‘Fake’ Panchen Lama Ordains Tibetan Buddhist Monks

(UCA News) The Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama whom ordinary Tibetans refuse to accept as the second most important spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism recently ordained 28 monks and urged them to be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The event in early November was held without the presence of ordinary Tibetans amid tight security, triggering dismay among ordinary people, Bitter Winter magazine reported on Nov. 21.

According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama, the supreme spiritual leader, and Panchen Lama are reincarnated as children when they die.

After annexing Tibet in the 1950s through an invasion, Chinese forces brutally suppressed Tibetans who defied China’s occupation and waged a struggle for independence, prompting the Dalai Lama and his supporters to flee to India.

Beijing has also attempted to influence Tibetan affairs including the selection of a spiritual successor to the 10th Panchen Lama who died in 1989.

In 1995, the exiled Dalai Lama chose 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima to be the 11th Panchen Lama, recognizing him as the reincarnation of his predecessor.

The Panchen Lama’s responsibilities include leading a council of high lamas to find the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama after the current one dies.

Three days after the Dalai Lama chose the 11th Panchen Lama, the boy and his family were kidnapped by the Chinese authorities.

His whereabouts remained unknown for years. In 2020, amid growing international criticism, Beijing claimed that the Panchen Lama is “now a college graduate with a stable job” without giving details.

Beijing installed a Beijing-educated Tibetan boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the 11th Panchen Lama. Tibetans denounced him as an “imposter.”

The ‘fake’ Panchen Lama is reportedly the vice president of the CCP-controlled China Buddhist Association and a member of the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Bitter Winter reported that Tibetans denounced Gyaltsen Norbu’s ordination of 28 monks in the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse as an illegitimate act. The monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas.

The event was held on the day of the Lhabab Düchen festival. It celebrates the descent of Buddha back to earth from heaven, where he ascended at age 41 to impart teachings to the gods and to liberate his mother.

During the ordination ceremony, Norbu also called on newly ordained monks to express their loyalty to the CCP.

In his sermon, he instructed them to “be grateful to the Party, listen to the Party, follow the Party, promote the Party,” Bitter Winter reported.

He also told them that they should thank the Party every day because the world is full of wars and crises, and they are fortunate to live in a happy, peaceful, and well-governed country, the report stated.

The state-run China Buddhist Association issued a press release through social media hailing the ordination ceremony by Norbu.

“This ordination shows that the Panchen Lama has the ability to accept disciples and ordain, signaling a further improvement in the Panchen Lama’s Buddhist achievements and religious status,” the association said.

“The peaceful and successful ordination ceremony also demonstrates the Panchen Lama’s prestige in the religious world,” it added.

The Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama has been making visits to various counties in Tibet recently seeking to exert his influence on Tibetans, which reportedly failed to attract ordinary people except monks loyal to the CCP.