Answering a new book by the current Dalai Lama, Beijing insists the CCP should control reincarnation of Tibetan lamas. It will find one for the Dalai Lama when he dies.
March 14, 2025
Readers of “Bitter Winter” are familiar with the bizarre Order no. 5 of 2007 by China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs. The order states that the Chinese government should decide which Buddhist lamas are authorized to reincarnate. Those so authorized carry a special card. When they die, Chinese authorities should control the process to identify the boys into whom they reincarnated and issue a certificate confirming that the reincarnation is genuine.
For the highest lamas, Chinese rules mandates that more than one possible reincarnation should be identified and cards with their names placed in a “Golden Urn,” from which a draw will be performed. In fact, this “traditional” system was imposed in 1792 by the Qing Qianlong Emperor. The current Dalai Lama claims it was used only twice for the Dalai Lamas, for the 11th in 1838 and the 12th in 1857—but in fact once, as the 12th had already been clearly identified through the traditional methods—and twice for the Panchen Lama, for the 8th and the 9th.
Scholars such as Max Oidtmann (who has written the decisive book on the subject) have found that the system has been in fact used more often than the Dalai Lama claims but only in the period between 1793 and 1825. However, even in this period the names introduced in the urn kept being selected by oracles, which is the real “traditional method.”
More important than the “Golden Urn” was the attempt by the Chinese Empire to control the reincarnations, which never totally succeeded. In 2007, through Order no. 5, the CCP decided to assert again its control on reincarnations, particularly in Tibet. The order was widely ridiculed both in China and internationally: how can an officially atheistic state go through the motions of believing in reincarnation?
The Dalai Lama has just published a new book, “Voice for the Voiceless: Over Seven Decades of Struggle with China for My Land and My People” (New York: William Morrow, 2025).
In his book, the Dalai Lama states for the first time that his successor will be born in the “free world,” meaning outside China. Previously, he mentioned the possibility of reincarnating outside Tibet, possibly in India.
“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 so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama—that is, 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,” the book explains.
Using the Chinese word for Tibet, “Xizang,” Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning in the regular press conference of March 11, 2025, immediately protested that “the 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion. He has absolutely no right to represent the people in Xizang.” She added the blatant lie that “Xizang” enjoys a “flourishing culture and better life for its people,” which at any rate has nothing to do with reincarnations.
Mao Ning insisted that “the Chinese government issued Regulations on Religious Affairs and Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas… The reincarnation of Living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations…, and follow the process that consists of search and identification in China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and central government approval.”
Apparently, the Beijing regime insists that it has the right to “identify in China” the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. In practice this means that, when the current Dalai Lama dies, there will be two Dalai Lamas, one genuine born outside China and one false born in China and selected by the Chinese Communist Party. It will be interesting to see how many foreign Buddhist organizations, some of which are generously subsidized by Beijing, would recognize the bogus CCP Dalai Lama rather than the real one.
Source: bitterwinter.org
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