PRESS STATEMENT
Joint Statement to Repudiate the
so-called Order no. 5 of China’s State Administration of Religious
Affairs on Management Measures for the Reincarnation of ‘Living
Buddhas’ in Tibetan Buddhism
Ludicrous and unwarranted as it is, China’s State Administration of
Religious Affairs has come out with a document called the order no. 5,
containing 14 articles on Management Measures for the Reincarnation of ‘Living Buddhas’ in Tibetan Buddhism which,
it said, will take effect on 1 September. Replete with contradictory
statements and wild claims, the document reflects the ulterior or true
motives of the Chinese leadership. Since it will serve as a big tool
for the Chinese
government to brutally repress the innocent Tibetans under their
tyrannical rule and will also be recorded as a gross historical
misrepresentation we feel it is necessary to issue a statement,
repudiating this document through a brief analysis of its contents.
- Religious freedom, as it is universally accepted or
practised, means that all citizens can believe, or not believe, in any
religion; that a believer can, according to his or her will, practise
and propagate his or her religion; and especially that there should be
no state or political interference whatsoever in religious affairs.
These days, it is generally observed that in all countries save the
theocracies the state does not meddle, or exercise control over, any
of its citizen’s religious activities.The People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not only claim that it is an
atheist state, but has also included freedom of religious belief among
the fundamental rights of the people in its constitution. And yet it
continues to forcibly interfere in the religious activities of all
religions of the country, according to its political needs. This is
something that all humanity, and especially all religious believers,
should take great care to confront with. - The
document says that it guarantees the ” citizens’ freedom of religious
belief” and “respect Tibetan Buddhism’s practice of inheriting ‘Living
Buddha’ positions”. This is a shameless statement, since it is very
obvious that the order is but a means to trample upon the Tibetan
people’s religious freedom, as well as Tibetan Buddhism’s practice of
inheriting “Living Buddha” positions. During the last many centuries
since the recognition of Tulkus (or the “Living Buddhas”) came into
being, the principal disciples of the concerned lamas and the
responsible officials of their spiritual seats have freely recognised
their reincarnating beings, based on the latter’s faith in and
spiritual bond with the former. Never was there an occasion when they
had to seek approval from the state or its functionaries. Recognition
of Tulkus is something that can neither be appointed from above, nor be
elected by the general populace, or be bestowed upon someone as
“titles” or “positions”. Since the task involved is to search for the
place where the previous being has taken rebirth, it must be recognised
through the prognostic signs demonstrated by the
concerned reincarnating beings, in consultation with the lamas or
protective deities gifted with intuitive powers, and through other
traditional or religious methods of testing. Going by the religious and
social norms, it is crystal clear that this cannot be done at all by
the state or any political
organisation. - Highly-realised beings take rebirth
for the benefit of the Dharma and sentient beings. As such, their
meritorious service is not incumbent upon the state’s approval, or the
formal recognition accorded by it. Therefore simply by issuing an order
on measures for the recognition of Tulkus,
it cannot fulfil the order’s twin purpose of undermining or diluting
Tibetan Buddhism, and exercising control over the hearts and minds of
the Tibetan people through state-sponsored “Living Buddhas”. This will
soon become clear to those who call the shots in Beijing, for today it
is quite obvious to all whether the Tibetan people accept, or how much
respect and devotion they have for, the high lamas anointed by the
Chinese communist government. - The
document says that “the ‘Living Buddhas’ who have historically been
recognised by drawing lots from the Golden Urn shall have their
reincarnating souls recognised” by this very tradition. This shows the
means employed by Communist China to meet its selfish ends. To cite an
example, the Chinese government has while disregarding history or
tradition, and acting according to the political needs of the times
made two different decisions by firstly, trying to determine the
reincarnation of the 9th Panchen Lama without resorting to the Golden
Urn method; and secondly, even though the reincarnation of the 10th
Panchen Lama was already determined through the traditional or
religious system, China had issued strict instructions that the Golden
Urn method be evoked, but even then the rituals associated with the
Golden Urn were not properly followed. Moreover, they did not include
