Dalai Lama might pick successor, report says [View All]

Source: AP

TOKYO (AP) — The Dalai Lama says he may appoint a successor or rely on an election before his death in a break with tradition, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday, following recent orders that China must approve Tibet's spiritual leaders.

According to centuries of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the search for the reincarnation of spiritual leaders, or lamas — including the Dalai Lama — has been carried out by Tibetan monks following the leaders' deaths.

snip...

The exiled leader also accused Chinese authorities of stepping up persecution of Tibetan monks and civilians, and called the region's relations with the Chinese government "the most tense in recent years," according to the newspaper. China's new order, which came into force in September, states that all future lama appointments related to Tibetan Buddhism "must get government approval," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

It also prevents any outside source from having "influence" in the selection process, the agency reported. The order has led to concerns that the central government may forcibly select a pro-Beijing leader once the current popular Dalai Lama is dead.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-11-20-dalai-lama_N.htm

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This is Huge news. Fuck China!