China Insists on Naming Living Buddhas*

The Associated Press
Friday, August 3, 2007; 9:26 AM

BEIJING -- Ratcheting up its control over Tibetan Buddhism, China on
Friday asserted the sole right to recognize living Buddhas,
reincarnations of famous lamas that form the backbone of the religion's
clergy.

All future incarnations of living Buddhas related to Tibetan Buddhism
"must get government approval," the official Xinhua News Agency said,
citing the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

China's officially atheistic communist government has increasingly
sought to direct Tibetan Buddhism, for centuries the basis of Tibet's
civil, religious, cultural and political life. Reincarnate lamas, known
as tulkus, often lead religious communities and oversee the training of
monks, giving them enormous influence over religious life in Tibet.

China already insists that only the government can approve the
appointments of the best-known reincarnates, including the Dalai and
Panchen Lamas, the No. 1 and No. 2 figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

A copy of the new rules posted to the administration's Web site said the
selection of reincarnates "must preserve national unity and solidarity
of all ethnic groups."

"The process cannot be influenced by any group or individual from
outside the country," it said in an apparent reference to the Dalai
Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama, 71, fled to India in 1959 amid an aborted uprising
against Chinese rule and Beijing has said it will pick his successor
when he dies.