In 1995, the Chinese government caused the disappearance of the Dalai Lama’s choice for the successor of the Panchen Lama, the second most important tulku lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, when he was 6 years old. China’s threats to manipulate the selection process is believed to be a way to impose control on the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lama is revered by Tibetan people and his exile has created anger inside Tibet. The Dalai Lama fled in 1959 and set up a government in exile. In 1950 China’s communist government invaded Tibet. Today the selection process for the next Dalai Lama remains uncertain.
He was able to correctly choose all items including a drum used for rituals and walking stick. After this meeting, the search party came back again to test the young boy with further objects of the previous Dalai Lama. These beads were previously owned by the 13th Dalai Lama. The search party did not show who they were to the villagers, to prevent any manipulation of the process.Īs a little boy, he remembers asking for the rosary beads the monk wore around his neck. The 14th Dalai Lama recounts in his memoirs about his early life that he remembered recognizing one of the monks in the search party, even though he was dressed as a servant. When the search party, consisting of the 13th Dalai Lama’s closest monastic attendants, arrived at his house, there were immediate signs that this was the one they were looking for.
A 2-year-old boy, named Lhamo Dhondup, was just the right age for a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, based on the time of his death. The district of Dokham, which is in the northeast of Tibet, matched all of these signs. This was interpreted to mean that the next Dalai Lama could have been born somewhere in the northeastern part of Tibet.ĭisciples also checked Lhamoi Latso, a lake that is traditionally used to see visions of the location of the Dalai Lama’s rebirth. However, after a few days his head had tilted to the east, and a fungus, which was viewed as unusual, appeared on the northeastern side of the shrine containing the body. In the case of the 13th Dalai Lama, after his death, his body lay facing south. There are usually predictions about where and when a Dalai Lama will be reborn, but further tests and signs are required to ensure the proper child is found. Disciples closest to the Dalai Lama set to identify signs indicating the location of his rebirth. The search for him began soon after the 13th Dalai Lama died. The current Dalai Lama was enthroned when he was 4 ½ years old and renamed Tenzin Gyatso. Tibetan Buddhism has hundreds, if not thousands of such lineages, but the most respected and well-known is the Dalai Lama. Tibetan Buddhism has developed this idea of the bodhisattva further into identified lineages of rebirths called “tulkus.” Any person who is believed to be a rebirth of a previous teacher, master, or leader, is considered a tulku. East Asian and Tibetan Buddhists, as part of the Mahayana sect, believe bodhisattvas have reached this highest realization.įurthermore, Mahayana Buddhists believe bodhisattvas choose to be reborn, to experience the pain and suffering of the world, in order to help other beings attain enlightenment. The 14 generations of Dalai Lamas, spanning six centuries, are linked through their acts of compassion.įor Buddhists, the ultimate goal is enlightenment, or “nirvana”-a liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The Dalai Lama is a highly influential figure.Īll of the Dalai Lamas are thought to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara.
The Dalai Lama’s succession today is not just a religious issue, but a political one as well. In 2011, however, the Chinese foreign ministry declared that only the government in Beijing can appoint the next Dalai Lama and no recognition should be given to any other succession candidate.Īs a scholar of transnational Buddhism, I have studied Buddhism and its refashioning in the context of globalization. The successor to the Dalai Lama is traditionally located by senior monastic disciples, based on spiritual signs and visions. Winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and one of the most recognizable faces of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is an important figure bringing Buddhist teachings to the international community. With his advancing age, the question of who will succeed him, has become more pressing. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual leader of Tibet, just turned 84 on July 6. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Brooke Schedneck, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Rhodes College
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