“… lightning-struck by the peripatetic ruminations of the Tibetan ruling class.”

Courtesy of Utah Phillips, talking about local Buddhists.

I have heard it said (ie I can’t remember where I got this snippet, and I’ve no intention to research it further) that there are actually two Dalai Lamas, taking it in turns to take bodily form. The story goes that one is a genuinely enlightened buddha, and that the other one isn’t, and is a bit of a fool. Apparently the current one is the one who isn’t. So, there ya go, I guess…

When the Lama died, Tibetans would locate the child who they figured he reincarnated as. This presupposes linear, chronic, sequential reincarnation, so it invites the skepticism of those who think all time is simultaneous, but whatever…

The current Dalai Lama was selected when he was 4. He could speak the Llassa dialect despite his town did not use it, among other signs.

While modern life might have disrupted this succession anyway, the Chinese atheists have most certainly targeted it.

Let’s all pray (to the god(s) or not of your choosing!) that the true reincarnated Dalai Lama gets elected – the modern way!

(1) The Tibetan Government-in-Exile has an elected prime-minister, named Samdhong Rinpoche, who was elected in 2001. At the time of that election, the DL made it clear that he was technically no longer the *political* head of Tibetans in exile. (That is what the article means by “not new news.”)

(2) Because the Government-in-Exile has an elected head, this does not mean (as Xeni suggested) that the DL himself will be elected. The political head of the government and the Dalai Lama are now different people. The DL “devolving power” to someone else means that he formally hands over political power to an elected representative (who does not become a Dalai Lama).

(3) The DL has made several statements about how the next DL will be selected. (And this is different from selecting an elected head of the government.) So, among the DL’s suggetions are: (a) the traditional reincarnation method, (b) electing a new DL, (c) the current DL appointing a new DL before dying. None of these have been settled upon; the Chinese government favors reincarnation, as they can then play a hand in selecting the reincarnate child.

(4) The DL was not “on the CIA’s payroll.” However, the CIA did have a long and well documented history of supporting the Tibetan resistance. The CIA was not able to make direct contact with the DL before he came to India. In the 1960′s, the CIA support for rebels (especially in Mustang) was much greater and more open. Good info is here: http://kefiblog.com/

(5) The DL appears to agree with all of you about the problems of theocracy, as he witnessed the terrible corruption and implosion of his own government. This was especially evident at the time of Reting Rinpoche, the regent for the current DL when he was in his minority. Tibetan people are also clearly aware of the limitations of their traditional government (which ended in 1959), as they watched it implode, and they experienced the effects of the government remaining so conservative that it could not change to protect them.

True story. My celebrity sightings have been entirely lame ever since.

Hooray!

I think it’s rather absurd that otherwise sane people support Tibetan theocratic fedualism.

http://eschatonic.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/dalia-lama-cia-payroll/

[citation needed]