This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Prologue
The Panchen Lama, meaning “Great Scholar,” is the highest-ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The sect controlled western Tibet from the 16th century until the establishment of Chinese sovereignty in 1951.
The successive Panchen lamas form a reincarnation lineage, and they are believed to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha.
The Panchen Lama bears part of the responsibility of identifying the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa, a fact that appears crucially important to the Chinese government when it comes to establishing their territorial claim on Tibet.
On May 14, 1995, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama identified a six-year-old boy by the name of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama, but only three days later the boy and his parents were taken into Chinese custody.
In November of the same year the Chinese had officially enthroned six-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu, the son of two communist party members, as the 11th Panchen Lama.
The Panchen Lama Controversy
My research on the Panchen Lama controversy is, to a good part, based on Online resources, i.e. websites I find through search engines. The mere intention to write about the subject is pointing to a specific aspect of the troubled Tibetan-Chinese relationship, admittedly a crucial aspect for the future of both countries. Writing about this particular aspect must include a presentation of the historical background, but it is important to emphasize that my intention was not to write a history book. My account on the rich Tibetan history can only be incomplete, but it is, nevertheless, sufficient to understand the controversy. In the same sense, I do not claim to have new and unique insights on the Tibetan problem. My research on the topic is, in all consequence, a data collection focussed on a single issue and put into one work.
While my sympathies are primarily with the Tibetan people and not with the Chinese government, I have tried to present the facts as objective as possible. However, I do take the liberty of referring to the 14th Dalai Lama as “His Holiness.” The Dalai Lama’s path during this lifetime and his next incarnation are inextricably linked to that of the Panchen Lama.
Chapter 1 – Tibetan Spiritual-Political System
- At various times from the 1640s until the 1950s, a government nominally headed by the Dalai Lamas, a line of spiritual political leaders, ruled a large portion of the Tibetan region. During some of this period, the Tibetan administration was subordinate to the Qing Dynasty. Read more…
Chapter 2 – The 10th Panchen Lama
- The Tenth Panchen Lama (1938-89) was enthroned in 1951. In 1959, after the escape of the Dalia Lama to India, he was appointed acting chairman of the ‘Prepartory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region,’ which would be established in 1965. Read more…
Chapter 3 – The 14th Dalai Lama
- Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, usually shortened to Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Dhondup, July 6, 1935) is the 14th Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader revered among the people of Tibet. He is the head of the government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors. As well as beingTibet’s spiritual leader, Dalai Lamas have traditionally been the country’s absolute ruler. Read more…
Chapter 4 – The Reign of the 14th Dalai Lama
- Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, usually shortened to Tenzin Gyatso was born as Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935. He is the 14th Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader revered among the people of Tibet. He is the head of the government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. Read more…
Chapter 5 – The 70,000 Character Petition
- The 10th Panchen Lama’s inevitable fall from grace came in 1962, when he addressed a 70,000 character petition to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, documenting the terrible living conditions faced by the people of Tibet, the deaths in forced labour camps, and the harm being done to his country in the name of socialist reform. This audacious criticism of the Chinese occupation touched on all aspects of life in Tibet, from the misguided agricultural reforms to religious persecution and systemic racism. Read more…
Chapter 6 – The Incarnation of the 11th Panchen Lama
- The present (11th) incarnation of the Panchen Lama is a matter of controversy. The People’s Republic of China asserts it is Gyaltsen Norbu, while the current Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima on May 14, 1995. The latter vanished from public eye shortly after being named. Read more…
Chapter 7 – Chinese Rule of Tibet
- The PRC continues to portray its rule over Tibet as an unalloyed improvement, but foreign governments continue to make protests about aspects of PRC rule in Tibet as groups such as Human Rights Watch report alleged human rights violations. Most governments, however, recognize the PRC’s sovereignty over Tibet today, and none have recognized the Government of Tibet in Exile in India. Read more…
Chapter 8 – Political Significance of the 11th Panchen Lama
- The political significance of the current 11th Panchen Lama – assigned by the Chinese government – has all to do with the Chinese territorial claim on the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Dalai Lama, living in exile in India, is outside of Chinese control, but his next incarnation may very well be assigned by the Chinese government, and consequently confirmed by the Panchen Lama. Read more…
Chapter 9 – The Central Tibetan Adminstration
- Today, the CTA has all the departments and attributes of a free democratic administration. It must be noted, though, that the CTA is not designed to take power in Tibet. In his manifesto for future Tibet, entitled the Guidelines for Future Tibet’s Polity and Basic Features of its Constitution, His Holiness the Dalai Lama stated that the present exile administration would be dissolved as soon as freedom is restored in Tibet. Read more…
Chapter 10 – The Last Dalai Lama?
- On November 27, 2007, while attending an interfaith conference in the north Indian city of Amritsar, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama suggested he might not be reborn, ending a 600-year-old tradition of reincarnation as a small boy after his death. Read more…
Chapter 11 – Gedhun Choeky 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 14th 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 11thPanchen Lama of Tibet. Read more…
Chapter 12 – Gyaltsen Norbu
- One of the critical responsibilities of the Panchen Lama is to identify reborn Dalai Lamas and act as regent while the Dalai Lamas are children. It’s beyond question that Beijing is preparing for the death of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and Gyaltsen Norbu is an important part of their plans. Their Boy is being puffed up so that he becomes the public face of Tibetan Buddhism when His Holiness dies. Beijing must also expect the world will recognize whatever boy Gyaltsen Norbu is ordered to choose as the 15th Dalai Lama. Read more…
Chapter 13 – The Princess of Tibet
- Her father was the 10th Panchen Lama, a Buddhist monk ranking close to the Dalai Lama in Tibet’s spiritual leadership, who died in 1989. Her mother, Li Jie, is a former doctor in China’s People’s Liberation Army and granddaughter of a famous general in China’s civil war. Read more…
References
Literature
Tibet in the News
China’s Money and Migrants Pour Into Tibet
The New York Times
July 24, 2010
Han Chinese workers, investors, merchants, teachers and soldiers are pouring into remote Tibet. After the violence that ravaged this region in 2008, China’s aim is to make Tibet wealthier — and more Chinese. Chinese leaders see development, along with an enhanced security presence, as the key to pacifying the Buddhist region. The central government invested $3 billion in the Tibet Autonomous Region last year, a 31 percent increase over 2008. Tibet’s gross domestic product is growing at a 12 percent annual rate, faster than the robust Chinese national average. Read more…
Tibet protesters fired on by Chinese security forces in 2008 – report
guardian.co.uk
July 22, 2010
Chinese security forces fired indiscriminately on demonstrators and brutally beat detainees during unrest in Tibetan areas in 2008, alleges a report released today by Human Rights Watch. After interviewing 200 refugees and travellers, the organisation also says that hundreds of those arrested remain unaccounted for after what was the region’s most serious unrest for decades. The riots in Lhasa on 14 March, in which officials say 21 died and hundreds were injured, followed protests by monks. Unrest then rippled across other Tibetan areas of China. Chinese officials have said the security forces exercised “extreme restraint”, and the commander of the People’s Armed Police has said its actions complied with both domestic and international law. Read more…
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