Tibet

Today’s post is going back to my more informative posts rather than a personal post. A quick note before I go up on my soapbox, I apologize to all those looking forward to seeing the rest of my pictures from my Spain trip, I have been too lazy of late to post them, hopefully I will get them done soon. Also, for all of you who enjoy this post you can thank Blair who was having a discussion with me about this topic whilst in Spain. Now, back to the show

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I am not sure how familiar you all are with the recent history of Tibet or of the religious organization if the Tibetan Buddhists so here is a quick recap. In the 16th century a civil war broke out in Tibet between four major groups. Three of these groups were the three major religious sects of Tibetan Buddhists (the Gelugpa, the Kagyupa and the Jonang) the fourth group involved in the dispute was the secular leader the prince of Shang. The result of this conflict was such that the fifth Dalai Lama and the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism were able to unify all of the different factions that existed in Tibet under their rule. To cement this rule the fifth Dalai Lama moved the capital of Tibet from Drepung to Lhasa and began construction of the Potala Palace.

From this moment onwards, until 1950, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Buddhists have been the political and religious leaders of Tibet with their seat of power in Lhasa. With this in mind, the political and religious structure of Tibet is as follows: the overall leader of Tibet is the Dalai Lama who the Tibetans believe to be the present incarnation of the Avalokitesvara (the bodhisattva of compassion). The position of Dalai Lama is passed down through reincarnations. When one Dalai Lama dies a search is initiated to find the child who is the reincarnated Dalai Lama.

This process is the same for the second highest position in the Tibetan structure, the Panchen Lama. The Panachen Lama, in Tibetan thought, is the present incarnation of the Amitabha Buddha (the great scholar). One of the responsibilities of the Panchen Lama is finding the reincarnated Dalai Lama and then aiding in the education of the new child Dalai Lama (the Dalai Lama is, in turn, responsible for aiding in the finding of and education of the new child Panchen Lama). This process of reincarnation lineage has been in effect for 11 generations of Panchen Lama’s and 14 generations of Dalai Lama’s.

In 1950 the People’s Liberation Army of China entered Tibet and by 1951 had forced the signing of a treaty with the representatives of the Dalai Lama to allow for Tibet to come under China’s rule. This rule lasted until the late 1950’s when a rebellion took place (with the backing of the CIA) that threw Tibet into a state of chaos. The rebellion was eventually crushed and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee into exile to India where he remains today.

The Panchen Lama, however, did not flee and, for all intents and purposes, became a prisoner of the Chinese. The Chinese government placed the Panchen Lama as a figurehead in Lhasa claiming that he would be the head of the Government of Tibet in the absence of the Dalai Lama. After that the Chinese government began to break up what was originally Tibet into separate regions and also began to break up the monastic estates and introduced an entirely secular educations system. This process also lead to the destruction of approximately 6000 Buddhist monasteries all over Tibet.

During this time the Chinese government also claimed the right to choose the reincarnated lineage positions of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. This has lead to the current issue of the missing child of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. In 1989 the 10th Panchen Lama died suddenly at the age of 51. With the death of the 10th Panchen Lama the search for his reincarnation began and on May 14, 1995 the Dalai Lama chose Gedhun Choekyi Nyima to be his successor. The Chinese government, however, using their newly claimed right to choose the successor, chose Gyancain Norbu as the new Panchen Lama.

The conflict between the two sides came to an abrupt end when soon after the two choices were made, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family went missing from their home and have not been seen from or head of again. As of right now the current Panchen Lama is Gyancain Norbu and is the choice of the PRC (People’s Republic of China). The current Dalai Lama is 70 and will, in time, pass on. This will spark the search for his reincarnation. The Dalai Lama was quoted as saying that his reincarnation "will definitely not come under Chinese control; it will be outside, in the free world." Unfortunately, the one who is responsible for the search was put into the position by the PRC and therefore the search for, and the choice of, the next Dalai Lama will be heavily affected by the PRC.

The child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and his family are still missing and the future of the Tibetan Buddhist religion is now being put in danger of losing it’s leader. If the roles of Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are given over to the PRC then the future for a freed Tibet (and it’s culture) are lost.