Tibetan people should decide the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama, not China

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Japanese Buddhist said the Tibetan people should decide on the successor to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on the basis of Tibetan culture and history, not China.

Japanese Buddhist Conference for the World Federation, The Tibet Post reported, issued a statement saying the monks of Japan, believe that Tibetan people must decide upon the next successor based on their Tibetan Buddhist culture and history. China (PRC) is communist and based on non-religious principles. It is contradictory to let people who do not believe in religion decide who is the religious leader of the country.’

Representatives of the Japan Buddhist Conference for World Federation (JBCWF), Mizutani Eikan, General Secretary, and Itoh Einin, visited the Office of Tibet, Japan on January 24, 2023, and met with Representative Dr Arya Tsewang Gyalpo. Reverend Mizutani Eikan handed over to the Representative the original statement in Japanese that, they had recently issued a statement condemning China for interfering in the selection of Tibetan incarnate Lamas and for claiming the authority to name the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama. He also explained that the Conference members had met and discussed this issue some time ago.

The Japanese Buddhist Conference for World Federation is an umbrella organisation for a number of sects of Japanese Buddhism, with millions of followers in Japan and other countries. In its letter, it strongly opposes China’s continued interference in religious and spiritual matters of Tibet.

The statement says, “We, the Japanese Buddhist, believe that the Tibetans should decide the succession of the Dalai Lama based on Tibetan Buddhist culture and history. The national policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is communism, and communism is based on the principle of non-religion. Therefore, it is a contradiction to allow people who don’t believe in religion to decide who the country’s religious leader will be.”

“This is a total insult to the religious community worldwide, especially Buddhists. The members have decided that time is ripe to issue a statement to make our stance clear and request the Chinese authority to let the Tibetans practice religion freely and stop interfering in the selection of the next Dalai Lama,” said Mizutani, the general secretary of Japan Buddhist Conference for World Federation.

Reverend Mizutani Eikan further said, “the monks and people of Japan have great respect for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore, Japanese people will never accept any Dalai Lama appointed by the Chinese communist leadership.”

According to the Office of Tibet, Japan, Representative Dr Arya Tsewang Gyalpo welcomed the initiative taken by the delegation to express its concern and urge the Chinese authorities not to interfere in Tibetan religious affairs. He added that this would serve as a warning to the Chinese leadership that the whole world is watching and would encourage other religious bodies to make such a statement in order to deter Communist China from interfering in Tibetan religious affairs with impunity.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has visited Japan twenty-four times and transited the country sixteen times. Most of the visits were at the invitations from Japanese monasteries and Buddhist federations. The Japanese Sangha members and lay people have greatly appreciated his teachings on love, compassion, and non-violence.

The Indian Himalayan Council of Nalanda Buddhist Traditions held a meeting in New Delhi and passed a resolution on the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on December 20, 2022, in New Delhi, India. The resolution states, ” If the government of the People’s Republic of China, for political ends, chooses a candidate for the Dalai Lama, the people of the Himalayas will never accept it, never pay devotional obeisance to such a political appointee and publicly denounce such a move by anyone.”

In 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama states: “Bear in mind that, apart from the reincarnation recognised through such legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic of China.”