‘The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is also an assertion of Tibetan identity’

Just days before he turned 90, the Dalai Lama ended all speculation about the future of his institution when he declared there would be a reincarnation after his passing. The subject of his reincarnation is a geopolitical hot button issue. But it is even more central to the Tibetan community, to whom the Dalai Lama is a manifestion of Chenrezig, or the boddhisatva of compassion and one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

For decades now, the 14th Dalai Lama has led his community through the travails of refugee life, rebuilding Tibetan institutions and preserving its culture in exile, even as China has sought to erode and Sinicize Tibetan culture in its homeland. He has travelled the world, shining a global spotlight on the unresolved issue of Tibet, even as he prepared his own community for a time he may not be around, by clipping his own political powers and ushering a democracy in exile. But even as the Dalai Lama announced there would be a reincarnation of his on the eve of his 90th birthday, and the community rejoiced with celebrations, there remains much anxiety.

Bhuchung D Sonam, a writer and poet based in Dharamshala, is aware of these undercurrents of anxiety. Sonam, who left his home in Tibet and reached India when he was still a young boy, has been a vital figure in the growing literary scene among exile Tibetans, not just through his own writing, but also as an editor and publisher of TibetWrites, a platform for Tibetan writing, and its imprint Blackneck Books, which regularly publishes creative works by Tibetans. In this interview conducted just a day before the Dalai Lama announced that his lineage would continue, Sonam talks about the importance of the institution of the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan identity, and why a 15th Dalai Lama is necessary even if the political powers of that position has been handed over to a democracy in exile.

There are plenty of celebrations going on in honour of the Dalai Lama turning 90 within the Tibetan community in exile. But is there also anxiety over what could follow next?

There is definitely anxiety. And that has to do with how much responsibility the Dalai Lama has shouldered. Since 1950s, the entire responsibility of Tibetan welfare, its politics, spiritual, every aspect of Tibetan evolution in the last 60 or so years, he has single-handedly managed with great vision and great equanimity. Even though he initiated democracy [within the exile community] right from the 1960s, it took until 2011, for him to actually devolve his responsibilities. And even then, people were not really willing to accept it.

When one person has shouldered so much responsibility, the next question always is, ‘What happens if?’ That’s why a lot of people are anxious.

Is there a concern about what will happen to Tibetans in exile when the Dalai Lama will not be around?

The problem is that some people [within the exile community] frame it in such a way so as to make it even worse than what might actually happen. I know, for example, people who say, ‘Oh, if His Holiness is no longer there, then we’re all doomed’. That we will all be totally lost. But I think that negates the fact that His Holiness has set up all these institutions with great vision.

If his vision is to be valued and respected, we have to believe in ourselves that we can and will continue. The people who say we are doomed, it’s like not realising the vision he [the Dalai Lama] has had for the last 60 or so years. The fact that in 1960, he initiated the democratisation process [within the exile Tibetan community]. It says a lot about how a 25 year old had the vision to say that in the future the system that was existing then would not be applicable. We have a democratic system, an elected leadership, and despite all the chaos and confusion, and obstacles every now and then, this a viable system.

We may have some ups and downs. But I believe that we will continue. That [our continuation] is the hope and vision on which, I think, His Holiness has instituted everything.

The Tibetan exile community has a democratic system and an elected leadership. Is there a need then for a 15th Dalai Lama?

I think the question of whether we need a reincarnation is not entirely tied to whether the 15th Dalai Lama will lead the Tibetan struggle or not. I think that question was by and large cleared when he [the current Dalai Lama] devolved [all] his political responsibilities in 2011. He was very adamant that the time had come for Tibetans to shoulder their own responsibility, and that the Dalai Lama would be just one individual Tibetan among six million.

But the importance of the [future] 15th Dalai Lama is more than that. The Dalai Lama institution has played a crucial role in the evolution of the Tibetan political system. It is also central to the spiritual practice. We have to remember that everything in the Tibetan civilisation, its culture and literature, art and painting, everything has by and large been influenced by Buddhism, and the institution of the Dalai Lama is very important within that. The Dalai Lamas, especially the 14th, has been the anchor of the political leadership, the Tibetan struggle, Buddhist values, and also of the Tibetan culture itself. One institution, one person, represents so much. So despite the fact that the political responsibility is now no more with this institution, if you look at the issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation from all these different points, the institution becomes really important.

Is it also a matter of an assertion of Tibetan identity?

The selection of a subsequent incarnation, not only of the 14th Dalai Lama, but for any Tibetan Buddhist leader lies solely with Tibetans themselves, and the leader, and not with any external factor, not even India or the United States, let alone China, which is occupying Tibet. And just imagine, an atheist communist country trying to say they have the legitimacy [of choosing the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama].

I think it’s [the decision about the reincarnation of a 15^th Dalai Lama] also about trying to assert who we are, our own rights, including the right to elect and have the 15th Dalai Lama, based purely on the tradition that we have. If you look at all these different threads and elements, the question of a 15th Dalai Lama becomes important.

How will Tibetans in Tibet respond to the news of what the Dalai Lama decides about his reincarnation?

It’s hard to gauge because it’s very difficult to get anything out of Tibet these days. There’s so much censorship and surveillance. But if you look at what Tibetans inside Tibet have done in the last nearly 70 years or so, it’s very clear that their allegiance, their emotional attachment, their legitimacy, everything is tied down to the idea of Tibet that is led by the [historical] Tibetan government and His Holiness. So I think if we look from that point, then it is very clear that their allegiance will always lie with the [future] 15th Dalai Lama and the institution of the Dalai Lama that we have here.

It is also clear from what China did with the Panchen Lama for example [where the one recognised by the Dalai Lama was abducted and never seen again, and another was installed in his place]. They [China] installed its own Panchen Lama, and this Panchen Lama has every support that China can provide. But what he doesn’t have is legitimacy. Its very clear how China is trying hard to build some legal hooks, to make sure that somehow they have the legitimacy [to control reincarnations], including its Order Number 5 [the law, issued in 2007, which allows China to control the reincarnation process].

The history of the Chinese Communist Party as the national ruler of China begins only in October, 1949. But they are trying to claim that they have the legitimacy over the institution of the Dalai Lama, which dates back to the 15th century. So it’s quite laughable.

Are there concerns about how the Indian government may act?

I don’t really know what the Indian government will or will not do. I think India is the only country with a huge stake in the issue of Tibet. Before 1959, India never shared a border with China. Now it has nearly 4,000 kilometres of border with China.

So any change in the fundamental shape or direction of the Tibetan struggle with China, whether Tibetans [in exile] want a solution or whether they want complete independence, impacts India directly in the long run. So India has a huge stake.

I don’t think India will want to interfere. If you look at all the precedents, I think it will be wise for India to respect Tibetan history and the spiritual practice, and its resultant elements, including the reincarnation system. Because ultimately Buddhism was introduced to Tibet from India and not from anywhere else. So that link alone has so much connection. And on top of that, there is India’s own geopolitical interest.

There are some who think the next reincarnation could be born among the Tibetan Buddhist followers in India, perhaps even be an Indian citizen.

Yes, His Holiness has often said, and made it very clear, that the next incarnation will be born in a free country. So it’s quite possible.

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Lhendup G Bhutia

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