New Delhi: Port-au-Prince silence. Lhasa anticipation. Beijing fury. One query set off a storm: Who would be the subsequent Dalai Lama?
The non secular chief of Tibetan Buddhism has spoken. His phrases stirred a hornet’s nest in China. Throughout a current handle, the Dalai Lama made his intentions clear. No authorities would determine who succeeds him. No political hand would direct the way forward for his lineage. His successor can be chosen by monks. By the Gaden Phodrang Belief. By historic rituals handed down over centuries. Not by state diktats or international interference.
This message silenced hypothesis inside the Tibetan neighborhood. For years, that they had lived with uncertainty. Would the 600-year-old Dalai Lama establishment proceed? Would the chain of reincarnation finish with him? The non secular chief ended the doubt. The road will proceed. The following Dalai Lama can be chosen. Custom will information the search. Religion will form the long run.
China’s reply got here rapidly and sharply. Overseas Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning instructed reporters in Beijing that the successor should be authorised by China.
She cited insurance policies from the Qing dynasty period. Again then, prime non secular appointments wanted imperial consent. That precedent, Beijing says, nonetheless stands. With out Chinese language approval, there will be no reputable non secular authority, particularly in Tibet.
Mao Ning added that China respects non secular freedom however solely inside the boundaries of the state. She emphasised the necessity for regulation. She stated non secular issues should keep below state management. This place clashed immediately with the Dalai Lama’s. He had firmly dominated out any authorities interference. No regime, no politician, no social gathering. Solely the Buddhist approach.
Again in Dharamshala, the Gaden Phodrang Belief confirmed the Dalai Lama had not but given written directions. Samdhong Rinpoche, a senior individual within the belief, supplied readability. The successor may very well be male or feminine. Nationality would maintain no weight. Tibetan roots wouldn’t be obligatory. Solely non secular benefit would information the selection.
This week, the Dalai Lama turns 90. Because the world celebrates his legacy, a brand new chapter looms. A chapter full of questions. Who finds the following Lama? Who accepts him? Will there be one or two claimants? The conflict is not non secular alone. It’s political and world.
China needs management. Tibet needs continuity. And the world watches because the shadow of the long run stretches throughout the mountains of Lhasa and the corridors of Beijing.