The Dalai Lama gives a religious talk in Dharamsala, India, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Beijing: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is profaning Buddhism by suggesting he will not be reincarnated when he dies, the Chinese-appointed governor of Tibet said on Monday, in some of China's strongest comments to date on the subject.

Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. China says the tradition must continue and it must approve the next Dalai Lama.

But the Nobel peace laureate, who fled his homeland in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, has said he thinks the title could end when he dies.

Padma Choling, chairman of the People's Congress of Tibetan Autonomous Region, in the Tibet Room of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Reuters

He has also stated that he will not be reborn in China if Tibet is not free and that no one, including China, has the right to choose his successor "for political ends".

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Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament, Tibet governor Padma Choling accused the Dalai Lama of flip-flopping with his various pronouncements on the issue, and of hypocrisy seeing as he himself was reincarnated.

"If the central government had not approved it, how could he have become the 14th Dalai Lama? He couldn't. It has a serious procedure," Padma Choling, an ethnic Tibetan himself, told reporters.

Activists with a poster of the Dalai Lama take part in a rally to support Tibet in Taipei on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Originally posted here:
Dalai Lama 'profanes' Buddhism by doubting his reincarnation, says China

BEIJING

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is profaning Buddhism by suggesting that he will not be reincarnated when he dies, the Chinese-appointed governor of Tibet said on Monday, in some of China's strongest comments to date on the subject.

Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. China says the tradition must continue and it must approve the next Dalai Lama.

But the Nobel peace laureate, who fled his homeland in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, has said he thinks the title could end when he dies.

He has also stated that he will not be reborn in China if Tibet is not free and that no one, including China, has the right to choose his successor for political ends.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament, Tibet governor Padma Choling accused the Dalai Lama of flip-flopping with his various pronouncements on the issue, and of hypocrisy seeing as he himself was reincarnated.

If the central government had not approved it, how could he have become the 14th Dalai Lama? He couldn't. It has a serious procedure, Padma Choling, an ethnic Tibetan himself, told reporters.

I think that, in fact, he is profaning religion and Tibetan Buddhism, he said, adding that the Dalai Lama was trying to usurp Beijing's right to decide.

If he says no reincarnation then no reincarnation? Impossible. Nobody in Tibetan Buddhism would agree to that, he added. We must respect history, respect and not profane Tibetan Buddhism.

Exiles worry that China might just simply appoint their own successor. In 1995, after the Dalai Lama named a boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama, the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, China put that boy under house arrest and installed another in his place.

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China: Dalai Lama 'Profanes' Buddhism by Doubting his Reincarnation

OBSERVERS say Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has failed to give a positive response to calls for the National Reform Council (NRC) committee on the protection of Buddhism to be scrapped.

Headed by Paiboon Nititawan, the NRC committee drew intense criticism after it openly attacked Dhammakaya Temple's abbot Phra Dhammachayo. Several groups have demanded the prime minister scrap the committee. Some monks have even threatened to stage rallies.

When asked about the calls, Prayut said yesterday he had assigned NRC chairman Thienchay Kiranandana to look into the matter.

While the PM denied that he had tried to protect the NRC panel, he said, "The committee has its good side too. So if you think the committee doesn't do the right thing, we should discuss the issue and gradually try to resolve it."

About 50 monks from a monk-university campus in Khon Kaen province, meanwhile, lodged a petition against the committee.

They demanded it be scrapped on suspicion that Paiboon was mixing politics with religious affairs.

Paiboon was a speaker on the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) stage during its rallies against the previous administration. Or Noi Temple abbot Phra Buddha Isara, who has also spoken out against Phra Dhammachayo, is a former PDRC co-leader.

Both Phra Buddha Isara and Paiboon have also lately - though separately - criticised the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) for allowing Phra Dhammachayo to stay in a saffron robe.

Both insist that the monk has already been automatically defrocked because of a written statement in 1999 by the then-Supreme Patriarch.

Yesterday, Phra Buddha Isara made several moves to pressure the SSC, including submitting a petition for the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to investigate the assets and financial transactions of one of the country's most senior monks.

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PM deflects criticism of NRC committee

This scenario would have been unthinkable had it happened right after the former First Lady Imelda Marcos built the center in the 1960s. Hard-core patrons of the CCP would have shaken their heads in disapproval.

But Low Ngai Yuen, a Malaysian director, writer and actress, who does advocacy work with organization Kakiseni as its president, found it inspiring.

She understood that most of these students were probably entering a venue like CCP for the first time and it was just a matter of maybe setting aside five minutes to help the students contextualize the symphony orchestra.

The audience cannot be blamed. Its wonderful to feel that the audience wanted more, Ms. Low said. I have worked with GMA7 and ABS-CBN for TV formats, she noted (and was responsible for bringing Carmen Soo to the country), But this trip to the Philippines taught me something Ive never seen before: the huge and strong movement of young artists. Theres a lot of energy from young people who want to perform and to contribute artistically. The energy does not only come from the performers, but also the audience. What your country/government has done, its emphasis on art education, [has led to an] enlightened audience. The audience is already exposed, and educated. This is not to be taken for granted. Well done! she remarked.

Ms. Low was in town over the weekend to attend the three-day ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Performing Arts Market as a buyer. The CCPs annual Pasinaya festival (which serves as a preview for the centers upcoming performance season) happened on the markets third day, enabling her and fellow delegates to have a buffet of sorts of local arts and culture.

Noor Seela Binti Noor Sulaiman agrees. Ms. Sulaiman is the senior assistant director of the National Department for Culture and Arts of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia. The new generation is so creative, she said, noting that this cuts across different productions, whether theater, dance or music. She cited the playing of Tchaikovsky using gamelan gongs, and wayang kulit (puppets and shadow play) of Star Wars in her own country.

Vietnam showed a video of award-winning outfit Sine Crew which combined hip-hop and Vietnamese folk dance. This shows the peace that dancing brings, and that peace is the final destination in Zen Buddhism, said Le Minh Duc of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam.

Among the performances most admired by representatives of Thailand and Vietnam were those of CCP-based dance company Ballet Philippines (BP), which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The ballet company has just finished a tour to six cities in North America, and is going to Hawaii next year. It will tour the US East Coast in 2016, says BP Executive Director Jenny Bonto.

Thanks to our Spanish heritage, and to a certain extent our American heritage, our dances are quite unique. From Luzon to Mindanao, we have a variety of dance menus to offer, giving us a nice mix of East and West, noted Eva Mari Salvador of the Arts Education Department of CCP. For instance, buyers respond to or appreciate our contemporary dance, she said.

WHY AN ARTS MARKET? The ASEAN Performing Arts Market is designed to enrich the ASEAN creative industry, especially in promoting and marketing the performing arts content of each ASEAN country to participating arts markets/festivals and cultural centers. At the Arts Market, performing arts professionals or groups network, showcase, pitch performances and seasons, and engage in business matching and exhibits.

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The ASEAN Arts Market