A wave of relief and excitement enveloped Tibetan Buddhists on July 2 when the Dalai Lama, their tallest spiritual leader who turns 90 today, said in a video message that the “institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.” The spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetans till 2011, he gave up political leadership that year, assigned it to a democratically elected body, and was iffy about the continuation of the Dalai lineage. Yet, he continued to be the face of Tibetan resistance against usurper China. The latest decision to perpetuate the institution of the Dalai Lama gave spiritual heft to the ongoing fight for at least internal autonomy despite Chinese stranglehold on their land and way of life.
In his July 2 message, he said his reincarnation could be an adult, not necessarily a male, but will be born in a free country, adding the selection will be solely vested with the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the institution of the Dalai Lama. The message reaffirming the continuation of a 600-year-long sacred tradition gave a long-awaited life line to Buddhists in Tibet and the diaspora, most of whom continue to live in exile in India ever since they first arrived with the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959.
“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter... They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should seek advice and direction from these concerned beings and carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition. I shall leave clear written instructions about this. Bear in mind that, apart from the reincarnation recognized through such legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic of China,” the Tibetan spiritual leader had stated in his September 24, 2011 message, while relinquishing his role as the temporal/political head of the Tibetans and vested the power with the democratically elected Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
Since 2011, the Dalai and officials in the Kashag — the Tibetan government-in-exile with headquarters in Dharamshala — have a system in place to continue political work while officers of the Gaden Phodrang Foundation set up in 2015 are tasked with maintaining and supporting the tradition of the Dalai Lama.
While the Dalai’s formal announcement that the centuries long tradition will continue after his demise was widely welcomed in and outside Tibet and those who follow Tibetan Buddhism across the world, the reincarnation of the Dalai has been at the crux of a seismic India-China relationship. India’s decision to continue to host the Dalai Lama has been an enduring flashpoint between the two giant Asian neighbours.
For Tibetans, the Dalai Lama represents their most sacred tradition of faith, identity, motherland, culture, language, ethnicity and collective aspiration of continuity as one race. But for the People’s Republic of China (PRC), he is a separatist leader. The latter’s message - Tibetan Buddhism is separate from Chinese control and it is important to preserve Tibetan Buddhist traditions - was a challenge to PRC’s hegemonic and forced control over Tibetan autonomy, Tibetan Buddhism, ethnicity and religious freedom.
China took no time to reject the Dalai’s message on his reincarnation. The same day, in a rejoinder, the Global Times in China quoted Li Decheng, deputy director-general of and a research fellow with China Tibetology Research Center, as saying that “managing the reincarnation of Living Buddhas in accordance with the law is an important aspect of China’s administration of religious affairs… The reincarnation of Living Buddhas is by no means merely an internal religious matter, nor is it solely the ‘unique predestined bond’ claimed by the 14th Dalai Lama. Instead, it reflects national sovereignty, governmental authority, religious principles, and the sentiments of lay followers.”
China annexed Tibet in 1951 and has maintained tight control over the region, which it ‘sinicized’ as Xizang to integrate the region more closely with the rest of the country and negate Tibet’s distinct ancient and cultural identity. While the Dalai said his reincarnation has to be spotted through an institutional mechanism, China wants his ‘successor’ identified through a draw of lots from the golden urn — a Qing dynasty ritual for all lamas. The final selection must have the approval of the Communist party. The golden urn ritual has enshrined state assent for all senior Tibetan religious leaders.
After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, in 1995, the Dalai Lama recognised a six-year-old boy as his reincarnation. He was detained by Chinese officials in 1995 and has not been seen ever since. Beijing installed its own candidate, who was rejected by Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists. Recently, according to Chinese state media, the Beijing-backed Panchen Lama met President Xi Jinping and pledged allegiance to the Communist party.
To control Tibet, which is placed strategically bordering India, Nepal and Bhutan along the Himalayas, Beijing needs to diminish the legacy of the exiled Dalai Lama, who is widely revered as their spiritual guide and mentor. Despite its authoritarian control over faith, language, education and culture, China has failed to win over the Buddhists in Tibet.
“It is certainly not up to a Marxist government to decide on this highly esoteric and spiritual issue; but the succession has important implications for Beijing’s control over Tibet,” argues noted Tibetologist Claude Arpi.
“Beijing is rather nervous. During a three-day inspection tour of Qinghai, in former Amdo province of Tibet, Chen Wenqing, a member of the 24-strong Politburo and responsible for Political and Legal Affairs said: “Qinghai is a strategic stronghold for maintaining stability in Xinjiang and Tibet.” Chen’s tour included visits to religious and cultural institutions in Xining, the provincial capital. Interestingly, he spoke of resolutely winning the fight against separatism in Tibet,” he added.
On the question of why New Delhi continues to host the Dalai Lama and the largest Tibetan diaspora in the world despite its deepening ties with Beijing, Arpi said it is because of the Dalai Lama that India’s north and north eastern borders are stabilised.
“At a time when China speaks about the ‘sinization’ of Tibetan Buddhism (often called the Nalanda Tradition), which in practice aims at the eradication of the Indian origin of Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau, it is important to remember that the Dalai Lama is not only the leader of all the Tibetans, but also of one million Indian Himalayans (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh). For decades, the presence of the Dalai Lama in India has been a great stabilising factor for the Indian borders,” added Arpi.
A day after the Dalai Lama announced the continuation of his office, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke out of turn saying only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor, which drew a caustic remark from China.
Beijing’s irritation came close on the heels of the resumption of the highly venerated Kailash-Mansarovar yatra to holy sites in Tibet after five years. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was quick to reset the optics, saying the government “doesn’t take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion. The government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.”
The Dalai, who has always espoused the Middle Way approach — Umaylam in Tibetan - that seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the PRC, rather than full independence, has expressed his desire to visit Tibet one last time before he passed away, but that he will only do so if it is guaranteed that he can return to India. The Chinese foreign ministry responded saying he can visit, but would have to then stay in Tibet and “openly recognise that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China”.
