HH Panchen Lama between a rock and a hard place

[WisdomBeing]

I saw this article on the Panchen Lama today and i'm positive that he will get lots of stick in the international arena for his statements. However, i think that it was a statement that was expected of him by the Chinese authorities and he could hardly say anything different, could he? 

The Panchen Lama is accepted by several high ranking Gelugpa Lamas like HE Gangchen Lama and HH Gaden Trisur, so while many will vilify him for being a fake and a Chinese stooge, i think there's another dimension to it and let's not condemn him so quickly. I think there's a bigger picture involved here too which will be unravelled at the right time.



Beijing’s Panchen Lama says he’s impressed by religious freedom enjoyed by Tibetan faithful

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/beijings-panchen-lama-touts-party-line-to-tibetan-faithful-in-remote-area-of-china/2011/08/22/gIQABVehXJ_story.html

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 23, 1:19 PM

BEIJING — A Tibetan spiritual leader installed by China’s communist government against the Dalai Lama’s wishes has finished a trip to a major Buddhist monastery with comments unlikely to endear him to an already skeptical Tibetan public.

The Panchen Lama is the second-ranked religious leader to Tibetans, after the Dalai Lama, but most Tibetans do not accept him because he was appointed by Beijing. The original boy selected by the Dalai Lama in 1995 has not been heard from since, with suspicion falling on Beijing.

According to a report Tuesday by the official Xinhua News Agency, the Panchen Lama said he was impressed by the amount of religious freedom enjoyed by Buddhists near the remote Labrang Monastery that has been the scene of numerous anti-Beijing protests.

The comments are likely to reinforce the belief among Tibetans that he is not the true Panchen Lama.

Beijing’s Panchen Lama, who was selected when he was 6 years old and is also known as Gyaltsen Norbu, has taken on an increasingly political role in recent years. The now 21-year-old has made appearances with Communist Party leaders praising Chinese rule over Tibet and been appointed to the main government advisory body.

The monastery is one of the most important outside of Tibet and was the site of numerous protests by monks following deadly ethnic riots in Tibet in 2008 that were the most sustained Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in decades.

During a 13-day trip that ended Sunday, the Panchen Lama also gave cash to poor local families, toured government-built houses for nomads and told locals to uphold national unity and obey the law, Xinhua said.

The trip was the latest attempt by Beijing to burnish his religious credentials. It also saw security stepped up in the area prior to his arrival, with Chinese tourism officials saying at the start of the trip that foreigners had been barred from the county.

The Washington-based activist group International Campaign for Tibet said that monks in the area feared the visit could trigger more repression and patriotic education.

The dispute over the Panchen Lama has also raised questions and concerns about what will happen when the 76-year-old Dalai Lama dies.

China has left little doubt that it intends to be deeply involved in choosing the next Dalai Lama and insists that religious law requires the reincarnation be born in a Tibetan area under Chinese control. The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born in exile and has even floated the idea of choosing his own successor while still alive.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Big Uncle]

Dear Wisdom Being,
Thank you for this article. All High Incarnates have to go through this phase where people have doubts that he is a true incarnate. The more well-known the Lama, the more doubts and obstacles the Lama would have to go through. Even the previous Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche had many people who had tremendous doubts with him and some even claim that he is a fake incarnation and placed their support and faith on another candidate.

I believe that the criticism, doubts and so forth is not really important, what's important is that that Lama will manifest his previous lives prayers and attainments. Hence, when we see great Dorje Shugden Lamas come to pay homage to this Panchen Lama, you already know he is the real Panchen Lama. They have no reason to do so but to assist the current Panchen Lama so he would have less obstacles to manifest his Dharma work.

The scale and scope of Panchen Lama's Dharma work in the future looks very promising in China. Perhaps he will have less clout amongst the Tibetans themselves but his work with the Chinese government will bring Dharma to millions in China.

[dsiluvu]

This sure is interesting to keep watch. I've never really like politics but I must say that ones that involves Enlightened beings are very fascinating as they will be shaping the future of this planet.

