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USA Today
15-07-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Could there be two Dalai Lamas? Spiritual leader's statement portends clash with China
Could there eventually be two Dalai Lamas? The 14th Dalai Lama's announcement in early July that he will reincarnate as Tibetan Buddhism's next spiritual leader reassured worried followers. But the statement also foreshadowed a confrontation with China over who gets to choose his successor – and the chance that parallel efforts could be conducted to do so. Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk upon his death is reincarnated in the body of a child, who must be identified and then trained in Buddhist practice. In his declaration, the 90-year-old Dalai Lama said Gaden Phodrang, the foundation he created to uphold the Dalai Lama tradition, will have sole authority to recognize his successor. 'They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition,' he said. 'No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter.' Beijing insists that it does. "The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China," said Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in India — where the Dalai Lama has lived in exile since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet — in one of a series of posts about the matter on the social platform X. She described the Nobel Laureate as 'a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion.' Janet Gyatso, a professor of Buddhist studies at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said that should China opt to pursue its own selection process, it wouldn't be the first time Buddhism has dealt with a dispute over the identity of the reincarnated Dalai Lama. "What they (China) will do is not easy to say," Gyatso said. "But the political stakes are much higher than they've ever been.' A decades-old conflict About 100,000 Tibetans live in exile, the majority of them in India, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. Nicole Willock, a professor of philosophy and religious studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, said China's rebuke of the Dalai Lama's declaration illustrates an ongoing effort to belittle Tibet into irrelevance. 'The current CCP (Chinese Communist Party) policy under Xi Jinping is to isolate the Dalai Lama as he ages, forcing international corporations and anyone who wants to do business with China to forget about Tibet,' she said. As an example, she cited 'Ghost of the Mountains,' a Disney documentary feature about snow leopards – the national animal of Tibet – which she said makes no mention of Tibet, instead using Chinese terms to refer to it and the Tibetan plateau. China colonized Tibet in the mid-20th century, at a time when African and Asian nations were gaining independence from colonial powers. In 1959, a failed uprising saw the Dalai Lama flee Tibet for northern India, where he set up a government in exile, which China has since refused to recognize. Now, both sides are clashing over who gets to choose the Dalai Lama's successor. 'This is a history that the current PRC (People's Republic of China) regime wants the world to ignore,' Willock said. 'The CCP thinks if they control who the next Dalai Lama is that they will control the narrative on Tibet.' How the Dalai Lama reincarnates The announcement on July 2 by one of the world's most influential religious figures, whose sway extends far beyond Buddhism, offered relief to those puzzled by his previous public musings over whether the tradition of Dalai Lama leadership should endure or defer to a democratically elected authority. It also answered the wishes of followers who've held ever more frequent ceremonies wishing him good health and longevity while calling for his reincarnated return. 'Tibetans really want to have a Dalai Lama,' Gyatso said. The 14th Dalai Lama, born in 1935 as Lhamo Dhondup and enthroned in 1940, is a living example of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of recognizing reincarnations of previous Lamas who continue their work in the new reincarnation. While the faith holds that everyone reincarnates, Gyatso said, only those who are highly enlightened, such as the Dalai Lama, can choose where they will do so. 'They can choose what mother and father they will be born to, in the best conditions to continue their work,' she said. However, once that happens the reincarnation must be pinpointed and recognized as such, a process handled 'by highly evolved monks and specialists,' she said. 'There's a whole bunch of tests and methods done, usually when the child is about 3 or 4 years old.' In his statement, the Dalai Lama said his nonprofit foundation would oversee the succession process in consultation with his closest advisers and leaders of various Tibetan Buddhism traditions. Jose Cabezon, a professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said the declaration marked the first time the Dalai Lama had been so definitive about the certainty of a 15th Dalai Lama and how that person would be chosen. While offering 'a great sense of relief' to Tibetans, he said, the statement's specificity was also 'a warning to the PRC government not to meddle in this process.' Deciding who the real Dalai Lama is What could happen, Gyatso said, is that two Dalai Lamas may be raised concurrently – one who becomes head of the Tibetan government in exile, and the other who assumes some as yet undefined role in China, which has said it will oversee selection of the Dalai Lama's successor through a timeworn imperial ritual in which names of possible reincarnations are drawn from a golden urn. 'What we're expecting to happen is that they (China) will conduct their own process,' Gyatso said. 