The current Dalai Lama is 83 years old.
His death will create something of a crisis as the Panchen
Lama is incognito. Effectively second in command the Panchen Lama also plays a
critical role in the selection of the new Dalai Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima who
was selected as the Panchen Lama was taken by Beijing in 1995 when he was but
six years old. He hasn't been seen since but it is believed that he is still
alive in captivity.
Beijing subsequently selected its own candidate who now
claims the title but is of course rejected by many within the Tibetan Buddhist
community. When the present Dalai Lama dies, what will happen? Will Beijing
urge the selection of a new Dalai Lama, one that can be molded according to the
wishes of Beijing? Or will they move to end the title once and for all? Even
Tenzin Gyatso the present Dalai Lama has hinted that change regarding the title
and office are perhaps on the horizon.
For strategic reasons Beijing seeks to control the high
plateau and its natural walls which protect it from the subcontinent.
Additionally there are large Tibetan populations outside of Tibet proper.
Indeed the present Dalai Lama is from Qinghai and the idea of an independent foreign
controlled Tibet with (at the same time) several million effectively expatriate
Tibetans living within China's borders is to Beijing, unacceptable.
The PRC also knows that both India and the United States
support anti-Chinese movements based both inside and outside of Tibet, not to
mention neighbouring Xinjiang. Prior to Nixon's detente with Beijing the US was
supporting Tibetan guerilla movements, in some cases flying men and materiel
over the Himalayas and dropping them into Tibet. It didn't amount to much but
it stirred strife, people died and you can be sure Beijing remembers it well,
even if the Americans for the most part do not.
Additionally the US helped the Dalai Lama to escape in 1959
and he remains in exile in Northern India a point of sore contention that
continues to drive a wedge between Beijing's relations with both Washington and
New Delhi.
The US has no great love for Tibetan Buddhism, this is
politics pure and simple. The question has remained tense for decades but apart
from some attention garnered by Hollywood, the public doesn't really care. You
can be sure as tensions ramp up with Beijing the Tibet card will be played once
more. This will be aided by the fact that US celebrities will be given a media
voice in their support of the Beijing dominated region.
China's rule has been brutal, even genocidal. One is reminded
of the Old Testament prophets speaking about Assyria and Babylon. They are
agents of judgment and yet wicked at the same time. Their motives are ungodly.
Tibet has been a centre of idolatry and false religion for centuries and
there's something righteous in its destruction. And yet Beijing is wicked and
avaricious. When it comes to its disputed frontier regions, the nation founded
by Mao is violent and particularly aggressive.
On the one hand the Tibetan nation has fallen under judgment
for its centuries of idolatry and demonism. Several centuries ago the Dalai
Lama's were something akin to a political papacy and wielded great power as
they attempted to revive Tibet's once cozy relationship with the Mongols, who
even today retain a vigorous Tibetan Buddhist heritage. When one considers the
present plight of the Dalai Lama, living in exile in Northern India, a pawn and
tool in the hands of powerful nations, the once mighty and blasphemous lama has
been brought low... and it is just.
And yet on another level, the isolated nation has lived
peacefully for many generations and China's oppression and domination of the
country is a crime. And while Beijing may indeed be an arm of Divine judgment
on the idolator nation, its own motives are wicked and it too is ultimately
marked for destruction. And when will that be? In God's good time.
And of course ironically it could be argued that the Western
conquest of China from the mid-19th to 20th centuries was
a form of judgment as was Mao himself. One can get lost in trying to ascribe
this or that reason for historical events. These are hidden things, known only
to the Divine Will. And while we cannot (contrary to the contrived
metanarratives of some) discern the plan, we do know its end. In the meantime
what we see are the effects and results of sin and how power is almost always
utilised for evil and how monsters succeed in spawning monsters.
In the case of Beijing, why are they so brutal? Why are they
so aggressive when it comes to Uighurs, Tibetans, and nonconformist religions? History tells the tale. The history does not
excuse the evil but it helps to explain that monsters are born of evil deeds
and in the case of modern China, the West certainly played its part in creating
the monster.
But such questions are perceived as discursive and do not
serve the political expediencies of the moment. The death of the Dalai Lama will create a
political crisis and the media will play its part. For a fuller understanding
of the larger issues and their context, one must look elsewhere.
The linked article concerns the Karmapa Lama, another figure
associated with the controversies surrounding the Dalai Lama, and the conflict
between Tibet and Beijing. Once again the PRC has elected its own candidate,
and the exile community rejects this and puts forward another. India at times
is caught up in the politics. They are willing to harbour the exile community
but there are times in which they seem almost irritated by their presence and
their activities.
Everyone knows the Dalai Lama's days are numbered and
everyone is preparing. But I don't think anyone really knows what is going to
happen. Many see it as a critical moment. If Tibet does not wrestle control
away from Beijing their heritage will be lost and their nationhood will
continue to dissipate. For this reason there's a real danger in that outside
players (mostly led by Washington) may perceive the iron to be hot and thus determine
its time to strike. Given the larger array of tensions and conflicts between
Beijing and Washington, the situation surrounding Tibet bears watching.
