[Buddha-l] China Issues New Rules on Reincarnation

[Katherine Masis]

I just noticed this at Tricycle.com, two months after
the news came out:

August 22, 2007

China Issues New Rules on Reincarnation 

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. 

http://www.tricycle.com/issues/innews/4059-1.html

Katherine Masis




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