Golden Urn at coronary heart of row over Dalai Lama successor alternative: Tibetan chief and Chinas reverse stances, defined

Who talked about the urn?

“The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and different nice Buddhist figures have to be chosen by drawing heaps from a golden urn, and accredited by the central authorities,” mentioned Chinese overseas ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a press briefing. Mao was referring to a range methodology launched by the then emperor of the Tibetan area within the 18th century.

But the Dalai Lama has already reiterated his 2011 assertion during which he dismissed the ‘urn’ custom expressly. “The course of by which a future Dalai Lama is to be acknowledged [and…] the accountability for doing so will relaxation solely with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” his newest assertion learn.

What’s the urn methodology?

The urn methodology originated in 1792 underneath the Qing dynasty, extensively known as the rule of the Manchu ethnic group over the broader area of and round Tibet, now most of it in modern-day People’s Republic of China. The emperor had proclaimed a 29-point ordinance for “more practical authorities of Tibet”.

Ostensibly as a result of the Tibetans concentrated political energy too within the temporal leaders, the very first article on this ordinance addressed the strategy of selecting these leaders. The Qing dynasty or Manchus wished to make it extra clear, thus loosening the maintain of the then elites over it. 

Where’s the urn?

Current “guidelines” by China, although contested, broadly say a variety of “soul boys”, thought-about reincarnated residing Buddhas, are to be named by authorised temples; and certainly one of them will turn into the respective Lama after a draw of heaps from the urn. One of those golden urns is believed to be housed in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan area in China now, for selecting the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, whereas one other to pick the Mongolian Lama is housed in Beijing.

How does the ‘reincarnation’ work?

The Tibetan Buddhist perception is that the lamas have the powers to decide on the physique into which they’re reincarnated. In the lineage from 1587, the present Dalai Lama was recognised because the 14th in 1940, some years earlier than the Chinese completely annexed Tibet. The Qing dynasty, which had established the urn methodology, had successfully ceased to exist by then, therefore the 14th Dalai Lama was not chosen by the urn however thought-about nominated by his predecessor and different religious elders. 

During these years, the China-Tibet relationship was in a flux till it reached a breaking level with the 1959 annexation. That is when the Dalai Lama, who’s to quickly flip 90, fled Tibet and got here to India, making Dharamshala (extra particularly, the city of McLeodganj) in Himachal Pradesh his residence and headquarters.

China desires to now select the following Dalai Lama, utilizing the urn in its possession, additional asserting management over Tibet and its establishments.

How has present Dalai Lama rejected the urn?

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly referred to his 2011 assertion, during which he gave detailed causes for rejecting the urn methodology.

“During the battle between Tibet and the Gurkhas (1791-93), the Tibetan Government needed to name on Manchu navy assist. Consequently the Gurkha navy was expelled from Tibet, however afterwards Manchu officers [‘Qing dynasty’] made a 29-point proposal on the pretext of creating the Tibetan Government’s administration extra environment friendly. This proposal included the suggestion of selecting heaps from a Golden Urn to determine on the popularity of the reincarnations,” the assertion on the Dalai Lama’s web site reads.

The system, it says, was “imposed” by the Manchus or the Qing dynasty, “however Tibetans had no religion in it as a result of it lacked any religious high quality”. It provides that the ninth, thirteenth and the present (14th) Dalai Lama weren’t chosen by this methodology. 

“There has solely been one event when a Dalai Lama was acknowledged by utilizing this methodology,” the assertion argues, and says that even in that case, of the tenth Dalai Lama, “in actuality this process was not adopted; however in an effort to humour the Manchus it was merely introduced that this process had been noticed”.

Urn or no urn, what occurs now?

There is more likely to be a protracted battle of traditions and perceptions over the selection of the following Dalai Lama.

While the Chinese have made additional “guidelines”, persevering with the urn methodology by claiming its historicity, the Dalai Lama has mentioned it’s “significantly inappropriate for Chinese Communists, who explicitly reject even the concept of previous and future lives… to meddle within the system of reincarnation”.

The hypothetical state of affairs can, nevertheless, be summed up reasonably curtly for now. 

The Chinese are more likely to title a Dalai Lama of their very own, drawing the concept of legitimacy from the urn methodology. The Dharamshala-based Tibetan management, together with in fact the present Dalai Lama, is more likely to declare the respectable proper to pick the reincarnation. This twin alternative will, due to this fact, prolong the Tibet-China concern deeper into the temporal realm. India, which has been residence to exiled Tibetans for many years and is the birthplace of the Buddhist faith, is more likely to even be drawn additional into it.