Headline
The Dalai Lama offers his flock a vote on whether he should be
reincarnated.
Faced with Chinese plans
to seize control of his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama has come up with
two revolutionary proposals -- either to forgo rebirth, or to be reborn
while still alive.
The exiled Tibetan
Buddhist leader proposed yesterday to hold a referendum among his 13-14
million followers around the world -- before his death -- on whether he
should be reincarnated or not.
If the majority vote
against it he said he would simply not be reborn, ending a lineage that
tradition dictates dates back to the late 14th century, when a young
shepherd was appointed the first Dalai Lama. If the vote was in favour he
said that he might appoint a reincarnation while he was still alive,
breaking the 600-year-old tradition of being reborn as a small boy after
his death.
His proposals not only
raise some mind-bending metaphysical questions: they put China's atheist
Communist leaders in the unusual position of claiming to be the
protectors of Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
The 1989 Nobel Peace laureate, 72, said that he was in good physical
condition, that detailed discussions on his succession had yet to begin,
and that several options were being considered. But he admitted that his
proposals were designed to thwart China's plans to select the next Dalai
Lama and thus tighten its grip on the Himalayan region it has control led
since 1950. "Yes, a referendum, yes, it's possible," the Dalai
Lama told The Times at an interfaith conference in the north Indian city
of Amritsar.
"When my physical
[condition] becomes weak and serious preparation for death [has started],
then that should happen," he said. "According to my regular
medical check-up it seems another few decades, I think, are there, so no
hurry."
The Dalai Lama has
traditionally been chosen by senior monks who interpret signals from the
last reincarnation, scour the region for promising young candidates and
then set a number of tests.
The current Dalai Lama -- the 14th -- was born into a farming family and
identified at the age of 2 after passing tests, including identifying his
predecessor's rosary from among several others.
He fled Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and
has been living in India ever since, heading a 200,000-strong Tibetan
exile community from the northern town of Dharamsala.
He now campaigns for
greater autonomy within China, but Chinese leaders accuse him of still
seeking independence for Tibet, which they see as an integral part of
their territory.
They have tried to cultivate friendly lamas, but the 10th Panchen Lama --
the second-most-senior Tibetan Buddhist figure -- famously turned on them
in a speech in 1989, soon after which he died.
The young Karmapa Lama, the third-highest ranking, escaped to India in
1999.
In August China's
Government claimed exclusive rights to approve all Tibetan lamas'
reincarnations in one of its strongest moves yet to establish control
over the region's clergy. Yesterday it condemned the Dalai Lama's
proposals. "The reincarnation of the living Buddha is a unique way
of succession of Tibetan Buddhism and follows relatively complete
religious rituals and historical conventions," the Foreign Ministry
state ment said. "The Dalai Lama's statement is in blatant violation
of religious practice and historical procedure."
The Dalai Lama said there
was a historical precedent for a lama being reincarnated while still
alive, giving the example of one of his teachers who died last year. He
did not say how the referendum would be conducted, but said that it
should include all those in the Himalayan region, Mongolia and elsewhere
who have traditionally followed Tibetan Buddhism.
The six million Tibetans
inside China would almost certainly be unable to participate, but another
seven to eight million follow Tibetan Buddhism in India, Bhutan, Nepal,
Mongolia, Russia and the West.
"If the Tibetan
people, the majority of Tibetan people and concerned people feel OK, then
the Dalai Lama institution will cease," he said. If a majority voted
to continue the tradition, he said that he would choose one of several
succession options to try to protect his lineage from Chinese
interference.
One is to handpick a
successor outside Tibet -- perhaps an adult, more qualified to represent
Tibet on the world stage than a small boy. Another is to hold an election
with a group of senior lamas along the lines of the "college of
cardinals" that selects the Pope. A third option is to allow power
to pass to the next most- senior lama in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy
outside Tibet, who is the Sakya Lama, based in India. A fourth option is
to follow the traditional method.
"If my death comes
while we are still as refugees then my reincarnation logically will come
outside Tibet," he said. "But the Chinese Government may
appoint another Dalai Lama. So like the present Panchen Lama's case . . .
in fact it creates more confusion."
What the Dalai Lama said
on succession plans:
As early as 1969 I made it clear that [whether] the very institution of
the Dalai Lama continues or not, is up to the Tibetan people. So [if] the
majority of the Tibetan people should feel the centuries old institution
of the Dalai Lama [is] no longer much relevant then the Dalai Lama
institution automatically will cease. Then there's no question of
succession of Dalai Lama. On the other hand, should the Tibetan people
and also some concerned people like the hundreds and thousands of people
in the Himalayan range traditionally sharing same Tibetan Buddhism...
want to keep this institution, then the question is, if you want to keep
this institution, then the succession could be different methods or ways
like the Pope's election among his elder, experienced and respected
senior leaders.
Then another thing like seniority - that is also a possibility. Another
possibility is the previous sort of traditional way - after the death of
the person, then search the rebirth. Whether it's the same person or same
being or not, I don't know. It's not very important, but some karmic,
certain spiritual factors. Someone who can succeed the previous life's work.
Then another thing - in
Tibet in the past and even in my generation, there are cases of the
person who before death is already choose his or her own reincarnation...
The very purpose of reincarnation is to carry the task which started by
previous life, which is not yet accomplished. If my death comes while we
are still as refugees then my reincarnation logically will come outside
Tibet, who can eventually carry the work which I started.
But meanwhile the Chinese government may appoint another Dalai lama... So
like the present Panchen Lama's case. One is Panchen Lama of Tibetans'
hearts, one is on the official throne. In fact it creates more confusion.
So a similar case will happen?
On the timing of the
succession:
According to my regular medical check up, it seems another few decades, I
think, are there so no hurry. Anyway occasionally the Tibetan spiritual
leaders meet together sometimes, very casually, to talk already, but
serious detailed discussion has not yet started.
On a referendum:
If the Tibetan people, the majority of Tibetan people and concerned
people feel OK, then the Dalai Lama institution will cease. If the
centuries old Dalai Lama institution ceases, the 14th Dalai Lama was not
the best one but certainly not the worst one - quite popular Dalai Lama.
So if the centuries old institution ceases at such a popular Dalai Lama's
case, I think very good. Recent few centuries, the Dalai Lama has become
an important part of that, but that does not mean that whole Tibetan
Buddhism and Tibetan nation depends on the Dalai lama institution - no.
If I die today, some setback for the Tibetan people's struggle that will
happen, but eventually the national struggle of an ancient nation with a
rich cultural heritage, therefore the Tibetan spirit, will not go away
with my death.
Reincarnation for
beginners:
-- Buddhism teaches that the soul is reincarnated as another being --
possibly an animal -- based on one's karma, or accumulated actions.
-- Tibetan Buddhism is unusual in its belief that a senior lama can be
reincarnated as a young child.
-- Lamas are believed to be reincarnations of those who have reached
Nirvana but chosen to return to the mortal world to teach others.
-- The Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation of Chenrezig, the
Bodhisattva of Compassion, and can choose whether to be reincarnated or
not.
-- When a Dalai Lama dies, senior monks look for signals about his
reincarnation in their own dreams, on his corpse and in the smoke when he
is cremated.
-- They also go to a holy lake to look for a vision or another sign about
where to look for the new Dalai Lama
From The Times
November 28, 2007. Source Times archives.
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