committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC.

Lobsang Samten Rinpoche
Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Ngari National Association, Honorary President of the Regional Buddhist Association, Rinpoche from Trugo monastery near Purang in Ngari prefecture.

Rinchen Namgyal
In 1994, he graduated from the Higher School of Tibetan Languages. He is currently the deputy chairman of the 12th Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Consultation Conference, the vice president of the China Interpretation Association, and the deputy director of the National Tibetan Buddhism Teaching Committee, and the president of the Qinghai Provincial Interpretation Association.
On January 29, 2018, the 12th Committee of the CPPCC Qinghai Province was held for the first time; Rinchen Namgyal was elected Vice President of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference.

Lhodro Gyatso Rinpoche
He is the Executive Director of the Tibet Branch of the Buddhist Association, member of the TAR’s Political Consultative Conference, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of Shigatse City, and Executive Deputy Director of the Sakya Monastery People's Management Association.
On January 24, 2018, the 24th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, he was  appointed as a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee.

17th Dongbo Jampa Tulku
He was born in December 1968 in Gyezur, Garze in Sichuan; he joined the Party in November 1983.

Dongbao Jampa Hutuktu, the 49-year old Tibetan tulku belongs to the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism; he has been recognized by Tai Situ Rinpoche in India.
He is presently the Deputy Head of the China Buddhist Association, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC’s Shangri-La County in Dechen Prefecture of Yunnan Province and the vice president of the China Interpretation Association.

The 7th Reting Rinpoche
Tough not seen in Beijing during the Two Meetings, another lama Beijing is banking upon is Reting Rinpoche.
In January 2013, a 16-year old boy, recognised by the Communist Party as the 7th Reting Rinpoche was made the youngest member of Tibet’s CPPCC.
The Fifth Reting was the Regent of Tibet during the minority of the present Dalai Lama.
See 'Reting and the Dalai Lama's Incarnations'.

Hu Xuefeng (Mongolian)
Hu is abbot of the Yonghe Temple, also known as the Lama Temple in Dongcheng District of Beijing, China. The building and artwork of the temple is a combination of Han Chinese and Tibetan styles.
Though not Tibetan, Hu is very influential.
He was born in 1966 in the township of the Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County. In 1981, he joined the Lama Temple and two years later was awarded a Masters degree.
In 1990, he was enrolled in the Senior High School of the Chinese Department of Tibetan Languages and in 1992, he graduated with honor. In 1994, he was elected as the deputy abbot of the Lama Temple. In January 2010, he was promoted to the abbot.
From 1995 to 2000, he was elected as the vice president of the Municipal Interpretation Association and the CPPCC member. In 2009, he was elected as the vice president of the Municipal Interpretation Association.

Beijing is trying its best to increase its control over the reincarnations of Tibetan lamas (and ultimately the Dalai Lamas), thus legitimising Communist rule in the Himalayan region. China has even revived the ancient title of Hutuktu, which was given by the Mongols and later the Manchus to Lama-rulers. Reting, like Pagphala, has also been styled as Hutuktu by Beijing.

Jamyang Shepa
Lamas like Jamyang Shape and Amchok Rinpoche should be added to this list.
Lobsang Jigme Thubten Chökyi Nyima, the present incarnation (the 6th) of the Jamyang Shepa, the head lama of the Labrang Tashikyl Monastery, in today’s Gansu province. He was born in 1948 and currently lives in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. During the Cultural Revolution, Jamyang Shepa became a layman but retained a high degree of prestige in the area. The Jamyang Shepas have traditionally been the most prestigious teachers at Labrang Tashikhyil monastery.
The case of the Jamyang Shepa shows that the Chinese are keen to use the traditional hierarchy to put across their message.
In 2013, when Yu Zhengsheng of the Standing Committee of the Politburo visited Labrang, he met the Jamyang Shepa. At that time, Xinhua affirmed that the famous Monastery was 'one of the six great temples of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism', Yu was received by the Jamyang Shepa as the traditional head of the monastery.

