China's Panchen Lama calls for patriotism, says greed tainting Tibetan Buddhism
Comments made by Beijing-appointed religious leader came during the annual meetings of the nation’s main political advisory body in Beijing
Patriotism is the “mission” of religion in China, but greed is tainting Tibetan Buddhism, says the government-appointed second-highest spiritual leader of the faith, who was chosen by Beijing to win the hearts and minds of Tibetans.
Although officially atheist, China in 1995 selected Gyaltsen Norbu as Tibet’s 11th Panchen Lama, the number-two spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibet’s current spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing brands a dangerous separatist, had announced his own choice of a six-year-old boy to replace the previous Panchen Lama, but he was taken away by the authorities and has since vanished from public view.
Speaking at the yearly meeting of the advisory Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on Saturday, China’s Panchen Lama said that “as the retail economy grows, Buddhism has come under attack from commercialisation”.
“Some places use monasteries as money trees, turn them into family temples, turn them into shopping malls; while some fake living Buddhas and fake monks use dubious Buddhist teachings to swindle believers,” he said, according to state media.
“The historic mission for religion at this time is: to love the nation and love faith... and to contribute to achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,” he said, referring to a political goal of the ruling Communist Party.
