The Associated Press reports that the Dalai Lama has agreed to hold an election among his people prior to his death to determine his successor. This is an enormous break with tradition and his religious beliefs, but the step has been taken for political reasons: to prevent China from appointing the next Dalai Lama.
Buddhists believe that when the Dalai Lama dies, he is reincarnated, and the leader is found, not chosen. For centuries, the search for the reincarnation of religious leaders, known as lamas — including the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual head — has been carried out by Tibetan monks following the leaders' deaths. For an election to be held prior to the death of the Dalai Lama is to deny their entire belief system.
China has been pressuring the monks of Tibet for years to come into line with the leadership of the Communist Republic, but the predominantly religious state has resisted. Recently, China has ramped up its efforts to secularize Tibet, and attempted to assert the atheist, communist government's iron-fisted control. The Dalai Lama has obviously resisted. By initiating elections, he has side-stepped China's ability to appoint a pro-Chinese leader in Tibet upon his death.
"If I die today, there will be some setback to the Tibetan struggle," he said "But the Tibetan spirit will not go away with my death."
No comments:
Post a Comment