Asian Buddhist Conference For Peace Will Never Recognize Dalai Lama Appointed By China

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2021) The Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace has decided that Tibetans will never recognize a candidate for the new incarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama chosen by China, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader of the Kalmyk people and the representative of Dalai Lama in Russia, Mongolia and CIS countries, told Sputnik.

Buddhists remain convinced that only the acting Dalai Lama can decide where and how to seek the next reincarnation.

"The issue of identifying and recognizing a new incarnation of the Dalai Lama is of paramount importance not only for Buddhists in Tibet, but also for Mongolia, the Himalayan region and the Buddhist regions of Russia, where the Tibetan teaching of Buddhism led by Dalai Lama is being professed. They are all equal in discussing this exclusively religious issue, which has nothing to do with politics. In light of this, one can only welcome the resolution adopted by the religious organizations participating in the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace," Telo Tulku Rinpoche said.

According to him, the document states that "the Tibetan people will never recognize a candidate for the title of Dalai Lama elected and appointed by the Chinese government."

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 85, is the spiritual leader of Tibet.

After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he currently lives in exile while keeping the status of the most important spiritual leader of Tibet.

Dalai Lamas have succeeded each other as heads of Tibetan Buddhism for centuries. Buddhists believe that each subsequent Dalai Lama is the rebirth of the previous one. The successor to the Dalai Lama is traditionally identified by senior monastic disciples, based on spiritual signs and visions.

There is a similar chain of succession among Panchen Lamas, whose spiritual authority is second only to the Dalai Lama, but in 1995, China appointed an alternative Panchen Lama, triggering concerns among Buddhists.

The 14th Dalai Lama himself said in 2011 that he would return to this issue when he was about 90 years old and would also consult with experts on whether to preserve the institution of the Dalai Lama at all.

The Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace is an international organization of Asian Buddhists, which was founded in 1970 with headquarters in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The organization is seeking to unite the Buddhists of Asia in their striving for peace and tranquility on earth, to promote in every possible way the spread and implementation of the Buddha teachings, preaching the high ideals of peace, harmony and social justice.