China has been a communist country for decades. They
control many aspects of a Chinese citizen's life. This includes
where they can relocate, the number of children they can have and
more. I'm sure having such an immense amount of power over the lives
of their citizens has made the Chinese government officials the envy
of many politicians in the United States. It's obvious once you
believe you can control a citizen's life, you believe you can control
it whether they're living or dead. In China, the government has
decided who can be reincarnated. This is true. I find it confusing.
I'm sure there are elected officials in the United States government
who see this and think it's a great idea. This could lead to a
reincarnation tax, reincarnation legislation that must be discussed
and having an election or reelection campaign based on being pro or
anti-reincarnation. After reading this, the U.S. congressmen might
form a reincarnation task force to study the issue.
Below are excerpts of the story are in bold. My valuable insights are in italics.
China is laying down the law on reincarnation, as Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama — Tibet’s enormously influential spiritual leader — enters his twilight years with no successor in sight. Although the ruling Communist Party is an officially atheist organization – officials are barred from practicing religion – it is perennially uncomfortable with forces outside of its control, and has for years demanded the power to regulate the supernatural affairs of Tibetan Buddhist figures, determining who can and cannot be reincarnated.
How would Chinese officials know if someone has actually been reincarnated?
“Hey you, yeah you, get over here. I want to talk to you.
“What's the problem officer?”
“You look like you were reincarnated. When I saw you, I thought reincarnated. I bet you're that Dalai Lama guy all reincarnated. You are, aren't you? Admit it.
“Me? I just got done having some tea and dim sum. If I were reincarnated, I'd tell you. I don't even know who this Dalai Lama guy is, and I suppose we both know what those reincarnated people are like.”
“Where are you going?”
“I'm just on my way to celebrate Magha Puja Day.”
“Isn't that a Buddhist holiday?”
“No, no, it's not really, okay maybe a little bit, but you know, it's celebrated by a lot of people who are not reincarnated.”
“You go on, but if I find out you've been reincarnated, I'm taking you down to the station.”
“You look a little reincarnated yourself officer. Is that a possibility?”
“Get out of here.”
Authorities have framed their bureaucratization of
the afterlife as a bulwark against fraudulent, profiteering monks.
Yet experts say it's also part of a wide-ranging effort to tighten
control over the turbulent region.
“From the point of view of Beijing, the whole apparatus seems to be about giving Beijing control over the appointment of the next Dalai Lama,” said Robbie Barnett, director of the Modern Tibet Studies Program at Columbia University. The Chinese term huofo, or living Buddha, refers to high-ranking religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism, but it has no true equivalent in the Tibetan language.
Well, let's see if I understand this situation. The Buddhists choose their spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, from a process known as reincarnation. Nobody votes, nobody gets chosen, he dies, takes on a new form and is born again back into this world. The government officials in China are saying it is they who get to choose who is or is not reincarnated. How can they, being atheists, not even Buddhists, choose the person who is specifically reincarnated for the purpose of being Dalai Lama? (Sarcasm alert) That's like saying the government can choose who is born with blonde hair and brown eyes. If a person is born with the wrong hair or eye color, the government can fine them and arrest them? This is more than a little ridiculous. I wonder if some of these Chinese officials also serve in the United States Congress.
...from the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, a law that authorities passed in 2007 to govern reincarnation. One must have “recognition from the religious world and the temple” to reincarnate. The law itself frames reincarnation in terms of national security: “The selection of reincarnates must preserve national unity and solidarity of all ethnic groups, and the selection process cannot be influenced by any group or individual from outside the country,” it says.
What happens if you don't have “recognition from the religious world and the temple” when you reincarnate? Are you then labeled as a “rogue reincarnate?” Is there an underground population of people in China who have illegally reincarnated? (Sarcasm alert) Can you just tell the local courts “Hey, I was reincarnated before 2007, and I had no idea there was such a law, so how can my reincarnation be illegal if I didn't know about the law?” I like the part about national security. Makes me think that someone has developed a reincarnate app that the government wants to be decrypted.
At Monday’s meeting, Baima Chilin, deputy Communist Party chief of the region, said that the Dalai Lama was “no longer a religious leader” after he left Tibet in 1959.
I think someone needs to tell this Communist Party chief that the Dalai Lama is recognized as the religious leader of Tibet by hundreds of millions of people all around the world. If that Communist Party chief thinks being a Dalai Lama is an easy thing, maybe he should try reincarnating. I'm sure he knows that it's illegal, and he'd be required to arrest himself and put himself on trial. Makes about as much sense as having reincarnation being illegal. If United States politicians thought doing this could get them elected, they would be telling everyone how they had been reincarnated. They would claim they deserve special consideration for everything in their life because of the prejudice they've experienced as a reincarnated person. They can't even travel to China.
