How is the ritual complex of Tibetan Buddhists to find the successor of the Dalai Lama (and why could he unleash a conflict with China)

The Dalai Lama is considered the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of compassion, a divine figure that returns again and again to the world to relieve the suffering of living beings.

The process to happen it implies the search for a child who, after a series of mystical signs and tests, is recognized as his spiritual continuation.

In addition, this time it will be marked by unprecedented geopolitical tension.

The current Dalai Lama was discovered as follows: according to his official biography, with only two years he recognized personal objects of his predecessor and said “it's mine, it's mine.”

That spontaneous recognition was one of the key indications for the monks who visited him concluded that Lhamo Thondup, as the child born in a remote village of the Northeast of the Tibet was then called, was the reincarnation number 14 of the Dalai Lama.

Before that, the road had been guided by mystical signs, visions and rituals that are part of the complex succession process.

It all begins after the death of Dalai Lama, when the high lams – spiritual authorities – enter a period of mourning and contemplation.

During that time they observe signals that can provide indications about the place where their spiritual leader has reborn.

One of the best known practices is the consultation of the Sacred Lhamus LATSO lake, in the south of Tibet, where the regent of the moment or a high -ranking monk observes the surface of the water in search of revealing visions.

In the case of Lhamo Thondup, the then regent saw three tibetan letters and the image of a monastery with a turquoise roof, a hill and a house with unusual gutters.

All that led to the monastery of Kumbum and later to the village of Takttser, where the child lived.

Once a probable zone is located, the monks travel villages and villages in search of children born shortly after the death of the previous Dalai Lama.

In this search, attention is also paid to extraordinary events, prophetic dreams, unusual behaviors and birth coincidences.

Possible candidates are subjected to evidence: they must, for example, recognize belongings of the previous Dalai Lama among a group of similar objects.

Only if these tests overcome and the signs coincide, the child is considered to be reincarnation.

Once recognized, the child is taken to a monastery and begins his spiritual and philosophical formation of several years that will culminate with the enthronement ceremony as a new Dalai Lama.

This is traditionally celebrated in the historic temple of Potala in the sacred city of Lhasa and marks the official recognition of the child as a spiritual leader of Tibet.

During this ritual the child, already dressed in the monastic robe, is taken to the throne and is conferred a new religious name in an act that includes prayers, songs and offerings with the participation of high lams, monks and religious authorities.

At a later stage the child is taken to the Jokhang temple, where he is ordered as a novice monk through a ceremony known as Taphue, which includes haircut as a symbol of renunciation of worldly life.

Disguised as a soldier with the escort of a small group of faithful, the Dalai Lama crossed the Himalayan mountain range in 1959 to exile in India after the failure of a revolt against the domain of the People's Republic of China, which had occupied the Tibet nine years before.

The spiritual leader, who was then 23, was welcomed by Indian authorities and settled in the town of Dharamsala, in the north of the country, where he set the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile and rebuilt his political and religious community.

Since then, Beijing has considered Dalai Lama a “separatist”, has forbidden the exhibition of his image in Tibet and has pursued any public sample of cult towards him.

For his part, the Tibetan leader has consistently rejected Chinese control over Tibet and his religion.

Thus, the succession issue is raised as an important source of conflict between Chinese communist authorities and the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy.

In his book “La Voz de los without voice”, published in March, the Dalai Lama predicts that his reincarnation will not be born in the territory controlled by China, but “in the free world.”

The task of identifying and locating the child in which he will allegedly reincarnate would remain in the hands of Gaden Phodrang Trust, the foundation that Dalai Lama himself created in 2011 to coordinate his spiritual and humanitarian work.

China, however, maintains that the selection of the future Dalai Lama must be approved by the central government after extracting from a golden urn the name of a candidate, a method introduced by the emperors of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century.

Beijing alleges that this procedure has historical precedents and that the continuity of Tibetan Buddhism must adjust to national sovereignty.

In any case, most Tibetan Buddhists see Chinese interference skepticism, especially taking into account the precedent of Panchen Lama.

In 1995, Dalai Lama publicly recognized a six -year -old boy as the reincarnation of Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Days later, the child and his family were arrested by the Chinese authorities and did not know each other again.

Instead, Beijing imposed on his own Panchen Lama, considered illegitimate by much of the Tibetan Buddhist community.

Thus, after the death of the current spiritual leader, the situation that two Dalai Lamas arise: one recognized by the Gaden Phodrang Trust and another designated by the Chinese authorities in Tibet.

Dalai Lama himself has already contemplated this scenario: “In the future, if they see that two Dalai Lamas appear, one from here, in a free country, and another chosen by China, nobody will respect the second,” he said in an interview in 2019.

His comments anticipate the dilemma around his succession, which could mark an intense dispute in which religion, identity and politics would come into play, and in which China and Tibetans in exile would not be the only ones involved.

India, a country that hosts the Dalai Lama and more than 100,000 Tibetans in exile, grants a high strategic value to its presence in Dharamsala.

The spiritual leader has maintained close relations with all the Indian prime ministers since independence and his figure works as a diplomatic asset in the face of China's progress in the region.

Thus, experts point out that India would oppose China to impose a Dalai Lama related to their interests and use it as a propaganda tool or territorial control in the Himalayas, the scene of usual friction between both Asian powers.

The United States, meanwhile, has also shown some interest in the future of the institution.

In 2020, the US Congress approved the Tibet Policy and Support Law, which explicitly supports the right of Dalai Lama to determine its own reincarnation and contemplates sanctions against Chinese officials who interfere in the process.

Subscribe here To our new newsletter to receive every Friday a selection of our best content of the week.

And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and act.