Mar. 8 – The Dalai Lama is now 75 and his health is deteriorating. Padma Choling, the Governor of Tibet, has stated that there is no need for Beijing to refer to the Dalai Lama in the situation of his death and subsequent reincarnation, and has insisted the final decision lies with Beijing.
The Chairman of the Tibet People’s Congress, Qiangba Puncog, has stated that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must follow protocols laid down in the ‘traditional’ requirements of reincarnation, specified as being religious rituals, lot drawing from the golden urn in the face of the Buddha Sakyaumi, historical conventions passed down since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and approval from the Central Government.
Some Tibetans counter this by stating that approval from China’s central government was never previously sought in pre-communist China, and that Qing Dynasty’s historical conventions came at the end of the dynasty. Furthermore, these protocols were enacted under special circumstances of war and civil unrest in both China and Tibet and ignore previous protocols dating back over 400 years.
The Dalai Lama as a position was created by Mongolian leader Altai Khan in 1578, although two previous Dalai Lama’s were posthumously recognized dating back to the birth of the 1st Dalai Lama in 1391. The current Dalai Lama, living in exile in India, has stated that he may choose his reincarnation while still alive, that his next reincarnation may be found outside China, or that Tibetans could vote on a constitution and decide themselves whether to vest power in one monk who holds spiritual and governmental powers over Tibet or to reject the system.
A pdf report of the history of the Dalai Lamas as an institution can be downloaded by clicking on the image to the left.
I hope the Tibetans in India and worldwide vote to dismantle the system of theocratic rule. The next Dalai Lama, whoever he may be, can still remain a very respected person and a religious institution, but as far as ruling the government in exile goes, Tibetans really need to take more control of their own situation. How long can they leave it to one globe-trotting celebrity-schmoozer who may not even be on the same temporal wavelength as the rest of us?
Thanks AIR, Its difficult for Tibetans to ‘take control of their own situation’ as it’s the Chinese who are in charge and there is no democracy in China (or Tibet). I note 30 Tibetans were arrested in Delhi yesterday as they tried to storm the Chinese Embassy.
There you go! That’s the kind of action they really need. Not in Delhi, though. In Tibet would be nice. Worked great for the Mujahideen, didn’t it? Bet there’s a lot of countries and individuals ready to provide stingers and stuff. Charlie Wilson still around? Or his equivalent? Bet the Dalai Lama’s friends with such a guy.
The irony is, His Holiness himself is willing to dismantle the Dalai Lama institution if people want it. But the Chinese govt, which identifies itself as atheist, reserves the right to approve the next Dalai Lama !
AIR, the Mujahideen are Muslim. The people of Tibet are Budhist through and through and their particular type of Budhism emphasises caring for others – and not warlike at all – so don’t expect them to create an underground army to challenge China. Such an attempt would cause nothing but heartache to all Tibetans.