China and the Dalai Lama's reincarnation plans

[Puppycow]

Thought about posting this in Religion but I decided it belongs here instead.

China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife

HONG KONG — Chinese Communist Party leaders are afraid that the Dalai Lama will not have an afterlife. Worried enough that this week, officials repeatedly warned that he must reincarnate, and on their terms.

Tensions over what will happen when the 14th Dalai Lama, who is 79, dies, and particularly over who decides who will succeed him as the most prominent leader in Tibetan Buddhism, have ignited at the annual gathering of China’s legislators in Beijing.

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.

Zhu Weiqun, a Communist Party official who has long dealt with Tibetan issues, told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that the Dalai Lama had, essentially, no say over whether he was reincarnated. That was ultimately for the Chinese government to decide, he said, according to a transcript of his comments on the website of People’s Daily, the party’s main newspaper.

“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. He now leads the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body that meets at the same time as the Legislature, or National People’s Congress.

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 reincarnation?”

The Dalai Lama is a heretic to his own religion and the Central Party gets to decide who he reincarnates as.

Does he actually believe in reincarnation? Clearly the communists don't and are being entirely cynical about it, but I get the sense that the Dalai Lama doesn't really believe it himself.

They are all kind of silly, and come to think about it, why exactly do we (meaning America) give so much deference to this guy anyway? What exactly makes him the "legitimate" leader of Tibet? Because he is anti-communist? But no-one actually elected this guy. He was chosen by monks. Why exactly do we care again? Why is he treated like a legitimate world leader and granted audiences with American presidents again? Other than to poke China in the eye?

Anyway, both sides are cynical, irrational and silly. A theocracy is not a more legitimate form of government per se. The current Dalai Lama might be a nice guy, but that's not actually relevant. Lots of people are nice guys, but they don't get all this deference paid to them just because of that. We are treating him like his claim is somehow legitimate, and I can't actually see an objective non-woo basis for that. If reincarnation isn't a real thing, then what basis for legitimacy remains?

 

[Damien Evans]

I like him because he was in that Heinrich Harrer movie.

 

[quixotecoyote]

China's obviously going to find a 'reincarnation' that agrees with them eventually. I'm surprised they aren't just playing it cool and when the time comes having one of their tame Tibetan Buddhist priests find an a new Dalai Lama they like with no extra fuss.

 

[skeptichaggis]

Picking a new toff ruler based on coaching from adults and declaring said child a reincarnated dead guy is probably the stupidest idea for politics ever. I pity the Tibetan people first centuries of oppression from the lama class then just when things seemed to be getting a little better Mao sends his chums to bring even more hardship.

 

[crescent]

They picked two competing reincarnations for the Panchen Lama (who is traditionally a sort of mentor and rival for the Dalai Lama, sometimes equally powerful). The Tibetian approved incarnation has not been seen for years. The Chinese incarnation has almost never visited Tibet since being appointed.

 

[Foolmewunz]

I always like to post the Bhutan Reincarnation Crisis when reading these stories. (Directly related or not... it's just such a cool story.)

About a decade ago, the bell-ringers in Bhutan came up with a crisis. I've never heard how the solved it. It seems they'd running out of certifiable Holy Moly Monks to be reincarnated as there was one or more already accepted reincarnation for every known monk in the "sect" history. The can't have two people claiming to be the same guy; it goes against doctrine.

It seems that the Bhutanese went the route of the Indigo children. "My little snow flake is so special, he just must be a reincarnation of an ancient holy man. That's why he draws pictures on the goat with his poop." And a trip to the local monastery, a few hundred units of the local currency, some burning insense, a nice flower bouquet for the head guy and his chubby minions,... et voila! The little miscreant is now the reincarnation of Miracle Max!