Lama Drama

Image by - Gary Wong 

China, after territorially annexing Tibet in 1951, has turned to claim the next Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, a voice of hope and spiritual leader to countless, is now also a political entity for Tibet. 

If the Chinese Communist Party proclaims the next Dalai Lama, they in turn would have the same tone as the Chinese political party regarding the status of Tibet. This can very well lead to legitimising the illegal annexation of Tibet among the Tibetan population worldwide. Think of this as propaganda fed to the people straight from a historically dependable source. Buddhism preaches about doing the ‘right thing, ’ and if the head of the Buddhist community (and at large the Tibetan Community as well) is controlled by the Chinese Government, trouble could be seen from a mile away. 

In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took control over mainland China and has been the only party ruling over China. Since then, they have shown an imperialistic agenda with their neighbouring countries. One such case is with Tibet. Independent for centuries before, until in the late 1950s when China marched into Tibet, facing little to no clash from the Tibetan side. In 1959, a major revolt was demonstrated against the alien Chinese government imposing its ways and means in Tibet. Fearing for the life of the Dalai Lama and countless other Tibetan nationals, they fled to India, where they built their headquarters. Since then, the Dalai Lama has become a symbol of the Tibetan leadership. A spiritual leader, but no less a political one, too. 

China understands the position of the Dalai Lama with respect to the cultural significance of Tibet, which in turn plays a huge role in the mentality of the Tibetan people. 

This is a problem. Why? Because ‘Dalai Lama’ is a position in Buddhism, chosen not by democracy (as is the case with choosing the Pope), but rather by incarnation. One soul, taking multiple bodies for ages to guide their people. And China has decided to claim the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama as a Chinese national. Here lies a power struggle between the Tibetan spiritual leader and the Chinese communist party officials, the tussle involving the future of Tibet and its people. 

An article by the Guardian, written by Hannah Ellis-Peterse, says, “The Dalai Lama, who recently turned 86, has insisted that discussions of his death are premature (according to his own visions, he will live to 113). But a power struggle for who will choose his reincarnation after he dies has already begun.” Ellis basically describes how even the smallest discussion regarding the passing away of Tenzin Gyatso (the most recent Dalai Lama) is pointless because Tenzin has already prophesied his passing after he reaches the age of 113, about 23 years from now (2025). Simply starting a political brawl over the next existence of the dalai lama, while Tenzin is healthy, active, and predicted to live for a while, is pointless.

But for one instance, we do take the unlikely passing away of Tenzin Gyatso, at a much earlier age than mentioned by his holiness, there is a proper system set in place to find the next reincarnation, which has been followed for centuries. Similarly, the article also reads “Traditionally, after he dies, a search begins in Tibet to find his reincarnation, based on signs such as where he was looking when he died, which direction the smoke blows when he is cremated, and visions interpreted from Lhamo La-tso, an oracle lake in Tibet. Based on these visions, search parties are sent out to find children born around the date of his death who match these visions and are then put through a series of tests until the right one is divined. While most Dalai Lamas have been found in Tibet, one was born in Mongolia and another in an area that is now India.”

But the Chinese Communist Party is not satisfied with this. They need some leverage to legitimise the illegal claim over China; therefore, one of their member states has said that "The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China." 

Since the Dalai Lama lives in exile in India, this, among many other issues, has also become one of the constant tensions between India India-China relationship.  

To such claims made by China, the Dalai Lama has confirmed that there will most definitely be another incarnation, Tenzin Gyatso won't be the last, and “that only his inner circle, not Beijing, will have the authority to identify his successor.” 

While China keeps throwing jabs at claiming the next Dalai Lama, to which the present Dalai Lama calmly directs it away, and reconfirms to the Tibetan population who to trust and who to follow in the present and in the future.

by Aditya Akash Trigunayat