Amchok Rinpoche
A recent returnee from Dharamsala.
According to The Global Times, Amchok Rinpoche (written Achok by the Chinese): “the living Buddha, returned to China in May [2015] and has settled down in the Aba [Ngawa] Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan Province after he gained approval from Sichuan in April.” The Communist tabloid commented: “Move indicates futureless end of the Dalai Lama group”.
He may also play a role in finding the reincarnation …in China.

It seems that Beijing has now decided to bring forward its entire collection of ‘Living Buddhas’ to ‘spiritualize’ the Roof of the World; this, at a time when the Dalai Lama is working towards ‘secularising’ Tibetan society.
Moreover, their role will be to find the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Propaganda battle has started
One of the ‘political advisors’ mentioned above, Lhakpa spoke at length to Xinhua about the progress of the religious freedom and the Jokhang Temple, “in downtown Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet, is a must for visitors to Tibet and a sacred site for Tibetan Buddhists. It attracts about 800,000 tourists and receives over three million Buddhist followers each year.”
The Jokhang cathedral is “home to plenty of historical relics and typical Tibetan architecture. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000,” noted the agency.
Lhakpa is quoted saying that Beijing attaches “great importance to the protection and preservation of the temple. Five years ago, for example, the government invested over 60 million yuan (8.94 million U.S. dollars) in gilding the five golden roofs of the temple. The Buddha figures, thangka and murals in the temple have also been well preserved. To better protect these precious cultural relics, a database for Buddha statues and thangka in both Mandarin and Tibetan languages, launched in 2015, will be completed next year,” said Lhakpa.
According to the monk administrator, “more than 6,000 Buddha statues and over 600 thangka have been included in the database. The government has invested 100 million yuan in protecting the cultural relics."
Lhakpa concluded that as a political advisor, his job was “to serve all the people, including tourists, believers and researchers who visit the temple. We have personnel working 24/7 in the halls of the temple, including monks, firefighters and police officers to prevent the cultural heritage from being destroyed or stolen, and to ensure tourists' safety. …On the Lamp Festival, we have Dharma assembly here and the butter lamps are lit on top of the temple. Believers come to pray for happiness and health," he added.
It is clearly said that the monks’ duty is to serve the millions of Chinese tourists.
According to Lhakpa, like the Jokhang Temple, almost all the temples and monasteries in Tibet are under national or regional protection.
Incidentally, according to the official Tibet Daily, a fire broke out at 6:40 pm on February 17, 2018 in part of Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. It was eventually put off in the evening; the News Agency said: "Located at the center of old Lhasa, Jokhang Temple is a renowned temple for Tibetan Buddhism. It has a history of more than 1,300 years and houses many cultural treasures, including a life-sized statue of Sakyamuni when he was 12 years old."
This inauspiciously occurred on the second day of the Losar, the Tibetan New Year (Earth Dog Year).
During the Two Meetings, another ‘Living Buddha’, the Drigung Chungtsang stated that today's Tibet observes many traditional folk and religious activities: “The Shoton [yoghurt] festival at Drepung Monastery and the worship activities at Sera Monastery are among the most popular ones.”
The Drikung Lama added: "Tibetan Buddhists, young and old, would sway their praying wheels and chant sutras when significant activities are launched."
As vice chairman of the Tibet branch of the Buddhist Association of China, Drigung Rinpoche is in charge of the Kangyur printing: “The precious wooden templates of the Kangyur have been well preserved and printing is suspended in winter because cold weather may cause damage to the templates.”
Another ‘political advisor’ Lodro Gyatso, a senior monk from the Sakya Monastery told Xinhua that the monastery has two Buddhist colleges, “offering various classes including Tibetan language, Tibetan calligraphy, Buddhist texts, astronomy, calendrical calculation and philosophy to monks and lamas.”
A ‘returnee Living Buddha’ Jewan Koondhor is also one of ‘political advisors’. Xinhua noted that he spent most of his life outside (in Switzerland) and when he was 60 in 2011, he returned to his hometown, Chamdo in Tibet: “My hometown Chamdo has changed a lot and is continually improving. The traffic there today is much more convenient. I'm happy to be back," he told the agency.
He is a proponent of Shugden cult, and therefore violently anti-Dalai Lama.