China has no theological basis to pick the next Dalai Lama: US

Washington, November 18

China has no theological foundation to choose the subsequent Dalai Lama, in line with a high US diplomat, asserting that the Tibetan Buddhists have efficiently picked their religious chief for tons of of years.

“I travelled to Dharamshala, India to speak to the Tibetan community that were assembled there in exile and to tell them that the US is opposed to China picking the next Dalai Lama,” Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D Brownback informed reporters on Tuesday throughout a convention name, recalling his go to to India in October.

“They have no right to do that. They have no theological basis to do that. The Tibetan Buddhists have successfully picked their leader for hundreds of years, if not longer, and they have the right to do that now,” he stated in response to a query.

Brownback stated the US helps that spiritual communities have the appropriate to choose their very own management.  

“That certainly includes the next Dalai Lama. So we’ve pushed back against that. We’re going to continue to push back against that. We think that’s completely wrong of the Chinese Communist Party to assert that they have that right,” he stated.

The 14th Dalai Lama, now 85, has been dwelling in India ever since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a Chinese crackdown on an rebellion by the native inhabitants. The Tibetan government-in-exile operates from Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. Over 1,60,000 Tibetans stay in India.  

Brownback accused China of one of many worst spiritual persecution conditions on the earth at present, if not the worst.  “It will not help them in their fight on terrorism,” he stated, including, that the Chinese try to promote it to the world that that is an effort to stop terrorism, however they will create extra terrorists.

“The answer to terrorism isn’t locking up everybody. The answer to terrorism is religious freedom, allowing people to freely practice their faith, and they won’t fight you as much. If the Chinese weren’t at war with faith, they would have a more open society, but they’d also have a more satisfied citizenry that seeks to practice their faith and be left alone and left in peace,” he stated.

He referred to as on China to cease their struggle on religion, which won’t achieve success anyway, however in opposition to the Uyghurs, in opposition to the Tibetan Buddhists, in opposition to the Christian home church, in opposition to the Catholic Church, in opposition to Falun Gong.

“They are persecuting all faiths.  And the massive one which we introduced at present was this effort to essentially push again on the usage of know-how to create these digital police states to persecute spiritual adherence. This is one thing they’ve achieved in Tibet, they’re doing in Xinjiang, and rolling out somewhere else of their nation. We wish to cease this from spreading to different international locations all over the world or spreading extra to different international locations all over the world,” Brownback stated.

PTI