(TibetanReview.net, Sep06’24) – Ahead of holding its own version of a global Buddhist conference in the eastern city of Ningbo next month, China has organized a seminar in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Sep 3, with the agenda to discuss the officially approved manner in which the recognition of reincarnations in Tibetan Buddhism should be carried out. The participants in the seminar have emphasised the importance of government approval in the recognition of reincarnated Tibetan religious leaders.
While the seminar did not seem to have named the current, 14th Dalai Lama, going by the news reports on it, it was obviously more about him and his reincarnation than anything else. The Dalai Lama has previously said he would consider drawing up instructions for the recognition of his reincarnation after he turns 90 years of age, which would be after Jul 6 next year.
More than 50 Tibetan Buddhist monks and religious experts attended a seminar, which discussed policies and regulations for the “reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism”, reported China’s online Tibet news service Tibet.cn Sep 6. The participants were stated to be from “related provinces and regions”, which would include Tibet autonomous region and Qinghai province as well as the other historical Tibetan territories that are today parts of Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces.
It was a photo news report which did not give details of the speeches and discussions. However, it did say the meeting adhered to Xi Jinping Thought and “earnestly implemented” the ruling Communist Party’s policies on religious work and Tibet, adding that the seminar would help “promote the healthy transmission” of Tibetan Buddhism and make it “compatible with socialist society”.
It added that the seminar would “guide monks and [Tibetan Buddhism] followers to a more objective understanding of the historical customs, religious rituals, and policies and regulations of the reincarnation of living Buddhas,” noted the scmp.com Sep 6.
Tibetan Buddhists would also “fully understand” that historical customs, including government approval, were “an important principle to be followed in the reincarnation”, the tibet.cn report has said.
These requirements are based on measures adopted in 2007 to regulate the reincarnation of living Buddhas, which state that the reincarnation must be recognised and approved by Beijing.
The meeting was organised by the High-Level Tibetan Buddhism College of China, a Beijing-based school that trains officially recognised Tibetan Buddhist monks.
According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, like in the case of all the other Tibetan Buddhist masters, it is the Dalai Lama who decides on his reincarnation and leaves written instructions for the purpose, which are often cryptic, to guide those entrusted to discover him. The process involves interpreting the instructions, seeking divine guidance, even undertaking meditation, and carrying out divinations to ensure no mistakes in the recognition of the reincarnated lama.