Golden urn or Chinese political tool? The future of the Dalai Lama institution

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3 days ago

It is indeed ironic that an atheist State believes in 'religious rituals' and has suddenly become knowledgeable in an esoteric issue such as the soul migration read more
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Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama speaks in a video broadcast at the start of the 15th Tibetan Religious Conference, a meeting of religious leaders in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala on July 2, 2025. (Photo: Sanjay Baid/AFP)
A lot has recently been written since the Dalai Lama's statement of July 2; as promised in November 2011, a press release of the Tibetan leader reaffirms that the Institution of the Dalai Lamas will continue. The Tibetan leader also reiterated, '…responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama'; it will be 'the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter.' It was a clear message to China.
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Beijing was quick to react; The Global Times asserted, '[The Dalai Lama's] intention remains the same—to deny the traditional religious rituals and historical conventions that have governed the Dalai Lama reincarnation system for centuries, and to manipulate the reincarnation process for his own purposes.'
It is indeed ironic that an atheist State believes in 'religious rituals' and has suddenly become knowledgeable in an esoteric issue such as the soul migration.
Apart from the statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing and the Chinese Ambassador in Delhi, other groups in China have put their views forth.
On July 3, the Buddhist Association of China reacted to the Dalai Lama's announcement: 'The central government has the right to make the final decision on the reincarnation, which is by no means subject to the 14th Dalai Lama's individual discretion.' The Association added, 'Throughout the historical process of the searches for the spiritual successors of Dalai Lamas, a complete set of traditional religious rituals and historical conventions has been developed.'
The Golden Urn
The statement put forward Communist China's favourite ritual, the Golden Urn: 'Since the establishment of the lot-drawing ceremony from the golden urn, the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama has required adherence to the drawing of lots from the golden urn procedure, with the selected candidate subject to approval by China's central government. This process is the only way for the candidate to earn public credibility and religious authority.'
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The Buddhist Association only forgot to mention that the Golden Urn has seldom been used in Tibet. It was only when the Tibetan State was weak during the 19th century that the Chinese Amban, representing the Manchu Court in Lhasa, imposed it on the Tibetans for the 8th and 9th Panchen Lamas and the 10th Dalai Lama. That does not add up to much…
Retrospectively, Beijing admitted that in 1940 Lhamo Dhondup, the present Dalai Lama, had been 'exempted' from the ritual that Beijing wants now to impose on his successor.
In January 2021, The Global Times published a long article dealing with the ritual; the article starts by saying, 'It is well-known that the reincarnation of the living Buddhas is by no means a purely religious affair.'
Then, it explained how the Communist Party sees the process: 'Due to the prominent and leading role of the influential living Buddhas, various political and religious forces in Tibetan society vied for dominant power and control over the reincarnation of the living Buddhas.'
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It concluded that the reincarnation system 'gradually lost its original meaning and caused great harm to the Dharma as well as endangering social stability and national security. Therefore, the then central government adopted the system of lot-drawing from a golden urn in 1793 to improve the reincarnation order of the living Buddhas.'
It explained further: 'The current Dalai Lama was enthroned in the Potala Palace on February 22, 1940, during a ceremony presided over by Wu Zhongxin, minister of the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs …the boy with the reincarnated soul of the 13th Dalai Lama [was enthroned] without the requirement of carrying out the established method of drawing a lot from the golden urn.'
The report that Wu Zhongxin presided is simply untrue; he was merely an invitee to the ceremony and had nothing to do with the 'recognition' of the 14th Dalai Lama.
The Practice
Having seen the theory of the 'Golden Urn', it is necessary to study the facts of this rarely used ritual.
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We have a trustworthy record of a Tibetan Lama, Arjia Rinpoche, who attended the ceremony (one could call it a farce) for the selection of the 11th Panchen Lama. Was it a rehearsal for the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama?
In his book 'Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years under Chinese Rule', Arjia Rinpoche, then Abbot of the Kumbum monastery in today's Qinghai Province and also a member of the 'selection committee' for the Panchen Lama, recounted what happened after the Tenth Panchen Lama passed away, under mysterious circumstances, while on a visit to Tibet.
