China’s Tibetan Buddhists urged to obey reincarnation rules as Dalai Lama mulls successor

Top monks and religious experts gather for seminar aimed at making Tibetan Buddhism ‘compatible with socialist society’

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Monks and religious experts attend a meeting in Lanzhou, Gansu province on Tuesday about policies and regulations governing the “reincarnation of living Buddhas” in Tibetan Buddhism. Photo: Weibo/琼布活佛

Published: 12:00pm, 6 Sep 2024

Senior Buddhist figures in China have emphasised the importance of government approval in the recognition of reincarnated Tibetan religious leaders, at a meeting this week less than a year before the Dalai Lama is expected to announce his succession plan.

More than 50 Tibetan Buddhist monks and religious experts attended a seminar in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Tuesday about policies and regulations for the “reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism”, according to Tibet.cn, an official Beijing-based website.

The Wednesday report said the attendees were from “related provinces and regions”, referring to areas with significant Tibetan populations, including Tibet autonomous region and the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu.

Several elite monks from the official Buddhist Association of China gave speeches, followed by a discussion among monks and experts.

The report did not give details of the speeches and discussions, but said the meeting adhered to Xi Jinping Thought and “earnestly implemented” the ruling Communist Party’s policies on religious work and Tibet, adding that the seminar would help “promote the healthy transmission” of Tibetan Buddhism and make it “compatible with socialist society”.

It added that the seminar would “guide monks and [Tibetan Buddhism] followers to a more objective understanding of the historical customs, religious rituals, and policies and regulations of the reincarnation of living Buddhas”.