China to Tibetan Buddhist monks: no reincarnating without our ok

Snip from Newsweek article:

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

Link. (Thanks, Joel M)

Photo: a young monk in Amdo province. Ganked from the eternally fascinating archives of photographer Raul Gutierrez, whose RSS feed is a daily source of joy.