![]() Handed political power to a government in exile, headed by Lobsang Sangay, elected by Tibetans in exile.Ĭhina rejects that government's authority. Until 2011, the Dalai Lama was considered Tibetans' political leader as well as their spiritual leader. "We are very much worried! Where is Buddhism? Where is the spiritualism then?" Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile, told NPR in an interview in September at his office downhill from the Dalai Lama's monastery in Dharamsala. India grants special residency to Tibetans and hosts their largest community outside China, followed by Nepal and the United States. Tibetans abroad - about 100,000 of them in India alone - fiercely oppose the idea that China's atheist communists might choose their next spiritual leader. Many have been arrested for hanging the Dalai Lama's portrait or communicating with exiles. Inundates their monasteries with propaganda. The vast majority - more than 6 million - still live in China. It's difficult to gauge the Tibetan reaction to all this. NPR Tibetan opera performers attend a prayer ceremony for the Dalai Lama at his monastery in Dharamsala, India, in September. The reincarnation of all Tibetan Buddhist holy figures, including that of the Dalai Lama, "must comply with Chinese laws & regulations," an official at China's Foreign Affairs ministry, Lijian Zhao, Restoration of Buddhist sites in Nepal, Myanmar and Pakistan. In recent years, China has taken to calling Buddhism an "Īncient Chinese religion," even though Buddhism was born in India. "China wants to pacify Tibet, which is a very religious and devotional society, by controlling the economy and also the clergy and monastic orders," says Mathur, the former adviser to India's government.Ĭontrolling the Dalai Lama's succession is the most important part of that, he says. That development has also brought in more ethnic Han Chinese, fueling fears that the government is intentionally diluting native Tibetan influence. He insisted that Tibetans are "extremely grateful for the prosperity that the Communist Party has brought them."Ĭhina has poured billions of dollars into Tibet,īringing factory jobs and development to the poor mountainous region. The Dalai Lama hasn't done a "single good thing" for Tibet, China's Communist Party chief for the region, Wu Yingjie, He also campaigns for the welfare and self-determination of Tibetans.īut Beijing maintains that the Dalai Lama forfeited his authority over Tibetans 60 years ago, when he went into exile. From there, he has traveled the world, campaigning for nonviolence, spirituality and equality - efforts that won him theġ989 Nobel Peace Prize. He and tens of thousands of followers set up a new base at a Buddhist monastery in Dharamsala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 - crossing the Himalayas on foot, in disguise and under cover of night - India granted him asylum. NPR Buddhist monks listen to the Tibetan spiritual leader preach from atop a throne in Dharamsala, India, in September. "So that's an additional problem for the Chinese! It's possible, it can happen." "In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from, in a free country, and one chosen by the Chinese, then nobody will trust - nobody will respect (the one chosen by China)," he He has also warned Buddhists not to trust anything China says after he dies. "One thing I want to make clear: As far as my own rebirth is concerned, the final authority is myself - no one else - and obviously, not Chinese communists!" the Dalai Lama told reporters in 2011. Will occur in a "free country" - which could mean India - but also suggested that This has worried his followers.ĭropped contradictory hints: He says he might be reincarnated as a man or a woman, an adult or a child - or might emanate into the bodies of several people simultaneously. Hospitalized earlier this year with a chest infection and has scaled back Plans to consult with them and others, including the Tibetan public, about his reincarnation plans when he turns "about 90."Īccording to Tibetan Buddhist belief, he has control over his reincarnation: "The person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth," according to the Dalai Lama's official website, "and how that reincarnation is to be recognized." He has had dreams, he says, that he will live to 113. The Dalai Lama says he has plenty of time: NPR Buddhists from around the world carry gifts and offerings for the Dalai Lama during a ceremony devoted to prayers for his longevity in Dharamsala.
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