Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama indicated that he will live 16 years more and then will announce that he will not reincarnate to save Tibetan Buddhism from China’s attempt to control the reincarnations.
China has come up with various plans, ploys and tactics to claim that Beijing has the sole authority to choose the next incarnation of Tibetan spiritual and one of the main consequences of the Chinese attempts is that the Dalai Lama has been perceived several times as indicating that he will not reincarnate any longer, according to Bitter Winter, published by Centre for Studies on New Religions.
As early as 2011, 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso openly stated that the question of his reincarnation, which is voluntary, was under consideration.
According to the publication, not announcing the next reincarnation is one of the ways to save Tibetan religious identity from the Chinese Communist Party.
As long as the CCP controls reincarnations, the only way for the Dalai Lama to prevent the Chinese from installing a Dalai Lama of their own may be to announce that he will not reincarnate.
Recently, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) Kashag (Cabinet) promulgated a firm stand on the 14th Dalai Lama.
The Kashag of the CTA declared its firm stand in prophecy as well as the Dalai Lama’s constant assurance to live up to 113 years while rejecting any sort of interference from any party who doesn’t believe in rebirth, stating, “Reincarnation of lama/tulku is a unique religious system of Tibetan Buddhism requiring someone to substantially believe in past and future lives.”
Kashag also reiterated the Dalai Lama’s personal authority in taking the complete decision about His Holiness’ reincarnation as per the successive instructions of His Holiness since 1969, and the announcement circulated on 24 September 2011.
The Communist Party of China frequently propagates distorted narrations about Tibet’s reincarnation system, especially about the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, to Tibetans in Tibet through workshops, conferences and public speeches, reported CTA.
The issue of Dalai Lama’s reincarnation has widely conversed globally with uncertainties and apprehensions, to which the Kashag deems necessary to promulgate its firm stand on the issue.
Moreover, since the Chinese government’s introduction of “Management Measures for the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism” in 2007, the Communist Party of China has consistently misused its authority the recognition of reincarnations, reported CTA.
The publication reported that Dalai Lama is a living Buddha and incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion.
He is the highest spiritual authority of the chief branch of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is recognized as the moral and political leader of the Tibetan people also by the majority of the other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and by non-Buddhist Tibetans as well, reported Bitter Winter.
