Chinese government regulates reencarnation
 

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The Next Lama: The Dalai Lama says he won't reincarnate in Tibet


BeliefWatch: Reincarnate

Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese control. Assuming he's able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks. "It will be a very hot issue," says Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford. "The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet, and so it's quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others."

So where in the world will the next Dalai Lama be born? Harrison and other Buddhism scholars agree that it will likely be from within the 130,000 Tibetan exiles spread throughout India, Europe and North America. With an estimated 8,000 Tibetans living in the United States, could the next Dalai Lama be American-born? "You'll have to ask him," says Harrison. If so, he'll likely be welcomed into a culture that has increasingly embraced reincarnation over the years. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 20 percent of all U.S. adults believe in reincarnation. Recent surveys by the Barna Group, a Christian research nonprofit, have found that a quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10 percent of all born-again Christians, embrace it as their favored end-of-life view. A non-Tibetan Dalai Lama, experts say, is probably out of the question

China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com



And I thought Catholics were weird.

:laughing:

I seriously thought that was a joke at first.

They're seriously fuckin' crazy dude.

They also are going to shoot missiles at the clouds to intimidate the rain during the '08 Olympic Games.

In addition they executed some Olympic official because athletes have been doping.

I wonder how they treat Women and Animals there?

That must be a coincidence though

I've seen a (graphic) video on Youtube of people in China that believe the more pain the animal feels before it dies, the more flavour it will have. There's these big dog sort of things that kinda look like raccoons that they were literally tearing apart alive. I couldn't watch the full video.

As for the Dalai Lama, that's pretty ridiculous. I saw him speak last year and he's an amazing person. What China's doing is pure bull****.

Shocking isn't it that people who take advantage of things that can't defend themselves would be considered unstable or crazy. Usually cultures that abuse animals and make Women second class citizens are very peaceful, sensible places. Look at the middle east for example.

They must've taken some time out of their busy schedule of eating cats and creating new diseases to think this up.


sounds logical, though.

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Thank you for taking racism to a whole new level.

its not that new.