This is the annotated English translation of a report published in Tibet Daily on 27 November, 2017. It reports a meeting held in Tibet over 10 years since the circulation of the “Order no. 5, the Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas.”
The report is frugal in detail but it lists Tibetan figures of relative significance and governmental organs that participated in the meeting.
Here is the English translation
According to reports received at the Lhasa bureau on 24 November, 2017, on 24 November 2017, Tibet branch of China’s Buddhist Association organised an official meeting to discuss the progress made since the circulation of the Order no. 5(Officially named Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas (藏传佛教活佛转世管理办法 ).[i]
Drupkang Khedup[ii], the Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Peoples’ Political Conference attended the meeting and gave a speech. This meeting was chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Peoples’ Political Conference, Sonam Rigzin. [iii] The 7th Bureau of China’s United Front Work Department and the first department of China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (Chinese: 国家宗教事务局Tibetan:རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ཆོས་ལུགས་ལས་དོན་ཅུས་ཀྱི་སི་དང་པོ) participated in the meeting. Officials from China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs and other relevant officials also participated at the meeting. Over 80 people attended the meeting comprising of people representing Tibetan Buddhism across Tibet, Tibetan Buddhist Lamas and young tulkus from the Tibet Buddhist Theological Institute(བོད་ལྗོངས་ནང་བསྟན་སློབ་གླིང་).
As it is commonly known, the State Administration for Religious Affairs circulated the Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas and this was implemented on 1 September, 2017. In the last ten years, over 60 tulkus have been recognised and granted permissions primarily in the Tibet Autonomous Region. In order to ensure a legally acceptable and competent tulkus, all people related to Tibetan Buddhism, monks and nuns from monasteries, and all people of faith have invariably placed respect over this implementation.
[i] This document was issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs and is officially known as the “Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas.” https://www.cecc.gov/resources/legal-provisions/measures-on-the-management-of-the-reincarnation-of-living-buddhas-in-0
[ii] He is also the Chairman of the Tibet branch of China’s Buddhist Association.
[iii] Besides his Vice Chairmanship of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Peoples’ Political Conference, he had also served in the United Front Work Department.
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*Dr. Tenzin Desal is a research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Tibet Policy Institute.