Before long, Tibetan Buddhism will enter an unknown world – one without its current Dalai Lama. He has been the leader since he was chosen as a toddler more than 80 years ago. But the Dalai Lama is now 90, and talking openly about the process to pick his successor. Much has changed, however, since he was discovered by senior Buddhist monks in a village in north-west Tibet in 1937. Most pertinently, the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s and the subsequent exile of the region’s Buddhist leadership to…
Tag: Buddhism
Buddhist rebirth v Chinese control: the battle to choose the Dalai Lama’s successor
Few celebrations have the hills of Dharamshala abuzz like the birthday of the Dalai Lama. But this year, as monks and devotees flooded into the mountainous Indian city before the Tibetan spiritual leader turns 90 on Sunday, the mood of anticipation has been palpable. For years, the Dalai Lama had promised that around his 90th birthday he would make a long-awaited announcement about his reincarnation. Finally, in a video broadcast to Tibetan monks and leaders on Wednesday, he laid out what the future would hold. It came amid fears of…
Dalai Lama outlines process for choosing his successor after he dies – video
The Dalai Lama has said the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending years of speculation after he previously suggested he might be the last person to hold the role. In a video broadcast before his 90th birthday on Sunday, he said ‘all the followers have unanimously said that the reincarnation should continue’ The Guardian
Here’s What to Know About Tensions Over Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism has long been led by the Dalai Lama, the 88-year-old spiritual leader who fled Tibet in 1959 and has been living in exile in India ever since. Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and asserts that only the ruling Communist Party — an avowed atheist organization — can name his next incarnation and those of other high lamas. By seeking to control the religion’s leadership, China hopes it can all but erase the Dalai Lama’s influence in Tibet and any challenges to the party’s rule. As the…
An Exiled Publisher Creates a ‘Brotherhood Across Tibetans’
In the winter of 1982, Bhuchung Sonam left his home in Central Tibet. For five days, he trekked with his father across the Himalayas to the Nepali border. Only around 11 years old then, he knew little about what they were fleeing — China’s decades-long colonization of his homeland — and why. He also didn’t realize that he would never again see his homeland, his mother or his six siblings. After arriving in Nepal, Sonam and his father made a pilgrimage to Buddhist sites in neighboring India, the home of the…
Could a Ming dynasty Buddha found near an Australian beach rewrite history?
In 2018, a pair of Australian film-makers were doing runs with metal detectors in remote Western Australia as they prepared to shoot a documentary about the French exploration of Australia. The film was supposed to feature a hunt for scientific equipment believed to have been left in the area by the Baudin expedition of 1800-1803. There was no trace of Napoleonic-era exploration, but what they did find was something perhaps even more unusual. It was 15cm-tall bronze Buddha figure, weighing just over 1kg and – according to experts – likely…
Master Hsing Yun, Monk Who Spread Buddhism in China, Dies at 95
The Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a Buddhist monk who built a global network of temples that extended to mainland China, putting him at the vanguard of popularizing Buddhism in a country whose government had long been hostile to religion, died on Feb. 5 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He was 95. His death, at the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, was announced by his organization, Fo Guang Shan. No cause was given. Master Hsing Yun was criticized for his political ties, especially for his support of China’s authoritarian leader, President Xi Jinping. But…
China pushes adoption of language, cultural symbols in Tibet
BEIJING (AP) — A top Chinese official said Thursday that “all-round efforts” are needed to ensure Tibetans speak standard spoken and written Chinese and share the “cultural symbols and images of the Chinese nation.” Wang Yang made the remarks before a handpicked audience in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the home of Tibet’s traditional Buddhist leaders, at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Chinese invasion of the vast Himalayan region. China’s ruling Communist Party says it “peacefully liberated” Tibetan peasants from an oppressive theocracy and restored…