Whether or not China's Panchen Lama is the real deal or the fake is really not so much the concern any more... the important issue is how will he affect the spread of Dharma from China, for they really need it and then spread to the world. Looks like many high Lamas are giving him their support for when the time is right, China will once again be the centre where Dharma will be propagated from, this seems to be the direction.

I truly hope the future Dalai Lama will return swiftly in the future and in a situations where He deem will best benefit the masses again.

[DharmaSpace]

I trust that Gangchen Lama and Gaden Trisur have bodhicittta. For them to recognise the 11th Panchen Lama they have their reasons and most of the time it is to benefit many sentient beings.
I liked what Big Uncle has to say about how even Trijang Rinpoche has face hurdles in his recognition as the rightful Trijang Rinpoche. 

As my lama likes to say its all about results if the Panchen Lama can lead and inspire many people towards spirituality, his name is just another label for a being who has compassion in their mindstream. 

[shugdenpromoter]

I trust that Gangchen Lama and Gaden Trisur have bodhicittta. For them to recognise the 11th Panchen Lama they have their reasons and most of the time it is to benefit many sentient beings.
I liked what Big Uncle has to say about how even Trijang Rinpoche has face hurdles in his recognition as the rightful Trijang Rinpoche. 

As my lama likes to say its all about results if the Panchen Lama can lead and inspire many people towards spirituality, his name is just another label for a being who has compassion in their mindstream. 

Never judge the book by it's cover....The high lama actions can be mind blowing most of the time. It is always the bigger picture and how they can benefit others with their action. It might not make sense to an ordinary mind but when the results or effect comes, it will jive. Thus once we have decided to follow a guru, we must have faith and devotion. Once we have that, whatever action they take will not be conflicting to our mere simple/selfish mind.

Most of the time is our lack of merits that makes us view an action of a lama being negative. Come to think about it, when we listened and read about all the great Mahasiddha stories it will not make sense but the results or the effect they want achieve is mind blowing.

[DharmaDefender]

Dear Wisdom Being,
Thank you for this article. All High Incarnates have to go through this phase where people have doubts that he is a true incarnate. The more well-known the Lama, the more doubts and obstacles the Lama would have to go through. Even the previous Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche had many people who had tremendous doubts with him and some even claim that he is a fake incarnation and placed their support and faith on another candidate.

BU - thanks for pointing that out, Id forgotten about that. Actually yeah you have a point about high lamas facing many obstacles when it comes to their recognition and especially now, when many of them are born into societies with far greater exposure to samsaric pursuits.

To me, there are a few things that could explain this Panchen Lama issue.

(1) The Dalai Lama purposely identified the wrong boy so China would be encouraged to pick the right one, and really promote him (like theyre doing now). To me, this is possible because  (1) the Dalai Lama has clairvoyance so he knew which boy the Chinese were going to pick (2) why would the Chinese govt get involved since theyre supposed to be secular?

(2) Theres more than one Panchen Lama emanation. After all, the mans an enlightened being and they can manifest in many forms...so why not two Panchen Lamas?

(3) It sets a precedence amongst Dalai Lama devotees that he can fail and make the wrong decisions...maybe later he admits he picked the wrong boy? Who knows

(4) It distracts the Tibetan people from their present situation, and gives them another issue to focus on so they dont analyse their more pressing issues like national development (sanitation, health, education) and cultural preservation...kindda like what they could be doing with the Protector issue

[thor]

I was skeptical of the Chinese Panchen Lama in the beginning, but after seeing photos of him with Gangchen Rinpoche and Trisur Rinpoche, the way I feel about him has changed. My guru has told me before that I should never judge another high lama, nor presume that i am correct and they are wrong. Instead, i was taught that the motives of a high lama may not always be obvious but will always be good.

My guru also told me that it is possible for the panchen lama to have multiple emanations. Therefore, with the support of Gangchen and Trisur Rinpoche, the Panchen lama is probably valid. And although enthroned under the seeming influence of the Chinese, perhaps this too is a part of a bigger plan.