The Portrait of an Olympic Host: Chinese Regime Promoted Itself to Be
the King of Buddhas --China insists on communist government's sole right
to recognize Tibetan living Buddhas/IHT

China insists on communist government's sole right to recognize Tibetan
living Buddhas

The Associated Press

Published: August 3, 2007

BEIJING: Ratcheting up controls over Tibetan Buddhism, China on Friday
asserted the communist government's sole right to recognize
reincarnations of famous lamas that form the backbone of the religion's
clergy.

All future incarnations of living Buddhas related to Tibetan Buddhism
"must get government approval," the official Xinhua News Agency said,
citing the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

China's officially atheistic communist government has increasingly
sought to direct the course of Tibetan Buddhism, for centuries the basis
of Tibet's civil, religious, cultural and political life. Reincarnate
lamas, known as tulkus, often lead religious communities and oversee the
training of monks, giving them enormous influence over religious life in
Tibet.

China already insists that only the government can approve the
appointments of the best known reincarnates, including the Dalai and
Panchen Lamas, the No. 1 and No. 2 figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

A copy of the new rules posted to the administration's Web site said
that the selection of reincarnates "must preserve national unity and
solidarity of all ethnic groups."

"The process cannot be influenced by any group or individual from
outside the country," it said in an apparent reference to the Dalai
Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

"The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval or
the approval of religious affairs departments (is) illegal and invalid,"
Xinhua said.

Xinhua called the rule, effective from Sept. 1, "an important move to
institutionalize management on reincarnation." It said it aimed to
guarantee "normal religious activities" for Tibetan Buddhism and protect
the religious beliefs of Tibetan Buddhists according to law.

China in 1992 rejected the exiled Dalai Lama's choice for the latest
reincarnation of the Panchen, seizing the recognized boy and conducting
a search and appointment of another boy in his stead. The Dalai Lama,
71, fled to India in 1959 amid an aborted uprising against Chinese rule
and Beijing has said it will pick his successor when he dies.

Xinhua said the new regulation lays out specific terms for recognizing
reincarnates. Buddhist institutions applying on behalf of an aspirant
must be registered with the government and reincarnations of especially
well known lamas must be approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/03/asia/AS-GEN-China-Living-Buddhas.php