Throughout this event I've tried to be as open-minded as possible. It is obvious that a good amount of Western reporting on this situation has been farcical so I have been trying to gain a perspective from various sources.

The one point that has been truly bothering me is the issues surrounding the current Panchen Lama and Chinese interference in the Buddhist religion. From what I understand the official Panchen Lama, as named by the Dalai Lama, was kidnapped in 1995 and replaced by a Chinese approved "puppet" Panchen Lama. His whereabouts are currently unknown and there is no certainty that he is even alive. I've seen lots of anger in regards to the attack upon Jin Jing, with it being called barbaric and inhuman. What about the kidnapping of a 6-year old boy by a government?

I also find this kidnapping extremely disturbing in the fact that it shows the Chinese governments wishes to control one of the most important religions in the world. Once the Dalai Lama is dead the government will essentially be able to replace him with a Chinese puppet. We all know that the Buddhist religion is a very important part of Tibetan culture, so wasn't the Dalai Lama essentially correct when he accused the Chinese government of cultural genocide?

yes, someone please answer this, i would like to know more about it too

I found some information regarding the appointment of the living Buddhas (Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama etc.):

http://www.tibetinfor.com.cn/eng ... 003120053195657.htm

.....Considering this, Emperor Qianlong decided to improve the selection of reicarnated Living Buddhas. By doing so, the Central Government could tightly control the process of searching and confirming reincarnated soul boys so as to strenthen the local administration over Tibet and stabilize southwestern borders.

In 1792, the Qing troops drove out the Gurkha invaders. After that, in his edict to order Amban(official stationed in Tibet) to discuss articles in ordinance, Emperor Qianlong pointed out:"From now on, La-mo Chos-skyong and the other three Chos-skyongs are ordered to consult deities in religious ritual, determing a number of reincarnated soul boys. Lots written with their names and dates of birth will be put into a gold urn, and Amban, together with Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama, will draw lots in front of the public and confirm reincarnated soul boys. The former presumptuous confirmation and secret transmission will be forbidden forever." In 1793, Twenty-nine Article Ordinance for the More Efficient Governing of Tibet was issued, which showed that Living Buddha reincarnation system governed by the Central Government had been officially established.

Act, consisting of five parts, mentions the system of drawing lots from a gold urn. part one and Part five explain the reason of the establishment of this system. Part two explains the basic principles, making some stipulations: languages on lots, selection of lot-drawers and choice of the site for this ceremony. It reads:"When reincarnated soul boys are to be confirmed, their names and dates of birth will be written in Manchurian, Han and Tibetan languages on metal lots, which will then be placed in a gold urn provided by His Majesty as a symbol of his suppot for the dGe-lugs-pa Sect. This procedure, performed in the presence of the Four Guardians of Dharma, will be followed by a seven-day prayer session conducted by Living Buddhas of great learning. Then the reincarnation will be officially confirmed in front of the statue of Sakyamuni in Jo-khang Temple by the Hutuktus and Amban." Part three makes a special stipulation for only one boy candidate chosen, it reads:"When only one soul boy is determined, a blank metal lot will be put in the urn in addition to the one bearing the name of that soul boy. if the blank lot is drawn, that soul boy will not be reconized as the reincarnation, and a new one shall be sought." Part four clearly stipulates:"When confirming the reincarnation of Dalai Lamas and Panchen Erdeni, lots will be written in Manchurian, Han and Tibetan languages, and they will be confirmed in the same manner". Emperor Qianlong stressed the importance of drawing lot from the gold urn in his famous work entitled On Lamas, adding some new items concerning the ceremony of drawing lots from a gold urn held in Yonghe Temple for the reincarnation of grand Living Buddhas in the Mongolian region and the joint drawing of lots by the office of the Board for National Minority Affairs and Dza-sag Lama, who kept the seal.

In 1796, vPhag-pa-lha Hutuktu was confirmed as the first Living Buddha in the Tibetan Living Buddha reincarnation system through the method of drawing lots from a gold urn. In 1815, the Ninth Dalai Lama passed away. In 1822, Emperor Daoguang instructed Amban Wen Gan and Regent to bring three boy candidates to Lhasa to have strict tests. If they were very intelligent, they would be confirmed through the method of drawing lots from a gold urn. Otherwise, the lot-drawing ceremony would be held for three other boy candidates to be chosen. In the same year, presided over by Wen Gan, the first lot-drawing ceremony to confirm the reincarnated soul boy of the Dalai Lama was held in the Potala Palace. After the establishment of the system of drawing lots, the central governments always retained the power to deal affairs concerning the lot-drawing. Each time, it would dispatch officials to preside over lot-drawing ceremonies or Ambans to supervise them. During the period of 100 years, only in Tibet, over 70 reincarnated soul boys of Living Buddhas above the Hutuktus rank were confirmed through this method in more than 30 reincarnation system in the dGe-lugs-pa Sect, the bKav-brgyud-pa Sect and the rNying-ma-pa Sect.....
----------------------------------------------

http://www.tibetinfor.com.cn/eng ... 003120053195527.htm

Based on the Twenty-nine-Article Ordinance for the More Efficient Governing of Tibet issued during Emperor Qianlong's reign, a complete set of historical conventions in governing the reincarnation of Living Buddhas was established, which was marked with the drawing lots from a gold urn. Following this historical convention, the Central Government of the Republic of China worked out related administrative rules and regulations so as to maintain system.

