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Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last


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Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last

Whether another Dalai Lama came after him would depend on the circumstances after his death and was "up to the Tibetan people", he said.

 

. . .

 

China has said repeatedly that it will choose the next Dalai Lama.

 

"The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease," the Dalai Lama told the BBC.

 

"There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won't come next, who will disgrace himself or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama."

 

Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure is the Panchen Lama - a figure who is meant to play a key role in the choice of the next Dalai Lama.

 

A young boy was named as Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama in 1995, but China rejected this and chose its own candidate. The whereabouts of the Dalai Lama's choice are unknown.

 

 

 

I thought the comment about a "stupid Dalai Lama" vs. a "quite popular Dalai Lama" was fairly bizarre, but this in Wikipedia cleared it up for me - somewhat.

 

11th Panchen Lama controversy

The 11th Panchen Lama controversy is a dispute about the current legitimate holder of the Panchen Lama title, a political and religious leadership position in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, a dispute between the Chinese leadership and the exiled 14th Dalai Lama resulted in two competing candidates. The search committee process involving monks in Tibet under strict supervision of the Chinese communist regime was disrupted when the Dalai Lama, according to the Tibetan tradition, unilaterally announced his selection of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. The leadership in China spirited Nyima away to prevent his being taken to India by the Dalai Lama's supporters and reverted to the Qing Dynasty's Golden Urn process to select Gyaincain Norbu, who currently fulfills the duties of the Panchen Lama in China.

 

. . .

 

In November 1995, the Chinese government selected a different boy, Gyaincain Norbu, using the urn. This decision was immediately denounced by the Dalai Lama. China holds Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in a place not told to the public

 

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  • 2 months later...

A somewhat "Monty Python-esque" article in the New York Times

 

China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife

 

Officials have amplified their argument that the Communist government is the proper guardian of the Dalai Lama’s succession through an intricate process of reincarnation that has involved lamas, or senior monks, visiting a sacred lake and divining dreams.

Party functionaries were incensed by the exiled Dalai Lama’s recent speculation that he might end his spiritual lineage and not reincarnate. That would confound the Chinese government’s plans to engineer a succession that would produce a putative 15th Dalai Lama who accepts China’s presence and policies in Tibet. Their anger welled up on Wednesday, as it had a day earlier.

. . .

Decision-making power over the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and over the end or survival of this lineage, resides in the central government of China,” said Mr. Zhu, formerly a deputy head of the United Front Department of the Communist Party, which oversees dealings with religious and other nonparty groups. . . .

Mr. Zhu accused the Dalai Lama of trampling on sacred traditions.

“In religious terms, this is a betrayal of the succession of Dalai Lamas in Tibetan Buddhism,” he said.

“The 14th Dalai Lama has taken an extremely frivolous and disrespectful attitude toward this issue,” Mr. Zhu continued. “Where in the world is there anyone else who takes such a frivolous attitude toward his own succession?”

. . .

Tibetans, however, remain convinced that the Dalai Lama will ultimately continue his lineage of leading monks of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, a succession that dates from the 14th century, Mr. Barnett said. The Dalai Lama’s warnings on succession, he said, are best understood as a way of encouraging Tibetans to focus on the issue and the options.

“The Tibetan people would never have faith in a so-called reincarnation appointed by the Chinese government,” Tsering Woeser, a Tibetan author based in Beijing who is critical of Beijing’s policies in her homeland, said in an online interview. “But I believe that the Dalai Lama will reincarnate.”

 

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  • 5 months later...

Word from (or about) the Dalai Lama's pick -

 

China says missing Panchen Lama is 'living a normal life'

 

 

A young Tibetan who vanished two decades ago after he was chosen by the Dalai Lama as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism is "living a normal life" and does not want to be disturbed, a senior Chinese official said on Sunday.

 

The remarks are a rare admission of the fate of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, now 26, who was six years old when he was taken away after exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama named him as the Panchen Lama.

 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, whose fate remains of deep concern to many Tibetans.

 

"The reincarnated child Panchen Lama you mentioned is being educated, living a normal life, growing up healthily and does not wish to be disturbed," said Norbu Dunzhub, a member of the Tibet Autonomous Region's United Front Work Department, in response to a question from Reuters at a press conference.

 

. . .

 

. . .said Norbu Dunzhub, a member of the Tibet Autonomous Region's United Front Work Department, in response to a question from Reuters at a press conference.

 

He denounced the Dalai Lama for declaring the boy as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, saying the selection "ignored historical customs and destroyed religious rituals".

 

"The identification was done without authorization. It was illegal and invalid," Norbu Dunzhub said.

 

. . .

 

No matter what the Dalai Lama says or does, the central government's recognized rights toward reincarnation cannot be denied," Norbu Dunzhub said.