'The Tibetans and the rest of the world will decide who they think is the real Dalai Lama.' Should such a scenario unfold, she said, most Tibetans outside China would likely follow the Dalai Lama in exile, while Tibetans inside China would be under enormous political pressure to accept the government-endorsed figurehead. Cabezon said Beijing's insistence on appointing the Dalai Lama's successor is ironic given that the government eschews religion and considers reincarnation to be superstitious. 'Beijing will undoubtedly appoint a 15th Dalai Lama and promote that boy as the 'true' Dalai Lama,' Cabezon said. But he believes that choice 'will have little legitimacy in the eyes of Tibetans.' Could a split have an upside? Gyatso said the Tibetan community 'is very upset' about the potential dichotomy. 'They don't want the confusion of having two Dalai Lamas,' she said. Nonetheless, she said, such a situation might not be without benefit. 'If the Chinese government wants to recognize its own Dalai Lama, let them give him genuine Buddhist training and upbringing, just like the current Dalai Lama got and the next one will,' Gyatso said. 'Let him study Buddhist philosophy and ethics. If they can produce a Dalai Lama with wisdom and the ability to reach a lot of people with the important teachings of Buddhism, that would be great.' The challenge for both, she said, will be producing a leader on the scale of the present Dalai Lama, who has been not only an influential Buddhist leader but respected on the world stage as well, addressing issues such as environmentalism and neuroscience. 'Let's see you both train and educate in the best way,' Gyatso said. 'If they're both great leaders with wisdom, then they won't be in competition; they'll visit and collaborate. That will be the test…. The way we'll know who's really the Dalai Lama is by (seeing) who is able to develop the wisdom and ethical leadership recognized by people all over the world. If we have two of them and they're both great, I'll be happy, because two is better than one.'
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First Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Golden urn or Chinese political tool? The future of the Dalai Lama institution
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 Advertisement 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.'' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.
News18
06-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Reincarnation Not His Call': Chinese Envoy To India Counters Dalai Lama On Succession
Last Updated: The statement follows the 14th Dalai Lama's confirmation of a succession plan, in which he asserted that the decision would rest with a trust, not the Chinese government Amid the ongoing debate around the succession of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Ambassador to India said on Sunday that the 14th Dalai Lama does not hold the authority to decide whether the centuries-old reincarnation system will 'continue or be abolished". The statement comes after the 14th Dalai Lama confirmed his succession plan, in which he asserted that the decision would rest with a trust, not the Chinese government, and made it clear for the first time that he believes he will be reincarnated. 'The reincarnation of Dalai Lamas neither began from him nor will end due to him," Ambassador Xu Feihong wrote on X, adding that the current Dalai Lama is only one part of a long-standing religious tradition spanning over 700 years. Referring to the practice of Living Buddha reincarnation as a 'unique succession method of Tibetan Buddhism," the envoy said the system is active and widespread, with over 1,000 reincarnation lineages currently present in Xizang (Tibet) and Tibetan-inhabited regions of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai. Dalai Lama On Succession In a long-awaited statement, he announced that the process of identifying his successor would begin with consultations involving spiritual leaders, the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, and other key stakeholders. Beijing responded swiftly, reiterating its claim that any reincarnation must be approved by China's central government. It pointed to a 2007 regulation passed in Tibet asserting state authority over the recognition of reincarnated lamas — a position rejected by the global Tibetan community. First Published:
Indian Express
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Today in Politics: Dalai Lama turns 90; Oppn sharpens pitch on EC roll revision in Bihar
On Sunday, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, turns 90. Earlier last week, he had said that the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas will happen under 'some kind of a framework'. The statement assumes significance because in 2011, the leader stated he would consult the Tibetan High Lamas and the Tibetan people to re-evaluate whether the institution should continue when he turns 90. Sunday will also mark the conclusion of a Buddhist religious conference in McLeodganj, Dharamshala, where he lives. There is also anticipation around a video statement from the Dalai Lama, which could mention the process for selecting the next reincarnation of the holy leader. The selection of the next Dalai Lama matters not just for Tibetan Buddhists but also for China, India, and the United States. Following an uprising against Chinese control of Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 with 80,000 of his followers and established a government-in-exile. The Chinese government has since described him as a 'wolf in monk's clothes' and sought to extend its control over Tibetan Buddhism. On July 4, the Ministry of External Affairs released a carefully worded statement saying the government 'does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion. The Government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.' Beijing, which views the Dalai Lama as a 'separatist', prohibits any public show of devotion towards the Tibetan spiritual leader. For China, a say in the selection process of the Dalai Lama, a deeply revered figure in Tibet, is seen as a way to exert its authority over the Tibetan people. China has rejected the Nobel Peace laureate's succession plan, insisting that any future heir must receive its seal of approval. