The question of who will be recognised as the 15th reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is not merely a matter of religious tradition—it is a litmus test for the global community’s commitment to spiritual freedom and cultural autonomy.

At the epicentre of this issue lies a stark confrontation: between the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, rooted in centuries of spiritual wisdom, and the People’s Republic of China, whose bureaucratic apparatus seeks to politicise reincarnation itself.

China’s 2007 directives on the management of reincarnated lamas—mandating state approval and invoking the archaic ‘Golden Urn’ method—are not only a distortion of Tibetan religious practice but a calculated attempt to subjugate faith under authoritarian control. These measures, cloaked in the language of regulation, are instruments of ideological domination, designed to erode the spiritual sovereignty of Tibet and replace it with state-sanctioned orthodoxy.

The Buddhist Renaissance, initiated in the wake of systemic religious restrictions, has unfolded within a contested ideological space, marked by fundamentally differing visions of religion’s role in contemporary Tibet. The institution of reincarnation (Tib. trulku, sprul sku) is one of the central concepts in not only the Buddhist but almost all Indic traditions with saṃsāra, as the vicious cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This cycle, according to Buddhist doctrine, is ceaseless and infinite in duration, encompassing all sentient beings until they attain nirvāṇa. Progression through this cycle is determined by one’s moral conduct and karmic accumulation. As part of this cultural and religious synthesis, the concept of the trulku—a consciously reincarnated spiritual master—became a hallmark of Tibetan Buddhism.

During the Second Dissemination (phyi dar) of Buddhism in Tibet in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, a process of institutionalisation of Buddhism within Tibetan society and the emergence of distinct Tibetan Buddhist schools also bloomed. Unlike ordinary beings who are subject to involuntary rebirth within saṃsāra, Tulkus are believed to be spiritually realised individuals who, having transcended the cycle of existence, choose to reincarnate voluntarily. Their return in physical form is seen as an act of compassion, intended to benefit sentient beings and further the Dharma. The three kayas thus are:

The most prominent and influential reincarnation lineages in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism are the Dalai Lamas (tā la’i bla ma) and the Panchen Lamas (paṇ chen bla ma). The Dalai Lama is revered as the manifestation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the spiritual protector of the Tibetan people, while the Panchen Lama is regarded as the embodiment of Buddha Amitābha.

The rise of the Gelug school in the 17th century represented a turning point in Tibetan religious and political history. Under the leadership of figures such as the Fifth Dalai Lama, the Gelug tradition consolidated power and became the dominant force in Tibetan Buddhism. With growing support from Mongol patrons and increasing centralization of authority in Lhasa, the school undertook an ambitious program of institutional expansion. As Gelug influence extended across the Tibetan plateau and beyond, this power shift brought about a dramatic increase in monastic construction. Dozens—eventually hundreds—of new monasteries were founded throughout Central Tibet, Amdo, Kham, and even parts of Mongolia and China. These institutions not only served religious functions but also became local centers of education, administration, and cultural........

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