Global Courant
In China, a group of atheists (the Chinese Communist Party) has long dictated the country’s religious groups exercise their faith.
Chinese Christians are told to reject salvation by faith and the resurrection; their core beliefs should be patriotism and love for the party. The party also has published several pamphlets detailed beliefs and practices for Buddhists and commanded them to adjust their thoughts accordingly.
Communist officials are particularly concerned about one politically sensitive element of Buddhism: the succession of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, whose reincarnation lineage began in the 16th century. He will be 88 years old in July and is said to have gained experience health issuesalthough he claims he is inside good health.
In official news outlets such as the Global Times, the party claims that the Chinese government has any legitimate umpire for all reincarnations of Buddhist lamas, regardless of where they were born or their traditional areas of influence.
The Chinese state is deeply suspicious of religious believers and the potential persuasiveness of rival ideologies, and so it insists on appointing and training all prominent religious figures.
They learn the propaganda of Chinese patriotism and become adept at parroting the party line, but they generally have little knowledge of their alleged religion. True believers recognize this.
The Dalai Lama highlighted the absurdity of the party’s position earlier this year when he recognized an eight-year-old Mongolian boy as the tenth Jetsun Dampathe most influential reincarnation lineage in Mongolia.
The move angered Chinese officials as it demonstrated the Dalai Lama’s continued authority among Buddhists in the region. It also showed that despite decades of persistent claims that the Communist Party exercises sole authority in these matters, it is only an official fabrication.
In 1995, the Dalai Lama issued a proclamation that named a Tibetan boy Gendun Chokyi Nyima was the Panchen Lama, the second most prominent reincarnated lama in his order, the Geluk. The party responded by arresting the boy, then six years old, along with his family. They haven’t been seen since.
The golden urn
Tibetan Buddhists believe that a person’s consciousness transfers to a new body after death. For most people this happens involuntarily, but advanced masters can choose their life situations. These are called tulku (emanation bodies).
Traditionally, tulku have exercised ultimate authority over their own succession. Many lamas give predictions about the circumstances of their rebirth, including place and timing.
The Dalai Lama, hoping to thwart the Communist Party’s plans to name his successor, has stated that he will not be reborn in any region under Chinese control. He states that the main job of a new tulku is to continue with the unfinished work of his predecessor, and this would be impossible in occupied Tibet.
The party cites precedents, usually fabricated or exaggerated, which it believes confer a historically established right to adjudicate on all matters of tulku succession.
Many of these depend on the “golden urn”, who was sent to Tibet in 1792 by the Qianlong Emperor, along with instructions on how to use it. The names of future tulku had to be engraved on lots and placed in the urn. The lama on duty would then choose one at random as successor tulku.
Despite claims by party officials that the urn has been used in all tulku selections since its delivery to Tibet, historical sources indicate it was used only sporadically.
Moreover, I have not seen any Tibetan document presenting the urn as the sole factor in determining tulku succession. In every case I’ve researched, traditional tests were administered first.
For example, an expectant child was given two sets of items – one belonged to the predecessor, the other was dissimilar. The true successor must be able to correctly identify those owned by his predecessor.
The gold urn was then drawn by lot as one of a series of measures to ensure the right candidate was selected — or to placate Chinese officials.
The Dalai Lama has indicated that he is open to a process that including lottery tickets drawn from the urnbut also insists on the standard methods of succession developed under Tibetan Buddhism.
Clashes over philosophy
Most public discussions of succession focus on historically substantiated claims and counter-claims, but the underlying logic of either side is rarely mentioned.
Tibetan Buddhism holds that as death approaches, the grosser levels of consciousness fall away. At the moment of death, the most subtle manifests, the “spirit of clear light.” After this one enters the “intermediate state” (bardo) and is reborn in another body.
The main basis for rebirth is consciousness, which is likened to a river. It flows from moment to moment, each moment being defined by the previous one. It is not like a soul or self, because it is impermanent and changing.
Most Buddhists believe that rebirth is determined by their past karma, but tulkus can consciously choose their next life situations.
One of the chief absurdities of the Communist Party’s claims to authority over this process is that its members espouse a Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialismwho rejects the idea of rebirth or consciousness transference between bodies.
So when the party designates someone as ‘Dalai Lama’, it is similar to appointing a postal worker: it is a position that is supervised by the government and can be granted to anyone.
However, Tibetan Buddhists believe that the recognition of a Dalai Lama is much more than that. It is the end result of a series of rigorous tests designed to identify one unique person whose consciousness is the continuation of that of his predecessor.
What is at stake for Tibetan Buddhism?
After Gendün Chökyi Nyima’s disappearance in 1995, the government held a ceremony to anoint another boy as the Panchen Lama. Panchen Lamas have often played a key role in the recognition of Dalai Lamas, and the party has stated its intention to use its Panchen Lama to elect a Dalai Lama to be under its control.
The Dalai Lama has stated the Tibetan people on a number of occasions will reject China’s choice. And Tibetan exiles plan to use traditional methods to identify Tenzin Gyatso’s successor.
Inevitably, other countries will become involved in this mysterious conflict, based on ancient religious precedents, which few will understand.
So, after both sides have announced their respective Dalai Lamas, what effect will this have on Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet and their religious practices?
Probably very little. The party’s Panchen Lama is seen by Tibetans as a senior government official and is treated with due respect. But he has no authority as a religious teacher.
And despite government efforts to promote him as a tulku, he lacks the training, knowledge, and charisma necessary to function as a tulku. He rarely visits Tibet and has shown no aptitude for the religious aspects of his role.
The future exile-born Dalai Lama will receive traditional training from the most esteemed figures in Tibetan Buddhism, while his or her Communist Party rival will be trained in a government-run school and become a spokesperson for the party.
The former is likely to follow in Tenzin Gyatso’s footsteps and become an internationally prominent Buddhist spokesperson. The latter will imitate the Party’s Panchen Lama and repeat whatever messages his overlords command him to deliver to the Tibetan Buddhists.
The question of whether Tibetan Buddhism will survive in the future is by no means certain. Tibetans overwhelmingly identify as Buddhists and deeply revere the Dalai Lama, despite decades of propaganda demonizing him.
The government is increasingly imposing restrictions on religious practice. There are also economic barriers to those wishing to maintain their traditional religious observances.
This battle between tradition and Communist Party control is likely to play out over the next few decades, and the future looks increasingly grim for those willing to resist.
John Powers is a teacher of Buddhist studies at the University of Melbourne.
This article has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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