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the reincarnation 'must be chosen by drawing lots from a Golden Urn, and approved by the central government (of China).' A day later, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju — who, along with Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, is representing the Indian government at the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday event in Dharamshala on July 6 — said the decision (on the incarnation of the Dalai Lama) would be taken by the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, no one else. RECOMMENDED READING Dalai Lama turns 90: At McLeodganj, why celebrations are tinged with anxieties Oppn in Bihar steps up Bihar attack In the region comprising Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj, Supaul and Araria districts, the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal ranks the lowest on almost all development indices in Bihar. Around this time of the year, its foremost concern is the weather, with the rains bringing annual floods and distress. This time, there is another concern weighing Seemanchal down – the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which requires voters to produce documents that few here own, or know how to go about procuring. With the poor and marginalised likely to be the most affected by the EC drive, as the only official documents most of them hold are not valid for enrolment, political parties based in Seemanchal have taken the lead in slamming the poll panel. Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, an Independent, has told people 'not to cooperate with BLOs', the Booth Level Officers conducting the revision exercise on the ground. In Katihar, the CPI (ML-Liberation) MLA from Barsoi, Mehboob Alam, has also told voters in his constituency 'not to entertain BLOs' till he tells them to do so. With both Pappu Yadav and the CPI (ML-Liberation) allies of the RJD, its national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari tells The Indian Express: 'We all need to resist this tooth and nail.' Tiwari puts Seemanchal, where Muslims form over 40% of the population in four districts (with their numbers over 70% in Kishanganj), as 'central to the debate' around the EC move, which comes just ahead of the Assembly elections. The fact that Seemanchal borders West Bengal and Nepal, with Bangladesh not far away – inviting claims of illegal immigration – adds another dimension to the issue, the RJD leader adds. Calling the EC drive part of 'a sinister design to implement the RSS agenda', Tiwari says it cannot be used to weed out illegal migrants, as 'the Centre has no data or wherewithal' for it. The 11 documents the EC wants from those who don't figure in the 2003 electoral rolls (when the EC says it carried out its last Special Intensive Revision) are akin to seeking proof of citizenship. Read the full ground report– Fadnavis podcast Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken the podcast route. On Sunday, he is set to announce the launch of `MaharashtraDharma'. 'Starting something new…'MaharashtraDharma', a new podcast series…And what could be a more sacred day than Ashadhi Ekadashi to begin something new?' he wrote on X. The first episode of the podcast will be broadcast or shared at 11am on July 6 on all his social media platforms, the chief minister said. The annual pilgrimage to the Vitthal temple at Pandharpur, undertaken by lakhs of devotees across the state, culminates on Ashadhi Ekadashi, an auspicious day as per Hindu calendar. — with PTI inputs
Boston Globe
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
The little mountain democracy that sustains Tibet's refugee nation
So over the decades, he gradually devolved his own power to an elected Parliament based in the Indian Himalayas, then retired his political role completely in 2011. Creating a robust structure not dependent on a single leader, he believed, according to senior monks and officials close to him, would help exiled Tibetans withstand Beijing's efforts to crush their movement for freedom and autonomy. Advertisement 'The rule by kings and religious figures is outdated,' the Dalai Lama, who celebrates his 90th birthday Sunday, said the year he gave up his political role. 'We have to follow the trend of the free world, which is that of democracy.' Recently, the Dalai Lama seemed to rule out the unorthodox ideas he had suggested over the years to prevent the Chinese government from meddling in the process of finding a successor in the vacuum after his death. He reaffirmed his commitment to traditional practices while declaring that his office had sole authority over them. That all but guarantees a dispute, analysts say, with the prospect of two Dalai Lamas: one promoted by Beijing and the other recognized by the Dalai Lama's office in exile. Advertisement The institutionalized democracy entrenched by the Dalai Lama was built for this moment. Since 2011, Tibetan exiles — who number around 140,000, half of them in India — have chosen a president through a direct vote held across refugee settlements in India and in small diaspora pockets around the world. The president, known as the sikyong, leads a shoestring administration that oversees schools, clinics, monasteries, and even agricultural cooperatives and old-age homes. This democracy, constructed over more than half a century, may be the most vivid legacy of the Dalai Lama's modernizing efforts to preserve Tibetan traditions abroad while resisting Chinese influence. 