Stolen Child

I am still trying to work out the dynamics of the Tibetan refugee community here here in Little Indian Lhasa. Such a large percentage of the population seem to be nuns or monks – which I guess should not be surprising since they are following the Dali Lama and because it is the nuns and the monks who China has specifically persecuted. According to Gu Chu Sum, there are currently about 150 nuns and monks currently held by China as political prisoners. This may seem strange considering that China's public stance is that Tibetans can practice their own religion (as long as they are not working for the government), but in reality the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) view Buddhism with superstition – as if it is a superstition rather than a faith, a system of Life, or philosophy. Moreover, they closely associate the Sanga (the religious community, which is adhered by Buddhists as one of its very cornerstones, or in terminology as one of the Three Jewels) with the Dalai Lama. Therefore in order to overcome this Catch 22, they allow Tibetan Buddhists to 'practice freely' as long as they disassociate themselves from their spiritual leader. This means that amongst the Buddhist vows which the Tibetan nuns and monks take when joining a monastery, the CCP have added to the list a public denouncement of the Dalai Lama. Even to possess a passport sized photograph of the reincarnation of Buddha of Compassion (the Dalai Lama), is a criminal offense.

Last night I watched a documentary about the Eleventh Panchen Lama. The documentary was entitled 'Stolen Child' and it was entitled 'Stolen Child' because the Panchen Lama was six years old when he was stolen by the Chinese State. That was in 1995, a few days after the boy had been identified by the current Dali Lama as the Panchen Lama reincarnate. The Panchen Lama is a central figure for Tibetans as traditionally he is the spiritual leader of the nation and the reincarnation of the Amitabha Buddha (Buddha of Light). The relationship between the Panchen Lama and the Dali Lama (the more 'secular' leader) is symbiotic. Each generation one is the teacher and guider of the other. When the body of one dies the other living Buddha helps to identify the new body, supervise his education and act as a spiritual mentor, and so the cycle continues. The disappearance of Tibet's Dali Lama is as politically strategic as it is spiritually.

China's persecution of Tibet's religious leaders of Tibet is political precisely because it is the Buddhist sect which heads its government prior to occupation and now in exile and moreover, because the Buddhist philosophy interconnects the Tibetan people. It does so through its very teachings and its practical application. It is this spiritual commonality which bonds the Tibetan people – inside the geographic area as well as among the diaspora. By denying a peoples a spiritual leader they are chipping away at Tibet's political and cultural structure and it is this structure which is a central source of identity and a communal bond between the Tibetan people.

As mentioned above, the Chinese government's official line is that everyone inside its legal and occupied territory has the freedom of religion practice: In the Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 36, “Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.” However, the Law also states that government officials must be atheist. In practice this religious intolerance translates into the destruction of approximately 6000 Tibetan monasteries. Human Rights abuses towards nuns and monks range from murder, torture, rape to the removal of thumbs to prevent the passing of their malas. Ironically while denying the practical possibility of reincarnation, the government has done nothing but to reinforce the belief by capturing the Panchen Lama and by identifying another boy to take his place. Both the Tibetan and Chinese identified Panchen Lamas are being denied the freedoms of movement, speech, expression, education just to name a few, and (if they are still alive) they have now been imprisoned for over thirteen years.

This denial of the proper teachings (a twenty year spiritual education) will mean that even if the Panchen Lama is released he will be ill equipped to resume his role. Obviously one important question is: What will happen after the death of the Dali Lama? If the Chinese government attempts to chose an alternative, the boy will certainly not be accepted by the Tibetan community. However, the Dalia Lama remains undecided about whether he will choose reincarnation and if he does then his new body will most likely be born within the exiled community and therefore relatively safe from political persecution.

The stealing of the Panchen Lama raises a plethora of issues regarding the resilience of the Buddhist philosophy. It clearly reflects the government's confusion as to how break the faith and the loyalty of an occupied peoples to an exiled leader. It also raises significant questions about the future of the Tibetan government in exile, and how they will choose their future leaders if China continues to steal them as soon as they are born. The Tibetan public adherence to the cycle of reincarnation and its affirmation to the Dalai Lama's selection, demonstrates the extent to which the Buddhist faith is still firmly ingrained within Tibetan people. This is despite the superficial destruction of their objects of worship; including both monasteries and spiritual leaders. The ability of Buddhism to act as a tool to unite the people of Tibet, promote its cause throughout the world, and to provide Tibetans with a sense of identity is demonstrated by the very extreme reaction of the Chinese government. The fact that the Chinese government has shown that they will not only persecute the Buddha of Compassion, destroy thousands of years of dharma, imprison its Sanga but also steal child Buddha's which they do not actually even believe in. Ultimately, it could be argued that the Chinese government is actually providing the Tibetan people (both inside Tibet and in exile) with a new common bond through their persistent persecution. What continues to shine through here in Little Indian Lhasa is the sense of identity between Tibetans. The refugees who live here come from all over occupied Tibet, some where born here and others have just arrived, however, they are still able to unite and to associate with one another not just through their support of the Dalai Lama and belief in Buddhism, but also as refugees in exile, who are united as long as their Freedoms are persecuted.