The following is a chapter of

The Panchen Lama Controversy

Who will identify the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama?

Gendhun Choekyi Nyima

Upon the death of the Tenth Panchen Lama, both the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and the atheistic Chinese Communist Party initiated searches for his reincarnation. The search ordered by the 14^th Dalai Lama, proceeded according to the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. On May 14, 1995, after a six-year seach, the Dalai Lama recognized Gendhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11^thPanchen Lama of Tibet. Gedun Choekyi Nyima, son of Kunchok Phuntsok and Dechen Choedon, was born on April 25, 1989. On May 17, 1995, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, his family, and Chadrel Rinpoche and his Secretary, who both led the search party for this incarnate, were taken to Beijing.

In December 1995, The Chinese announced they had discovered the incarnation of the Panchen Lama in the son of one of their security officers. They enthroned the boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, in a carefully protected ceremony. Part of the reason for the great attention paid to selecting the 11^th Panchen Lama is that he will play a major role in identifying the next Dalai Lama.

At the time Gendhun Choekyi Nyima was considered the youngest political prisoner in the world. Since his disappearance, the Chinese government has changed its position on the whereabouts of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima many times. At first, it was claimed that Gendhun was with his family in their home village. In March 1996, it was reported that he was in protective custody. In the summer of 1996, the Chinese claimed that Gendhun Choekyi Nyima was back in the Tibetan community. In September 1998, it was claimed that the Panchen Lama was in their care to protect him from Tibetans. In September 1998, Mary Robinson (UN High Commissioner of Human Rights) was denied access to Gendhun Choekyi Nyima during her fact-finding trip to Tibet.

In October 2001, Chinese officials reported that the boy is safe, that he was leading “a normal life,” and that his parents did not want anyone to disrupt his studies. The officials also said the boy’s “parents want their privacy respected, that they don’t particularly want people to have access to the child and they want him to live a normal life and they don’t want to be bothered by people.” Beijing has at different times given differing accounts of the boy’s whereabouts; some accounts place him on Beijing’s outskirts, others in Tibet or in provinces near the Himalayan region.

References

• The Panchen Lama
  http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/wittke/Tibet/Panchen.html
• The official website of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery
  http://tashilhunpo.org/his-holiness-the-11th-panchen-lama