The Chinese government formed a 'search team' under Gyayak Rinpoche, the Panchen Lama's dharma teacher. Chadrel Rinpoche, abbot of the Panchen Lama's Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and Arjia Rinpoche were to assist the old Lama.
Arjia noted, 'The Chinese government trusted Chadrel Rinpoche to do their bidding … asking only that he report frequently to the central government on his progress.' Chadrel Rinpoche was clear that it was Tashi Lhunpo monastery's responsibility to discover the newly born Lama.
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The problem started after Gyayak's demise, when Beijing discovered that Chadrel Rinpoche had secretly been in contact with the Dalai Lama to find a 'consensus' candidate: 'The Tibetans clearly wanted the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to be the final voice,' noted Arjia, who further recalled, 'On May 14, 1995, I was stunned by the news that, in India, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama had announced the name of the reincarnated Eleventh Panchen Lama. My immediate fear was that the Chinese government would not accept his decision. … And I was right.'
Beijing was furious that the Dalai Lama had 'unilaterally' decided on the new incarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama.
At that time, observed Arjia, 'The Tibetans clearly wanted the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to be the final arbiter of the identity of the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.'
Events started to heat up in early November 1995, when an emergency meeting was called in Beijing to 'clarify' the Communist Party's position. According to the former Abbot of Kumbum, 'This was when I learnt that Chadrel Rinpoche had been arrested. …[then], we were bombarded with statements like 'We must not allow the Dalai's separatist clique to interfere in the Golden Urn Ceremony.''
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Three points were on the meeting's agenda.
Eliminating from contention the boy selected by the Dalai Lama (Gedun Choekyi Nyima, who since then has been under house arrest);
Denouncing and removing Chadrel Rinpoche from his official position on the search team; and
Mandating a Golden Urn Ceremony.
The rinpoches present had no choice but to accept Beijing's diktat.
The Communist officials told the lamas, 'The Golden Urn Ceremony will take place tonight, so please be prepared. … If a separatist clique [followers of the Dalai Lama] attempts any disruption of the ceremony, everyone will be protected [by the police].'
The ceremony was held on November 29, 1995, at 2 am: 'We were called together and ushered into vehicles bound for Jokhang Temple. Although the night was dark, again we could see soldiers in their heavy bulletproof vests every few steps along the deserted streets. … As we walked toward the statue of the Buddha [the famous Jowo], we saw undercover policemen standing in every corner and shadow.'
Arjia Rinpoche continued the narration of the dramatic event: 'In front of the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was a large table covered with a yellow silk cloth. Alone on the table stood a golden urn about 15 inches high, surrounded by seated high officials.'
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Luo Gan, a State Counsellor (and later, a member of the Politburo's Standing Committee), and Gyaltsen Norbu (the TAR governor) were present.
Then the ceremony began: 'Inside the gold urn was a small case, which contained three ivory lots, an inch wide and seven or eight inches long, with cloud scrolls etched at one end. The names of the three candidates were written on three separate pieces of paper and pasted to the ivory sticks, each of which was then slipped into a tightly fitted pouch of yellow silk. … The three ivory lots were placed into the Golden Urn.'
Bumi Rinpoche, who had been appointed Ganden Tripa (throne holder of the Yellow School) by Beijing, drew the lot.
The name of the 'selected' candidate was Gyaltsen Norbu, like the governor.
Arjia remembered: 'When we made our selection, we left nothing to chance. In the silk pouches of the ivory pieces, we put a bit of cotton at the bottom of one of them so it would be a little higher than the others and the right candidate would be chosen.' The pedigree of Norbu was considered the best.
That was it. Nothing could be done: 'Jamyang Shepa Rinpoche and I kept silent, our heads lowered,' wrote Arjia.
Years later Arjia managed to escape to the US.
After three decades, Gedun Choekyi Nyima, selected by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, is still under house arrest somewhere in China.
A tragic farce, indeed—and a rehearsal for the 15th Dalai Lama.
The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Delhi). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.