'The political system of governance, the struggle, the same democratic system will continue even in the interregnum,' Penpa Tsering, the president of the Tibetan government in exile, said this past week, referring to the period after a Dalai Lama dies and his reincarnation is found and groomed for the role. While the spiritual leader has tried to forge a resilient administration, China will have levers to pull with India and the United States, two of the strongest supporters of the Dalai Lama's seven-decade cause, to try to dry out their support. The exile government's vulnerability became clear this year when the Trump administration froze aid as part of global cuts. About a quarter of the annual $40 million budget for the government in exile comes from the United States. Tsering said the exile administration had recently managed to persuade the US government to lift the freeze on a large share of the money. 'It does affect the momentum of the work we have set in. We lost six months,' he said. Advertisement During visits to two of the largest Tibetan settlements in India — in Dharamsala, where the government in exile is based, and in Bylakuppe, in southern India — the anxiety over a transition after the Dalai Lama was evident. Tenzin Jigdal, a member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, said he had been urging a 'SWAT analysis' of vulnerabilities. " How prepared are we for the coming years, in post-Dalai Lama scenario ?" he said on the sidelines of a parliamentary session in Dharamsala in September. 'If you see this inevitability in advance, the least you can do is you can prepare in advance.' The Parliament, with an array of groupings and factions, has come a long way since it held its first sessions under a tree months after the Dalai Lama became a refugee. Its 45 members meet twice a year — once in the spring to approve a budget and once in the fall to hear the government's performance report. Except for nearly a dozen standing committee leaders who stay in Dharamsala, most of the members have other jobs during the year, and some come from as far as Europe and North America. During the session in September, as the lawmakers filed into the small hall, they bowed to a large portrait of the Dalai Lama before taking their seats for the day's proceedings. He also loomed large over the debate. Tsering, the president, was presenting the report on the performance of his government's cultural and religious activities. He read for nearly half an hour, page after page, as many members tried to stay alert with the help of the tea in front of them. Outside, under a tent erected on a basketball court, a couple of hundred refugees seated in red plastic chairs closely followed the proceedings. They cheered and clapped when they were in agreement with a speaker. Advertisement During a question-and-answer session, one opposition lawmaker tried to score a jab. The Dalai Lama had just undergone knee replacement surgery in New York. Why had the president disturbed his rest by visiting him, she asked. The crowd under the tent booed and jeered. It was a low blow. Tsering and other officials said that while the administration was focused on the delivery of services, its overarching mission remained the preservation of Tibetan culture, language, and traditions that are being wiped out in their homeland by the Chinese Communist Party. That work has become harder as Tibetan refugees, now in their third generation, have spread out over about two dozen countries. Connections to the homeland are waning. And the Dalai Lama, their unifying symbol, has reduced his travels and engagements as he has aged. 'In India, the Tibetan community is large, so we don't face any problem in preserving culture,' said Jigme Namgyal, the education secretary in the government in exile. 'But in the West, Tibetans are scattered, so it's a bit challenging. But what we do is, in all the Tibetan communities in the West, we have weekend schools.' The challenges of migration and demographic change were most visible in the Tibetan settlements in Bylakuppe, in the south Indian state of Karnataka. More than 5,000 residents live in the settlements, as well as thousands of monks who flow through the monasteries. The exile government has two senior settlement officers who oversee the delivery of services with the help of a staff of nearly 200. The refugees run shops and restaurants and often hire local labor. Advertisement 'Our death rate is higher than our birthrate. People are also migrating out of India,' said Sonam Yougyai, 55, a hospital administrator. 'You go inside the house, and you only find old people.' At the Sambhota Tibetan Primary School, classes were sparsely attended. The school has 49 students from grades 1 to 5. They are taught the Tibetan language, English, environmental sciences, math, and arts. Sherab Wangmo, 34, the school's head teacher, said that in addition to teaching the students language and culture, they are shown videos to remind them of how they became refugees. She, like a majority of the diaspora population, was born outside Tibet and has never seen her homeland. 'Through dance and songs, we teach them about the Tibetan rivers,' she said. 'We also teach them through songs and dances that good days will come one day, and we will go back to our homeland.' This article originally appeared in