 

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  • 4 months later...

The Living Buddha Authentication Hotline is now online at http://hf.tibet.cn/- from the WSJ

 

 

China Launches Living-Buddha Authentication Site, Dalai Lama Not Included

 

Thanks to a new Chinese government website, determining whether someone can lead you toward enlightenment is now a simple matter of punching​ in​ a name — or, if you have it, a living-Buddha registration number.

China’s first nationwide living-Buddha authentication database went live on Monday, a month after the country’s religious authorities announced they would make the information available in a bid to fight a scourge of fake Buddhas.

The launch of the database was celebrated at a ​ceremony hosted by the official Buddhist Association of China​ at the Guangji Temple in Western Beijing, according to a statement posted on the website of China’s​ State Administration of Religious Affairs.

 

“In recent years, some people in Tibetan areas and other parts of China have posed as living Buddhas to show off and swindle others, harming the interests of the masses, and damaging the reputation of Tibetan Buddhism and living Buddhas,” the statement quoted vice president and officially certified living Buddha Drukhang Thubten Khedrup as saying. “Now with the living-Buddha database, people will know at a glance if they’re dealing with a real living Buddha.”

The database is accessible through a web browser as well as the popular mobile messaging app WeChat. The interface allows users to search living Buddhas by birth name, religious (or dharma) name, temple, identity card number or living-Buddha card number. Each search requires a code sent via SMS to a mobile number and, for reasons that are not entirely clear, users are limited to making only five searches per mobile number each day.

 

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  • 1 year later...

from Quartz

 

China is retaliating against a US university for inviting the Dalai Lama to speak at graduation

 

In June, UCSD hosted the Dalai Lama to speak at its school-wide commencement ceremony for the 2016-2017 academic year. The invitation generated controversy among some members of school’s Chinese student population. The Chinese government strictly controls information within its borders about the Dalai Lama, who it views as a separatist and a symbol of China’s feudal past. Many Chinese citizens hold these same views.
In the months preceding commencement, members of UCSD’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), a global network of Chinese students at overseas schools, met with the university’s chancellor to request that the Dalai Lama refrain from discussing politics at the speech. They also said that they informed the local Chinese embassy of the Dalai Lama’s scheduled appearance.
Now, the Chinese government has retaliated. On Sept. 16, UCSD professor Victor Shih tweeted that a colleague of his received notice that the China Scholarship Council, a branch of the government that funds overseas study for Chinese citizens, would no longer process applications to study at UCSD for scholars who had not already received a visa appointment from the US embassy.

 

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Despite the exhortations of scholars who are living off the Chinese government (including some Americans) that Tibet was always a part of China, historical evidence seems quite the contrary. Tibet was always a separate entity except for a debatable period after the Yuan dynasty (1368).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_sovereignty_debate

 

Where the controversy arises, is the CCP's stretching of a passage in history that says Tibet submitted its new selection of a Dalai Lama to China, not for its approval but as notification. And the Panchen Lama was appointed by the new Dalai Lama. The CCP wants it all including the appointment of the Panchen Lama. The current Dalai Lama appointed one early in his life, but he magically disappeared.

 

How many people that suddenly disappear from public life are actually being held against their will by the CCP, or simply executed, as is rumored of the famous tankman of Tiananmen Square? How about what happened to Premier Zhao Ziyang after the massacre? (Read, Prisoner of the State).

 

Yet, it is a testament to the CCP's mastery of propaganda that so many believe the Dalai Lama is a "bad man."

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  • 1 year later...

from the Global Times




Tibet CPC members get stricter regulation


By Zhao Yusha Source:Global Times Published: 2019/2/1 22:33:40


Taking religious beliefs, sympathizing separatists violate Party rules


db89a6d4-4f6a-4ea0-a997-e5ee98f81eb3.jpg

Quote

The CPC remains an atheist organization. Thus, CPC members are banned from religious beliefs, because they can only believe in Marxism; believing in other religions means betrayal of their chosen belief and it will shake their belief in Marxism and separate them from the Party, Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic studies professor at Tibet University in Lhasa, told the Global Times on Friday.

 
However, there are some "two-faced" people in Tibet, who claim loyalty to the Party while secretly sympathizing and even working for separatists. The regional government has already identified these people so it is strengthening its regulation to kick them out, according to Xiong.
 
The video tells of a story in Zaxizong village in Nyalam county, Xigaze in 2016. Nyalam police found some "politically forbidden objects" in a cave in the village. Pictures of "illicit goods" were digitally blurred in the video.
 
. . .


Some people have been hiding "illicit objects" in the cave since 2009. Some village officials, including the Party chief of the village's CPC branch, had participated in worshipping these illicit objects.

