The concept that China has decided it needs to “approve” reincarnations never ceases to amaze me. If it were not so inconvenient for Tibetans, I’d find it practically laughable in its utter absurdity.

Here is an update on the quagmire, with a link to the most recent news near the bottom of the post…

Dalai Lama challenges China – with a referendum on reincarnation

Exiled leader fights back at Chinese attempt to control Buddhist selection process

Randeep Ramesh in New Delhi and Jonathan Watts in Beijing

The Guardian

The Dalai Lama. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

The centuries-old tradition of choosing a new Dalai Lama may be about to change from the mysteries of reincarnation to the realities of a referendum to hold off the increasing influence of the Chinese government in the process.Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader yesterday offered the prospect of a referendum before he dies to decide how to pick the Himalayan people’s next living Buddha – incensing China which insists on the right to approve incarnations[…]

Click here to read the complete article.

…And click here for an article with the most recent news about a new very creative proposal by the Dalai Lama regarding this ludicrous situation –

“Faced with Chinese plans to seize control of his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama has come up with two revolutionary proposals — either to forgo rebirth, or to be reborn while still alive…”

Here is a little peek into the mysterious spiritual process for choosing the reincarnated successor to the Dalai Lama.

Searching for a spiritual successor

When the time comes, finding a new Dalai Lama will be a lengthy process

by Geoff Nixon, The Ottawa Citizen

The Dalai Lama has served as spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists for seven decades, ever since he was recognized as the reincarnated Dalai Lama at age two. And the day he dies, the search for his successor will begin.

“In Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, a certain type of person who develops very highly in a previous life, can consciously choose the circumstances of their reincarnation,” says Robert Thurman, a professor in the Department of Religion at New York’s Columbia University and an expert in Tibetan Buddhism. “The Dalai Lama is believed to be one such person.”…

Read the complete article here.

Portrait of the 14th Dalai Lama at age five, at the enthronement ceremony at the Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, February 1940.

Oil paint on canvas by Kanwal Krishna

The history of Halloween.