As it does with all other religious traditions, the Chinese Communist Party is working to transform Tibetan Buddhism into an arm of the state and a vehicle for its ideology.

“For Tibetans, There Is Now a ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Reincarnation,'” by Lopsang Gurung, Bitter Winter, September 16, 2024:

There is a “Xi Jinping Thought” for everything, including toilets. And Tibetans know that, while being atheistic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2007, through the State Administration of Religious Affairs, issued a regulation claiming its right to control reincarnation.

According to the infamous “Order no. 5” of 2007, the CCP decides which Buddhist lamas are authorized to reincarnate, and they receive a card confirming the authorization. The next incarnation of a deceased lama is identified by the CCP, which has created a historical myth about the so-called “Golden Urn” to justify its theory that reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist lamas should be controlled by Chinese state authorities. Obviously, since 2007, the CCP is preparing to assert the right to pick up the next Dalai Lama when His Holiness will leave this world.

There were rumors that the farcical system where an officially atheistic state and party, which obviously do not believe in reincarnation, decide who is the reincarnation of whom, would be abandoned at least to avoid international ridicule. The rumors, however, were denied by the CCP in 2023, as “Bitter Winter” reported.

What was missing was to freeze the doctrine of CCP control of reincarnation by making it part of the omnipresent and unquestionable Xi Jinping Thought. Logically, but more quietly than usual, this step was taken this month….