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Participants in the Third European Tibetan Buddhism Conference, December 2019. Photo courtesy of Tibet.net.
The Third European Tibetan Buddhism Conference met in December 2019 on the issue of how the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be identified. In the January 2020 FPMT Europe Newsletter, Paula De Wijs, director of Maitreya Instituut Amsterdam, wrote about the meeting, which she attended. Here’s a summary of her report:
On December 7–8, 2019, representatives of six FPMT centers in Europe participated in the Third Europe Tibetan Buddhism Conference. This meeting was organized by the Offices of Tibet with the aim of creating a European declaration on the issue of the reincarnation of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The meeting was held in Yeunten Ling, a Kagyu center in Huy, Belgium. More than thirty participants from ten countries attended. At the end of the conference all present signed a three-point declaration, which stated that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the officers representing him, specifically the Gaden Phodrang Trust, have the “sole power and responsibility” in matters concerning the recognition of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Organizers called the conference because the Chinese government already has measures in place to control the choosing of the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist teachers. China’s State Religious Affairs Bureau Order Number 5 regulates the recognition and training of reincarnations and is being implemented.
These measures go against the wishes of His Holiness, the Tibetan people, and the Tibetan Buddhist community. In addition, having the Chinese government manipulate the Tibetan Buddhist traditions in this way concerns not only Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet, but also could have an impact on the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism outside of Tibet, including in the West.
His Holiness has stated in clear terms that he will choose where and how he will reincarnate. In a September 24, 2011, statement on DalaiLama.com titled “Reincarnation,” His Holiness outlines many aspects of reincarnation and the procedure that is to be followed to find his successor. All attending the conference fully support His Holiness in this, while praying that it will not be necessary to put these procedures into place for many years to come.
Conference delegates left the meeting with the task of making this situation known to students at their respective Dharma centers and in the Dharma communities in their areas or countries. And wherever possible, European government officials will be apprised of the situation.
The US government has already declared that they would not accept a successor to the Dalai Lama put forward by the Chinese government. The Dutch government has done the same. Conference attendants look forward to other European governments following suit. Local Offices of Tibet are available to provide further information on this subject.
The FPMT delegation at the Third European Tibetan Buddhist Conference (from left): Ven. Gyaltsen, Teresa Fabbris, Paula de Wijs, Ven. Elisabeth Drukier, Nicolas Brun, Marco Parolin, Ven. Marga Echezarreta, and Carlo Casetti Brach; Huy, Belgium, December 2019. Photo courtesy of Paula de Wijs.
The declaration signed at the Third European Tibetan Buddhism Conference can be found here:
https://tibet.net/3rd-europe-tibetan-buddhism-conference-in-belgium-adopts-3-point-declaration-on-the-reincarnation-of-the-dalai-lama/
For more, you can also read about the November 2019 declaration “14th Tibetan Religious Conference affirms the Dalai Lama’s sole authority in his reincarnation, condemning China’s meddling in religious affairs” here:
https://tibet.net/14th-tibetan-religious-conference-affirms-the-dalai-lamas-sole-authority-in-his-reincarnation-illigitimises-chinas-meddling-in-religious-affairs/
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