China Issues New Rules on Reincarnation
August 22, 2007
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has already said that he will not be reborn in an are under Chinese control. How does he know this? "Logically," he says, "the previous life escaped from Chinese hands so the next life should also be out of Chinese control." That might strike some as a little silly, but far from laughing, the People's Republic recently issued a proclamation banning tulkus from reincarnating without government permission. Now that is surely totalitarianism at its best, right up there with Stalin telling Lenin's widow, "If you can't behave, we'll find Lenin a new widow."
It isn't clear why an officially atheist government with ironclad control over a small and dwindling Tibetan minority would bother with regulating reincarnation, but remember that China is also fighting with the Vatican over the right to appoint bishops. They fight with everyone who operates within their borders (except certain businesses) and many who do not. Why are businesses exempt? China's ambassador to the U.S. puts it this way: "The most urgent and realistic task for China is to concentrate on economic growth," Zhou said, "and to create a better life for people."
So China is in deadly earnest with this policy, which they say is merely a formalization of a long-standing government position. They are tireless in interfering with the succession of senior monks. They are ultimately hoping to install a new Dalai Lama, of course, so expect the Tibetan government-in-exile to have some tricks up its sleeve when the time comes.
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