The 11th Panchen Lama

Can you break the law by reincarnating in the wrong body? We get into Tibet’s complicated battle with China over its reincarnation lineages, including a government-mandated ceremonial golden urn, a legal precedent that requires time travel to make sense, and an inheritance dispute involving a parent who’s younger than his own child.

Featured image: File:Choekyi Gyaltsen, the 10th Panchen Lama. This picture was taken during his tour of China with the Dalai Lama in 1954 or 1955. (Image source)

Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup, 3rd Panchen Lama. (Image source)

A golden statue of Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama. (Image source)

Thubten Choekyi Nyima, the 9th Panchen Lama. (Image source)

The 14th Dalai Lama (on the right) and 10th Panchen Lama (on the left) meeting with Mao Zedong in 1954. (Image source)

Also in 1954, the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are casting votes for the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. I found a lot of photoshoots of the two Lamas meeting Chinese leaders from this year; the two of them visited Beijing to attend the 1st session of the 1st National People’s Congress. (Image source)

Another photo from the same trip of the two Lamas on the train from Xi’an to Beijing. (Image source)

The tomb of the 10th Panchen Lama in Shigatse, Tibet. (Image source)

Choskyi Gyalpo, recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama by the Chinese Government. (Image source)

Street art advocating for the freedom of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama. Nyima’s current appearance and location are unknown. (Image source)

A message from the Students for a Free Tibet organization projected on the Chinese Consulate in New York in 2011. (Image source)

Sources

• The search for the Panchen Lama
• Potala Palace
• From the Heart of the Panchen Lama, Major Speeches and a petition: 1962–1989
• Panchen Lama’s 70,000 Character Petition
• Negotiations between Dalai Lama, central government revealed
• Constitution of the People’s Republic of China
• Spinning the Wheel: Policy Implications of the Dalai Lama’s Reincarnation
• China says it must approve Dalai Lama reincarnation
• Karmapa
• Human Rights Watch, Selected Prisoner Cases: China And Tibet
• Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets
• Tobias Smith – Legal Reform in China: New Opportunities and New Challenges
• Tibetans observe 27th anniversary of 11th Panchen Lama’s disappearance
• China Decries the Dalai Lama’s ‘Double Betrayal’ and Demands He Reincarnate
• Reincarnation feudal, should end now: Dalai Lama amid successor row with China