China Reincarnation Story
Check out the following for “It Is a Glorious Day.”
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwrbSnNTTgC95zVQHcCw_g
FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/itisagloriousday
TWITTER
@itisagloriousd
BOOKS
amazon.com/author/readmikenow
Below are excerpts of the story are in bold. My valuable insights are in italics.
China is laying down the law on reincarnation, as Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama — Tibet’s enormously influential spiritual leader — enters his twilight years with no successor in sight. Although the ruling Communist Party is an officially atheist organization – officials are barred from practicing religion – it is perennially uncomfortable with forces outside of its control, and has for years demanded the power to regulate the supernatural affairs of Tibetan Buddhist figures, determining who can and cannot be reincarnated.
How would Chinese officials know if someone has actually been reincarnated?
“Hey you, yeah you, get over here. I want to talk to you.
“What's the problem officer?”
“You look like you were reincarnated. When I saw you, I thought reincarnated. I bet you're that Dalai Lama guy all reincarnated. You are, aren't you? Admit it.
“Me? I just got done having some tea and dim sum. If I were reincarnated, I'd tell you. I don't even know who this Dalai Lama guy is, and I suppose we both know what those reincarnated people are like.”
“Where are you going?”
“I'm just on my way to celebrate Magha Puja Day.”
“Isn't that a Buddhist holiday?”
“No, no, it's not really, okay maybe a little bit, but you know, it's celebrated by a lot of people who are not reincarnated.”
“You go on, but if I find out you've been reincarnated, I'm taking you down to the station.”
“You look a little reincarnated yourself officer. Is that a possibility?”
“Get out of here.”
“From the point of view of Beijing, the whole apparatus seems to be about giving Beijing control over the appointment of the next Dalai Lama,” said Robbie Barnett, director of the Modern Tibet Studies Program at Columbia University. The Chinese term huofo, or living Buddha, refers to high-ranking religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism, but it has no true equivalent in the Tibetan language.
Well, let's see if I understand this situation. The Buddhists choose their spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, from a process known as reincarnation. Nobody votes, nobody gets chosen, he dies, takes on a new form and is born again back into this world. The government officials in China are saying it is they who get to choose who is or is not reincarnated. How can they, being atheists, not even Buddhists, choose the person who is specifically reincarnated for the purpose of being Dalai Lama? (Sarcasm alert) That's like saying the government can choose who is born with blonde hair and brown eyes. If a person is born with the wrong hair or eye color, the government can fine them and arrest them? This is more than a little ridiculous. I wonder if some of these Chinese officials also serve in the United States Congress.
...from the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, a law that authorities passed in 2007 to govern reincarnation. One must have “recognition from the religious world and the temple” to reincarnate. The law itself frames reincarnation in terms of national security: “The selection of reincarnates must preserve national unity and solidarity of all ethnic groups, and the selection process cannot be influenced by any group or individual from outside the country,” it says.
What happens if you don't have “recognition from the religious world and the temple” when you reincarnate? Are you then labeled as a “rogue reincarnate?” Is there an underground population of people in China who have illegally reincarnated? (Sarcasm alert) Can you just tell the local courts “Hey, I was reincarnated before 2007, and I had no idea there was such a law, so how can my reincarnation be illegal if I didn't know about the law?” I like the part about national security. Makes me think that someone has developed a reincarnate app that the government wants to be decrypted.
At Monday’s meeting, Baima Chilin, deputy Communist Party chief of the region, said that the Dalai Lama was “no longer a religious leader” after he left Tibet in 1959.
I think someone needs to tell this Communist Party chief that the Dalai Lama is recognized as the religious leader of Tibet by hundreds of millions of people all around the world. If that Communist Party chief thinks being a Dalai Lama is an easy thing, maybe he should try reincarnating. I'm sure he knows that it's illegal, and he'd be required to arrest himself and put himself on trial. Makes about as much sense as having reincarnation being illegal. If United States politicians thought doing this could get them elected, they would be telling everyone how they had been reincarnated. They would claim they deserve special consideration for everything in their life because of the prejudice they've experienced as a reincarnated person. They can't even travel to China.
China Reincarnation Story
Check out the following for “It Is a Glorious Day.”
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwrbSnNTTgC95zVQHcCw_g
www.facebook.com/itisagloriousday
@itisagloriousd
BOOKS
amazon.com/author/readmikenow