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Tibet, China, and The Dalai Lama's reincarnation

Orphia Nay

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The Dalai Lama is turning 90 on July 6 and has announced that when he dies he will reincarnate, and has previously said it would be someone outside of China. His broadcast about it was censored in China. China has said they will find the new Dalai Lama within China.


"Dibyesh Anand, professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster, said, "After a period of a few months or a few years, they will have their own proteges identify a small boy as the next Dalai Lama and impose that. Of course, a majority of Tibetans are going to reject it and the majority of people in the world are going to make fun of it. But remember China has immense authority in terms of resources so they will try to impose that.""

This article discusses the Tibetan Situation:

"When the Panchen Lama, the second highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism, died in 1989, the Dalai Lama identified a successor to that post in Tibet. But the child disappeared. Beijing was accused of kidnapping him, although it insists that boy, now an adult, is safe. It then approved a different Panchen Lama, who Tibetans outside China do not recognise.

"If there are two Dalai Lamas, it could become a test of China's powers of persuasion. Which one will the world recognise? More important, would most Tibetans in China even know of the other Dalai Lama?"

What would it be like growing up as a "Dalai Lama" in this day and age? Are there comparisons to growing up as a member of a royal family, which is seen by many as increasingly anachronistic? Is this a tradition that should continue?
 
It seems that Tibetan Buddhism is entering its "two Popes" era.

I was surprised to learn that the Dalai Lama is a relatively recent institution, dating back to only the 1500s.

I was even more surprised to learn that the title was originally conferred by a Chinese monarch. Make of that what you will.
 
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Jesus ◊◊◊◊, dude. Give it a rest.
Somebody's a crabby bunny. And it's not really that far-fetched: if the Dalai Lama really is an avatar of Avalokiteshvara then why wouldn't they attempt to unify multiple religions? Christianity would be a logical first target given its global influence and the similarities between the two religions -- love and compassion and all that stuff. Don't some Buddhists credit Jesus with being a boddhisattva? And a syncretic religion born of a merger with Catholicism would free Tibetan Buddhism from secular Chinese control. If the Dalai Lama actually were the divine being he thinks he is it would be a pretty smart move.
 
I wonder what the Chinese think or even know about the current Dalai Lama.

Is he seen as a source of pride because he's "Chinese"?
 
nope.

it's more about State vs Religious power, which has been in issue in China since long before the Cultural Revolution.
More critically, it's part of the China/India rivalry for dominance in the 21st Century.
 
Somebody's a crabby bunny. And it's not really that far-fetched: if the Dalai Lama really is an avatar of Avalokiteshvara then why wouldn't they attempt to unify multiple religions? Christianity would be a logical first target given its global influence and the similarities between the two religions -- love and compassion and all that stuff. Don't some Buddhists credit Jesus with being a boddhisattva? And a syncretic religion born of a merger with Catholicism would free Tibetan Buddhism from secular Chinese control. If the Dalai Lama actually were the divine being he thinks he is it would be a pretty smart move.
Maybe he'll be reincarnated as a COEXIST bumper sticker
 

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