New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday called on China to release the eleventh Panchen Lama–Gedhun Choekyi Nyima–who has been detained for 30 years, highlighting Beijing’s policy towards exerting control over Buddhism in Tibet.
The Panchen Lama is considered as the second-most important spiritual leader of the Tibetans after the Dalai Lama.
“Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was only six years old when Chinese authorities abducted him 30 years ago. The Panchen Lama should be released immediately,” Rubio said in a statement on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Rubio’s comment along with parliamentarians across Europe have been pushing for the release of Gedhun Nyima, who has been in Chinese custody since 17 May, 1995.
At the time of his custody, the Panchen Lama as designated by the incumbent Dalai Lama was six years old. Months after the detainment of Gedhun Nyima, China announced their own Panchen Lama–Gyaltsen Norbu–to strengthen its hold over the selection of the next Dalai Lama.
However, since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 for India, Beijing has stepped up efforts to impose its control over the autonomous region at the political and spiritual arenas as well. The Dalai Lama and the Chinese government have had a tenuous relationship. Since at least the 1980s, the Tibetan spiritual leader has called for greater autonomy within China, but has been unable to gain any traction from Beijing.
The incumbent spiritual leader had, in a book earlier this year, said that the next Dalai Lama will be born outside of China. He is set to turn 90 later this year.
In March, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the Dalai Lama, calling him a “political exile engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion.”
“He [the Dalai Lama] has absolutely no right to represent the people in Xizang [Tibet Autonomous Region]…The reincarnation of Living Buddhas is unique to Tibetan Buddhism. It follows established religious rituals and historical conventions. The Dalai Lama’s lineage, formed in Xizang, China, and religious standing and title which were affirmed by the central government, date back several hundred years. The 14th Dalai Lama himself was found and confirmed in line with this set of rituals and conventions and was approved by the then central government,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry had said.
“The Chinese government issued Regulations on Religious Affairs and Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas, and respects and protects this method of succession. The reincarnation of Living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations as well as religious rituals and historical conventions, and follow the process that consists of search and identification in China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and central government approval,” the spokesperson added.
The selection process revolves around the Panchen Lama, considered to be the highest spiritual leader after the Dalai Lama. China points to an imperial ordinance from 1793, which states that candidates have to be approved by Beijing following the drawing of lots from the golden urn, as the legislative understanding for the selection of the next Dalai Lama.
However, while this method was followed for the selection of the 11th and 12th Dalai Lamas, it was not applied for the selection of the 9th, 13th and 14th incarnations of the spiritual leader. Tibetans living in exile reject China’s right to select and approve of the next spiritual leader.
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The 11th Panchen Lama
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama was born on 25 April, 1989. In 1995, six years after the tenth Panchen Lama passed away, a list of candidates was sent to the Dalai Lama. On 15 May, 1995, the Dalai Lama announced the selection of Gedhun Nyima as the next Panchen Lama.
Days later on 17 May, 1995, the 11th Panchen Lama, along with his family, went missing. The Chinese government at various times has given updates on the status of Gedhun Nyima. Most recently in 2020, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Gedhun Nyima “received free compulsory education” went on to study in college and has a job, and is living a “normal life.”
However, the 11 Panchen Lama named by Beijing–Gyaltsen Norbu–has slowly been visiting monasteries across the country, and giving interviews to Chinese government outlets urging patriotism and service to China.
However, the dispute over the Panchen Lama will have reverberations over the Dalai Lama’s successor.
Role of the Panchen Lama in succession
In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that the soul of the Dalai Lama is reincarnated in the body of a child following his death. At the age of two, the incumbent spiritual leader was acknowledged as the 14th Dalai Lama in 1937.
One of the responsibilities of the Panchen Lama is finding the next Dalai Lama and also acting as a teacher to the spiritual leader of Buddhism in Tibet. Similarly, the Dalai Lama bears the responsibility of finding and naming the next Panchen Lama, thereby creating a cyclical relationship between the two.
The traditional seat of the Panchen Lama is the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, which was founded by the first Dalai Lama in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. In 1972, the Tibetans in exile set up a Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka.
With the 11th Panchen Lama recognised by the Dalai Lama under detainment, and the candidate selected by the Chinese government rejected by the Tibetans in exile, there are concerns over the succession of the Dalai Lama.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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