in it the names of all the candidates and forced their own list of
candidates. Everybody knows that the whole selection procedure was a
farce, devoid of even
the semblance of religious, traditional, historical and moral
considerations. - The
document further says that the “reincarnating living Buddhas shall not
be interfered with or be under the dominion of any foreign organisation
or individual”. This reflects the
principal objective of the order, as does the ultimate motive of the
Chinese government. At present His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the supreme
leader of the entire Tibetan Buddhist world and the heads of the four
schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the traditional Bon religion are
all residing in exile. If
a system is instituted, whereby all of them were to be denied the right
to offer guidance, and have the ultimate say, in matters relating to
the recognition of Tulkus in their respective schools, it will
completely jeopardise the unique tradition, or the religious system, of
recognising Tulkus. It will also increase the number of fake Tulkus,
enjoying the so-called state recognition. This, in turn, will erase the
great faith and respect the common people have for the Tulkus, thus
greatly contributing to the destruction and dilution of Tibetan
Buddhism. Moreover, through the implementation of this
order, the Buddhist followers in Tibet will be estranged from their
lamas. It will, in particular, pave the way for the state to anoint
fake reincarnations of high-ranking Tibetan lamas, disregarding those
true incarnate Tulkus who are born outside the country, or in other
country. It must, however, be emphasised that anyone would know that
this evil design of theirs will never lead to fruition; they are simply
engaging themselves in wishful thinking. - While
implementing these measures, the most important thing to note is that
the document does not specify the basis on which the decisions in
granting approval to, and recognition of, Tulkus will be taken. As
such, will the concerned officials of the Religious Affairs Bureaus of
the National People’s Congresses of the provincial and regional levels,
the National Religious Affairs Bureau and the State Council who are
supposed to be the competent authorities in this respect give
approval to recognise, and accord state recognition to, a Tulku after
having determined confidently that the inheritance lineage of the Tulku
is real; that his lineage has continued to
the present day; and that he is the true reincarnating soul of the
previous lama? Or will they follow their whims in giving approval and
according state recognition? If the former is true, then does it not
prove that those at the helm of China’s communist government have
accepted, and are actually practising, the Buddhist philosophy. In
which case, they must categorically state that they have abandoned
their communist ideology of viewing religion as opium that obstructs
the development of society and that it is a blind faith. Whereas if the
latter is true, then is it not an incontrovertible evidence of the fact
that the PRC’s overall policy on religion, including these measures for
managing Tulkus, is nothing but a deceitful lie. However, this lie will
not at all be able to fool the Tibetans and the people of the world. - Due
to the reasons cited above, the heads of all the religious schools of
Tibetan Buddhism; the monks, nuns, mantra holders and other lay
followers of the respective schools and the Department of Religion and
Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration collectively issue this
statement repudiating the so-called order no. 5 of China’s State
Administration of Religious Affairs that it is against the United
Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights and the PRC’s constitution; that
it is against history and the aspiration of the broad masses of people
who believe in Tibetan Buddhism.
Furthermore, it is a new weapon employed by the Chinese government to
undermine Tibetan Buddhism, and to insult and oppress the Tibetan
people.At the same time, we would like to make an emphatic appeal to the
Tibetans in general; and especially to the Tibetan leaders, officials,
party cadres and the general public in the so-called Tibet Autonomous
Region as well as other Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties
that as provided for in the PRC’s Law on Regional National Autonomy:
“If a resolution, decision, order or instruction of a state organ at a
higher level does not suit the conditions in a national autonomous
area, the organ of
self-government of the area may ….. cease implementing it after
reporting to and receiving the approval of the state organ at a higher
level,” they should impress upon their legitimate authorities that this
order is not in keeping with the actual prevailing situation of the
Tibetan autonomous areas, and so they should be allowed to repudiate,
and halt the implementation of this
order.Kalon for Religion and Culture
Central Tibetan Administration
