11th Panchen Lama Controversy
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The 11th Panchen Lama controversy centers on the 30-year-long enforced disappearance of
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (born 25 April 1989) is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lam ...
, and on the recognition of the 11th
Panchen Lama The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to the Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high la ...
. The Panchen Lama is considered the second most important spiritual leader in
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
after the Dalai Lama. Following the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
recognized
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (born 25 April 1989) is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lam ...
in 1995. Three days later, the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) abducted the Panchen Lama and his family. Months later, the PRC chose Gyaincain Norbu as its proxy Panchen Lama. During the traditional search process led by Chadrel Rinpoche, he indicated to the Dalai Lama that all signs pointed to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, while the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas recognize each other's incarnations. The PRC had established its own search committee, which included Chadrel Rinpoche and other monks, and wanted to use a lottery system referred to as the
Golden Urn The Golden Urn is a method introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793 for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a golden urn. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article Ord ...
. Neither Gedhun Choekyi Nyima nor his family have been seen since the abduction. Chadrel Rinpoche was also arrested by Chinese authorities the day of the abduction, as were other people.


Recognition and abduction

Before his death, the 10th Panchen Lama, Choekyi Gyaltsen, had been held for 15 years as a political prisoner of China, and after his release wrote the 70,000 Character Petition to CCP Chairman
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
on 18 May 1962. The Petition assessed China's occupation of Tibet, expressed a list of grievances of Tibetans, and claimed that China's ''"use of routine propaganda regarding revolution, liberation, democratic reform and the so-called 'socialist paradise' was "pure deception"."'' He again was critical of Chinese policies in Tibet five days before his death on 28 January 1989, and Tibetans intensified the ongoing
protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
afterwards. As a Tibetan search process began, the Chinese state-run CCTV network states that three days after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the
Premier of China The premier of China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the e ...
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...
published its decision on how the 11th Panchen Lama would be selected based on the feedback gathered from the committee of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and monks on 30 January 1989.Goldstein 1997, p. 101 Many Tibetans would not consider the 11th Panchen Lama incarnation legitimate unless he were identified according to Tibetan traditional means, including a search by the 10th Panchen Lama's closest Khenpos based on
dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
s and
omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages ...
s, and a formal recognition by the Dalai Lama.Goldstein 1997, pp. 100–1 Often, the
Nechung Oracle The Nechung Oracle () is the personal oracle of the Dalai Lama since the second Dalai Lama. The Medium (spirituality), medium currently resides in Nechung, Nechung Monastery established by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, Dharamsa ...
was also consulted. By 1994, five years after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, ordinarily, the 11th Panchen Lama would have already been identified.Hilton 2000, pg. 6 The Nechung Oracle in Dharamsala had been consulted on the matter.Hilton 2000, pg. 9 The leaders of the Chinese government wanted a process under their authority. Beijing planned to use a group of monks to identify a group of candidates, not only one, and then to use the golden urn to randomly select one of them, and to exclude the Dalai Lama from the process altogether. Beijing later allowed Tashi Lhunpo Monastery's head Khenpo Chadrel Rinpoche, the head of the search team, to communicate with the Dalai Lama in hopes that a mutually acceptable process and candidate could be accomplished. In March 1995, Chinese government officials proposed drawing a name from three to five slips in the urn. On 14 May 1995, the Dalai Lama preempted the officials' drawing of names by publicly recognizing Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama.Goldstein 1997, pp. 102–6 On 17 May, the Chinese government abducted the recognized Panchen Lama. Then in November 1995 they selected a different boy, Gyaincain Norbu, using the golden urn lottery system. This decision was immediately denounced by the Dalai Lama. China continues to detain Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family in a place whose location has not been divulged to the public.Goldstein, 1997, pp. 102-6 Chadrel Rinpoche, the Panchen Lama's senior Khenpo, was arrested at the
Chamdo Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu (), is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest c ...
Airport while returning from Beijing, on 14 May 1995. Two years later on 8 May 1997, Chadrel Rinpoche was sentenced to six years in prison for splittism and betraying state secrets.Goldstein 1997, pg. 107 He was then incarcerated in China, re-incarcerated under house arrest in a Chinese military camp near
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
, and the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalized nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 at the Peace Pal ...
reports he died of poisoning in 2011. The Dalai Lama has denounced China by saying ''"the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth and how that reincarnation is to be recognized."'' ''"It is a reality that no one else can force the person concerned, or manipulate him or her,"'' ''"It is particularly inappropriate for Chinese communists, who explicitly reject even the idea of past and future lives, let alone the concept of reincarnate Tulkus, to meddle in the system of reincarnation and especially the reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas." ''


Recent developments

In April 2019, U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern said the Panchen Lama "will mark his 30th birthday as one of the world's longest-held prisoners of conscience", and referred to his enforced disappearance as a violation of the religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists while also stating that the alternative Panchen Lama has been victimized by China as "a consequence of its policies to undermine and control the Tibetan people." Earlier on 26 April 2018, the U.S. State Department issued a statement, ''"On April 25, we marked the birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who has not appeared in public since he was reportedly abducted two decades ago by the Chinese government at age six."'' The statement also called for the immediate release of the 11th Panchen Lama. An April 2020 joint petition prepared by 159 organizations spanning 18 countries requests the United Nations to pressure China for the Panchen Lama's release, as well as the release of his family.David Thomas, Tibet Post International,"159 Organizations Call on UN to Pressure China to Free 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet", 07 May 2020, http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/impact/politics/6763-159-organisations-call-on-un-to-pressure-china-to-free-11th-panchen-lama-of-tibet In May 2020, CNN reports that the Central Tibetan Administration stated, ''"China's abduction of the Panchen Lama and forcible denial of his religious identity and the right to practice in his monastery is not only a violation of religious freedom but also a gross violation of human rights."'' As of 2025, the Panchen Lama has been held as a political prisoner for 30 years. Five
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
committees have opened cases, while numerous governments, including the European Parliament, Canada, U.K., and U.S. have called for China to release the 11th Panchen Lama.


References


Citations


Sources

* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama'' (1997) University of California Press. * Hilton, Elizabeth. ''The Search for the Panchen Lama'' (2000) W. W. Norton & Company. * Kuzmin S.L
Management as a tool of destruction. Reincarnation of "Living Buddhas" in modern Chinese legislation. – The Tibet Journal, vol. 42, no 1, pp. 37-48.
{{Panchen Lamas Panchen Lamas Controversies in Tibet Political controversies Tibetan Buddhism-related controversies Enforced disappearances in China Kidnappings in China