Communism Meets Reincarnation? How China Is Trying To Pick The Next Dalai Lama

-Analysis-

PARIS — The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, is celebrating his 90th birthday this week. At such a venerable age, his succession is on everyone’s mind — and promises a ruthless struggle.

The Dalai Lama addressed the subject himself Wednesday during a speech in the Indian town of Dharamsala that has long hosted the Tibetan government-in-exile. He declared that his successor would be chosen according to the rules of reincarnation within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and that no one else has the right to interfere.

This statement warrants explanation. The phenomenon of reincarnation lies at the heart of Tibetan Buddhist belief. But the Tibetans must contend with the Chinese Communist Party, which should logically dismiss reincarnation as ideological heresy. Instead Beijing insists that it should choose the successor to the current Dalai Lama after his death. This is based on a historical interpretation of the relationship between imperial China and Tibet, that it has the authority to designate the reincarnation of Tenzin Gyatso, the birth name of the 14th Dalai Lama.

Why China wants to control succession

No, the Party has not converted to Buddhism: this is a matter of power, over territory and over the minds of the fewer than ten million Tibetans.

The current Dalai Lama remains revered and adored by Tibetans everywhere, even though he went into exile in 1959, ten years after the invasion of Tibet under former Chinese President Mao Zedong. The Dalai Lama remains a symbol of unity and resistance in the face of all attempts to erase or dilute Tibetan identity within the broader Chinese population of 1.4 billion.

By controlling the reincarnation process, the Chinese Communist Party aims to weaken the influence of the religious institution over the Tibetan population. At the very least, it can introduce enough confusion to diminish the impact of the next Dalai Lama.

There is a precedent: the appointment of the Panchen Lama, the second highest figure in the hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1995, a child recognized as the reincarnation of the deceased Panchen Lama was kidnapped by Chinese authorities, who promoted “their” Panchen Lama instead. The originally chosen child was never seen again, and the official Panchen Lama is celebrated in Beijing. Tibetans fear the same thing could happen with the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan push-back

How can this be prevented? Several years ago, the current Dalai Lama declared that his reincarnation would come from the “free world,” in his words, not from Tibetan territories under Chinese control. On Wednesday, he warned his followers that any appointment made outside traditional channels would be illegitimate. It is the Gaden Phodrang Foundation that is responsible for identifying the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

Will that be enough? It won’t stop Beijing from trying to impose its own Dalai Lama and betting on the confusion caused by the existence of two Dalai Lamas. Considering the Dalai Lama’s worship has survived seven decades of exile, when simply possessing his photo can lead to serious trouble, one can doubt the Communist Party’s ability to turn Tibetans away from the symbol of their identity.

But Beijing acts in Tibet as it does in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, trying to flatten identities and place all religions under control.

In any case, this opens up a new field of study: communism and reincarnation — leave it to the creative minds of the Chinese Communist Party!