Dalai Lamas choice of boy as key figure angers atheist China

·期刊原文

Dalai Lama's choice of boy as key figure angers atheist China

by Sheila, Tefft

Christian Science Monitor

Vol. 87 No. 123 1995.05.22 P. 7

Copyright by Christian Science Monitor

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Dateline: BEIJING

A SIX-YEAR-OLD Tibetan boy named as a key religious figure has stirred a
bitter new row between China and the Dalai Lama, Tibet's revered spiritual
leader.

The Dalai Lama, head of Tibet's government in exile for over 30 years,
ignited the dispute last week when he announced the boy, Gedhun Choekyi
Nyima, had been revealed as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, Tibetan
Buddhism's second most important monk.

Claiming Beijing, not the Dalai Lama, should have final say, officially
atheist China fiercely denounced the Tibetan leader and pledged to pursue
its own search. The previous Panchen Lama, who died in 1989 and whose
spirit is believed to be reincarnated in a child, stayed behind when the
Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959.

Highly regarded by Tibetan Buddhists, the former Panchen Lama became a key
mediator between Beijing and independence-minded Tibetan monks, protested
China's brutality in Tibet, and served nine years under house arrest during
the Cultural Revolution. But he was also a controversial figure regarded by
many Tibetans as under China's influence and supporting reconciliation.

The controversial search

The search for the next incarnation of the Panchen Lama is a cornerstone of
Chinese policy toward Tibet, the Himalayan region that has periodically
exploded with independence protests since China occupied it in 1950. The
Dalai Lama backs more autonomy, while Beijing charges he supports
independence and claims the area as under Chinese control since the 13th
century.

"The Dalai Lama is more than a religious figure. He is a political exile
involved in activities designated to split the motherland," a Chinese
spokesman said.

"In their hearts, Tibetans cannot accept any choice announced by the
government that does not have the blessing of the Dalai Lama," says a
Tibetan monk in China who is familiar with the issue. The government did
not say that it had turned down the candidate of the Dalai Lama.

Western diplomats here say the leader had been under pressure to recognize
a reincarnation by Tibetan exiles frustrated with his efforts to achieve a
negotiated nonviolent settlement. "It's hard to see how any kind of talks
can continue in light of the current standoff," a diplomat said.

The dispute erupted after the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama recently
warned that time was slipping away for a negotiated settlement and that
Chinese settlers and economic policies are overwhelming Tibetan culture.
China has rehabilitated monasteries in Tibet that were destroyed during the
Cultural Revolution. But many Tibetans claim that Beijing has merely turned
the temples into museum-like centers under government control.

Contending that the Dalai Lama has violated Tibetan Buddhist tradition in
endorsing his designated candidate for Panchen Lama, Beijing has gone to
great lengths in recent days to shore up its claim to final endorsement of
any new Buddhist leader.

Finding a successor

Relying upon public testament from government-sanctioned religious leaders,
Beijing says the proper procedure for finding the successor is to designate
three boys as candidates who are then asked to identify the late Panchen
Lama's utensils with the help of prayer. The final test is to draw lots
from a golden urn placed beneath the statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of
Buddhism, with the chosen candidate receiving final government approval.
Officials accused the Dalai Lama of dismissing the drawing in violation of
his Buddhist sect and the last wishes of the late Panchen Lama. "I hope the
Panchen Lama's reincarnation will be confirmed through drawing lots in
front of Sakyamuni ... followed by approval by the State Council," says
Zhao Puchu, president of the official Buddhist Association of China, which
was headed by the former Panchen Lama.

The Chinese press said that leading Tibetan religious leaders criticized
the Dalai Lama's endorsement. "I'm very indignant about this," Gyaga
Losangtamqo, a member of the official search team for the Panchen Lama, was
quoted as saying in the China Daily. "It runs totally counter to the
religious rituals, and [we] will never recognize it."

In a statement released from his headquarters in Dharmsala, India, the
Dalai Lama said that traditional procedures have been strictly followed in
the search, which was conducted by the Tashi Lumpo Monastery, the
traditional home of the Panchen Lama in Shigatse, Tibet.