The Kingdom of Lost Boy 3
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The 10th Panchen Lama
When the 10th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Trinley Choekyi Gyaltsen, was born in 1938, Tibet was an independent country and the 14th Dalai Lama was just a young boy. The two tulkus were forced to mature quickly as the political situation in Tibet steadily worsened upon the Chinese invasion of eastern Tibet in 1949, the ensuing occupation, and the eventual annexation in 1959. This was the year that the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his life in danger, was forced to flee into exile with 80,000 of his people. The Panchen Lama, a young man of 21, stayed in Tibet and was appointed by the Communist Party as the acting chairman of the Preparatory Committee. He spent the next thirty years of his life traveling between Tibet and Beijing, gathering first hand information of the reality of the situation for Tibetans under Chinese rule. The Panchen Lama's observations during this tour formed the basis of his famous 70,000-character petition, which eventually triggered his condemnation and imprisonment by the Chinese government.
As the second most revered religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism and the most venerated lama remaining in Tibet after the Chinese invasion in 1949, the 10th Panchen Lama's death at 50 years of age was a blow to the Tibetan nation. And though there is mystery shrouding his death, no one could fully investigate what occurred in this Chinese occupied land.
The Search for the 11th Panchen Lama
But the story of the 10th Panchen Lama does not end with his death as reincarnation continues this story to the birth of the 11th Panchen Lama. Traditionally, H.H. the Dalai Lama identifies the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and guides his training through adulthood. But exiled in India, H.H. the Dalai Lama was not permitted by the Chinese government to contact the search party. This delayed the search, usually performed only two years after the death of a lama.
Finally a search party was formed with Chatral Rinpoche, the acting abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, as the head of the Chinese official search party. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Panchen Lama identification team is made up of high-level lamas from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Their guidance comes in the form of visions that prophetically direct their search to the true reincarnation. Following these mystical signs, the lama's test the most likely candidates by asking them to identify personal objects owned by the previous Panchen Lama. Oracles are then consulted and divinations performed to reconfirm the final candidate. H.H. the Dalai Lama himself normally carries out these final steps.
The search party compiled a list of numerous young boys whom could be the possible successor of the 10th Panchen Lama. Through hidden contact, H.H. the Dalai Lama received information and photographs of these boys. From his divinations, he identified and proclaimed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995.
By May 17, 1995, the six year-old boy and his parents disappeared from their home, reportedly taken into Chinese police custody for their protection. Denouncing H.H. the Dalai Lama's proclamation as illegitimate, the Chinese authorities drew lots from a golden urn to select their own Panchen Lama on November 29, 1995. Six year-old Gyaltsen Norbu was selected and subsequently enthroned on December 8, 1995 sparking off massive protests all over Tibet.
To validate their authority in choosing the Panchen Lama, the Communist government cites a recommendation made in 1792 by the Manchu rulers to the Tibetan Government. The Manchus (the monarchy government of China from 1644 - 1912 made up of non-ethnic Chinese rulers) suggested that in selecting high lamas the Tibetans should institute a lottery, which was referred to as the Golden Urn system. One name would be chosen and then forwarded to the Chinese Central Government for final approval.
The Tibetans have asserted all along that a lottery system should be used when there are two very good candidates - making it difficult to choose between them - and, that they have their own lottery system which predates the Manchu recommendation. But, more importantly, the Tibetans also assert that H.H. the Dalai Lama should have a role in identifying the Panchen Lama.
Now that the 11th Panchen Lama is held in detention at an unknown location, Tibetans and supporters of religious freedom around the world are concerned about his physical welfare and spiritual upbringing. Tibetan traditions require that the Panchen Lama receive the care and instruction at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery for his well-being and proper religious education. Despite worldwide appeals, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain in detention. China has refused to provide information of their location or condition and will not allow any independent observer to see them.
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