All the documents and historically records show that Dalai Lama's choice of Panchen Lama is not valid without the approval of central government. And in this case, the Panchen Lama chosen by Dalai Lama did NOT have the approval of the central government and hence can NOT be considered as 'official' as it is not even valid!

[ Last edited by Jigong at 20-4-2008 22:33 ]

Quote:

Original posted by Jigong at 20-4-2008 22:31
All the documents and historically records show that Dalai Lama's choice of Panchen Lama is not valid without the approval of central government. And in this case, the Panchen Lama chosen by Dalai Lam ...

But the Panchen Lama chosen by the government has not been approved by the Dalai Lama, is his approval not required as well?

Not to mention I'm unsure about the validity of that website, its hard for me to trust any source from China due to the heavy censorship and lack of transparency.

And also, how do you feel about the kidnapping of a six year old child, who has not been seen since?

Quote:

Original posted by angoose at 21-4-2008 04:47
And also, how do you feel about the kidnapping of a six year old child, who has not been seen since?

Kidnapping is what the Tibetans in exile claimed.

The boy and the family are living happily, well protected from violent Tibetan-in-Exile!

Quote:

Original posted by angoose at 21-4-2008 04:46

But the Panchen Lama chosen by the government has not been approved by the Dalai Lama, is his approval not required as well?

Not to mention I'm unsure about the validity of that website, its hard ...

You can always look for other sources!
However, procedure for  selection of Living Buddhas during Qing China is well known fact.

Quote:

Original posted by Jigong at 21-4-2008 13:42


Kidnapping is what the Tibetans in exile claimed.

The boy and the family are living happily, well protected from violent Tibetan-in-Exile!

Any proof of this?

angoose    I know not much about Panchen Lama. But I know he was not only 6 years old when he was 'Kidnaped'. Simple facts: he was born in 1938. People's republic of China was found in 1949.  When 1954, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama went to Beijing, he was 16.

I have found some information from Wikipedia, if you interested to read more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choekyi_Gyaltsen

He was born on February 19, 1938 in today's Xunhua Salar Autonomous County of Qinghai, to Gonpo Tseten and Sonam Drolma and given the name Gonpo Tseten. On June 3, 1949, officials of the Ninth Panchen Lama recognized Gonpo Tseten as the tenth incarnation of the Panchen Lama. He was enthroned on June 11, 1949 in Amdo (Qinghai) under the auspice of Chinese officials after the Kuomintang administration approved the selection. He was not recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso until the beginning of negotiations on the 17-Point Agreement in 1951.

In 1844, Palden Tenpai Nyima, the Seventh Panchen Lama had had a summer palace for the Panchen Lamas built about 1 km south of Tashilhunpo Monastery containing 2 chapels in walled gardens.

Lobsang Trinley Lh锟斤拷ndrub Ch枚kyi Gyaltsen, the 10th Panchen Lama, added sumptuous sitting rooms and audience room to the summer palace for the Panchen Lamas built in 1844, Palden Tenpai Nyima. It is now a popular picnic spot.

In September 1954, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama went to Beijing to attend the first session of the first National People's Congress, meeting Mao Zedong and other leaders.

In 1956, the Panchen Lama went to India on a pilgrimage together with the Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, the Panchen Lama decided to stay.

After a tour through Tibet, in May 1962, he met Zhou Enlai to discuss a petition he had written, criticizing the situation in Tibet. The petition was a 70,000 character document that dealt with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan people during and after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. The initial reaction was positive, but in October 1962, the PRC authorities dealing with the population criticized the petition. Chairman Mao called the petition "... a poisoned arrow shot at the Party by reactionary feudal overlords."

In 1964, he was imprisoned. The Panchen's situation worsened when the Cultural Revolution began. The chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng wrote in March 1979 a letter denouncing the inhuman conditions of the Chinese Qincheng Prison where was imprisoned the 10th Panchen Lama and that drove him to a suicide attempt.In October 1977, he was released but held under house arrest in Beijing until 1982. After his release, he was considered by the PRC authorities to be politically rehabilitated and he then rose to important positions. He served as Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress.

In 1979, he married a Han Chinese woman and in 1983 they had a daughter (Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo, which was considered highly controversial behavior for a Gelug lama.

In 1989, the 10th Panchen Lama died suddenly in Shigatse at the age of 51, five days after delivering a speech critical of the Chinese government's policy in Tibet. At the same year,in 1989, Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.


I also want to hear more from somebody knows more about him, since he was often used to accuse the Chinese government.

[ Last edited by kukkaukkonen at 21-4-2008 16:06 ]