The case led to three CPC officials being expelled from the Party and 10 others receiving a warning.

 

Edited by Randy W (see edit history)
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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...

Because - it's a matter for the CCP?

By Global Times
Published: Feb 22, 2023 12:38 AM

17941a67-e822-4786-b002-d6fe816994c0.jpe

Quote

 

The just finished TV series Tashilhunpo on China Central Television gave a detailed account of the search for the reincarnations of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, who hold equal positions in Tibetan Buddhism. It emphasized that this religious ritual has been supervised by the Chinese central government and conducted within Chinese territory since the late 13th century.

However, a few days ago, an organization in Japan "warned China not to interfere in Tibetan religious matters, including the selection of high Tibetan lamas." This totally exposes its ignorance of history and China's religious policy. 

According to the TV series, the reincarnation convention of Living Buddhas in Xizang was established during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), developed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and improved during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) under the administration of the central government. 

In 1653, when the 5th Dalai Lama came to Beijing, the Emperor Shunzhi officially conferred the title of Dalai Lama on him. This marked the first time that the title of Dalai Lama was granted by the central government. In 1713, the Emperor Kangxi also sent an imperial commissioner to officially confer the title of Panchen Erdeni to the 5th Panchen Lama at the Tashilhunpo Monastery, the residence of the Panchen Lama in Xigatze, Xizang Autonomous Region. Since then, it has a historical convention that the reincarnations of both the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama must be approved by the central government, providing it with legitimacy.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

As the clock ticks, is Beijing ready to renew talks with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader?

  • Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader says Chinese officials have reached out, adding he is ‘always open to talk’
  • It is critical to resume negotiations on succession ‘while the Dalai Lama is still alive’, representative says

from the SCMP

7d9907e3-dc2b-46e2-8a01-19a4ff7c044b_876
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, celebrated his 88th birthday earlier this month. Photo: EPA-EFE/TRIPTA
 

Quote

 

Beijing has reportedly recently contacted the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, but restarting their talks might be challenging, observers said.

The Dalai Lama, who celebrated his 88th birthday earlier this month, said last week that Chinese officials had reached out to him, “officially or unofficially”.

He did not specify when or how the communication happened, but said he was “always open to talk”.

“Chinese officials have now realised that the Tibetan people’s spirits are very strong, so in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me,” the 14th Dalai Lama told reporters in Dharamsala, India, where he previously set up the Tibetan government-in-exile (TGIE). He stepped down as the political head of the body in 2011.

“I am also ready,” he said, adding that Tibetans were not seeking independence and had decided to remain part of the People’s Republic of China.

 . . .

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, has been in exile for 64 years, since an unsuccessful uprising against Chinese control of Tibet in 1959. Beijing regards his TGIE as a separatist group.

From 2002 to 2010, the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese government held nine rounds of dialogue, which produced few results. No formal meeting has been held since.

 . . .

The Chinese government insists it has the right to approve the appointments of all senior Tibetan Buddhist figures – including the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama – as a legacy inherited from China’s emperors. The assertion has been strongly opposed by the Dalai Lama and his followers.

The Dalai Lama has said the future role of his successor should be decided by Tibetans, and that the incarnation might even be found in India. But China has insisted the reincarnation must follow the strict rituals and history of the religion.

“To have any chance of getting those, Beijing has to act before he dies,” Barnett said.

 

 

Edited by Randy W (see edit history)
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  • 4 weeks later...

Chinese academics want Tibet to be known as Xizang to help ‘reconstruct’ image

  • Official seminar told that the international community has been ‘seriously misled’ over region’s ‘geographical scope’
  • Xizang is the pinyin, or Chinese romanisation of Mandarin script, for the Tibet autonomous region

from the SCMP 

986a80f9-bb6e-4771-9695-b7964caa29bc_3b7
Academics are calling for the name change to “enhance China’s international discourse on Tibet”.  Photo: Reuters
 

Quote

 

The call came during an official seminar on Tibet that was held in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday, according to a report on Tongzhan Xinyu, a WeChat account run by the United Front Work Department, which oversees ethnic and minority affairs.

“To establish China’s dominant position in the international discourse related to Tibet, there is an urgent need for an English translation of ‘Tibet’ that can accurately describe China’s position,” Wang Linping, a professor at Harbin Engineering University’s College of Marxism, was quoted as saying.

He claimed the use of the name Tibet had “seriously misled the international community” over the “geographical scope” of the region.

 . . .

According to the report, when “Tibet” is used outside China, it “includes not only Tibet but also covers areas in Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces”.
“This overlaps greatly with the so-called Greater Tibet long advocated by the 14th Dalai Lama,” the report said.

 

 

 

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