China has been attempting to have a greater say in the global Buddhist arena exploiting the large Tibetan Buddhist population in China and old linkages between Tibetan Buddhism and Mongolia.
In 2007, China’s State administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) issued a notification called Order No. 5 indicating the procedure to be followed in identifying/recognizing incarnated monks of various sects of Tibetan Buddhism.
This order is applicable to the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama and Pancham Lama 2 also. The order effectively means that the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama would be from Tibet and nowhere outside of China. This order is primarily intended to prevent His Holiness the Dalai Lama from having a free hand in deciding on his reincarnation. However, in November 2019, at a gathering of Heads of Bon Religious leaders in India it was unanimously agreed that the Dalai Lama would be the sole responsible authority to decide on his re-incarnation.
China has evinced on a long term strategy which involves aggressive posturing to stake claim as the centre of global Buddhism. In order to reinforce its aim and intention, China has already held 5 rounds of meetings of the World Buddhist Forum which is a China backed body, and has regularly been dispatching official delegations including representatives from Tibet to various western countries to propagate Chinese form of Buddhism. They are also trying to pressurize various countries to stop extending hospitality to the Dalai Lama.
China’s outreach in Mongolia in this connection has been quite deliberate. One of the reasons is the historic linkages between Mongolia and Tibet. The Head of Mongolia, the 9th Jetsun Dhamba (whose incarnation is yet to be identified by the Dalai Lama) could officially play an important role in recognizing the reincarnation of the current 14th Dalai Lama, and hence the Chinese have been calibrating their Mongolia policy to this end.
The Chinese have also been engaging Shugden deity supporters in different parts of the world. In Mongolia, they have been supporting one of the large monasteries — Daschi Choleing and in early 2018 China funded the installation of a large gold plated statue of Maitreya Buddha and funded the event also. China’s main focus lately has been to target the Buddhist population in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos and the countries in the region.
The Tibetan community in India and the strong Tibetan Buddhism sentiments prevalent in India is a concern for China, and China is desperate to get a hold over this community through any means possible. China has managed to sustain discreet linkages with prominent leaders of the Tibetan community in India and have sent out messages to connect with the Tibetan Buddhist community at different levels.
India would have to be cautious in dealing with the issue of Buddhism and specifically Tibetan Buddhism. There is strong realization among the Tibetan community that the Dalai Lama’s long stay in India and the presence of the large Tibetan community in India has indeed enabled the growth of Tibetan culture, tradition and free and transparent practice and evolution of Tibetan Buddhism. The ease of conducting religious activities at the international level from India has enabled the global community to become more aware and sensitive about Tibetan Buddhism including with a special international perspective.
A global footprint of Tibetan Buddhism would have never been possible in case prominent Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders operated from Tibet where severe instructions hamper their access to the outside world. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has stated, Buddhism is a way of life that encompasses every human being across the world. The finer elements of Tibetan Buddhism thus need to be shared and cherished with the wider global community. Any significant Chinese hold on Buddhism would only quell the process of evolution of Buddhism, as a traditionally atheist state has limitations in promoting any form of religion.
China continues to restrict activities of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet and continues to close down several monasteries. China has also laid down stringent norms for prayers and the CCP has also infused large number of plain clothesmen to keep a watch on activities of Tibetans in Lhasa and the other cities. The government in Beijing continues to make efforts to tweak the population graph in Tibet with large number of Han population being moved to Tibet, thus overshadowing the Tibetan population over a period of time.
