Nobody can disagree that the world is in turmoil today. Time seems to have accelerated and violence has reached every corner of the planet. In the midst of all this, one man is preaching ahimsa and karuna, love and compassion, to other human beings. This man is Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. He is also the leader of one million followers from the Indian Himalaya—from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh—as well as several million Buddhists the world over. Today, this man turns 90.
On October 7, 1950, after Chinese troops crossed the Upper Yangtze, they began their occupation of Eastern Tibet. Hardly three weeks later, in Lhasa, the gods spoke through the Nechung oracle—’Make him king’, referring to the young Dalai Lama. Thus, Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned as the Dalai Lama at the young age of 15. The ‘god king’ became the temporal and religious leader of Tibet.
In May 2011, the Dalai Lama decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own political leader. Today, a sikyong or president runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama has lived since 1960.
On September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, mentioning two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an emanation, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy or girl.
In the same message, the leader of Tibetans wrote that he would consult senior lamas: “When I am about 90, I will consult the high lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.” No wonder that during the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectation could be felt around Dharamsala.
Finally, on July 2, a statement was released reaffirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue. It also reiterated: the “responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama”, and that it will be “the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter”. It was a clear message to China.
Earlier this year, the Tibetan leader had released a book, Voice for the Voiceless, in which he asserted: “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 (outside China), so that the traditional mission 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.”
It was certainly a shock for Beijing, which expects to control the succession process and, in turn, the next Dalai Lama.
So, China was quick to react. The communist party’s The Global Times newspaper asserted: “At its core, his intention remains the same—to deny the traditional religious rituals and historical conventions that have governed the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation system for centuries, and to manipulate the reincarnation process for his own purposes.”
Of course, it is strange that an atheist state that believes that “Religion is poison”, as famously said by Mao Zedong, can be so affirmative on such an esoteric issue like reincarnation. In recent years, the succession has been widely debated. Reincarnation is, of course, a fascinating topic at a time when everything is scientifically decided, including by artificial intelligence.
However, it entails a 20-year gap till a new Dalai Lama reaches seniority in spiritual governance—a period often used in the past by China to intervene in Tibet’s affairs. Many believe that this gap is too risky and Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised. But ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone and not of any communist government to decide where a lama’s soul will migrate.
On June 6, President Xi Jinping had summoned China’s appointee as the 11th Panchen Lama, a young monk imposed by Beijing as the second hierarch after the Dalai Lama. Xi requested him to “play an even better role in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systematically promoting the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation”.
In plain words, it means the Sinicisation of Tibetan Buddhism and eradication of the Indian origin and influence in the spread of Buddhism on the plateau.
Given this context, the Dalai Lama’s statement this week must have been a relief for the 120 senior lamas representing different schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon faith assembled in Dharamsala. They unanimously welcomed the Dalai Lama’s message. Though not providing details, the statement made it clear of the unitary responsibility of the Tibetan leader’s own office.
However, the lack of precision may still encourage Beijing to interfere in the succession process. In the past, this has played in favour of the communist regime. The world hopes it will be different this time and that, in a few months, more details will emerge from Dharamsala.
It’s amply clear to all that the planet needs a Dalai Lama.
(Views are personal)
Claude Arpi
Director, Pavilion of Tibetan Culture at Auroville, and author of Tibet: The Lost Frontier