Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Global religious leaders examine living Buddha reincarnation system in Beijing

China

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration -:-
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
Â
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      China

      China

      Global religious leaders examine living Buddha reincarnation system in Beijing

      2025-04-22 21:54 Last Updated At:04-23 00:27

      Religious leaders from 12 countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka, recently gathered in China to explore Tibetan Buddhism's unique Living Buddha reincarnation system.

      They examined artifacts and engaged with Chinese Tibetology experts on Tibetan medicine, education, and reincarnation traditions.

      In response to Cambodian religious leaders' questions about how reincarnated soul boys are identified, Li Decheng, director-general of the China Tibetology Research Center, discussed the living Buddha reincarnation tradition in Tibetan Buddhism with foreign guests.

      "Finding the true reincarnation of a living Buddha is a complex religious process. Once a soul boy is identified, it's not the central government that determines his status. Instead, the recognition comes from wide acceptance within the religious community or through religious rituals and historical traditions. Whoever is identified through these processes is the reincarnated soul boy. The central government exercises the power of approval. In other words, religious groups use their own religious rituals to search for reincarnated living Buddhas, and the central government does not interfere. The government's role is to exercise legal management authority and approval authority over this process," he said.

      Li explained that the Living Buddha reincarnation system was established in the 13th century to maintain monastery unity, but corruption later emerged. To ensure legitimacy, methods like Zamba divination were used to identify reincarnated boys. He then discussed Emperor Qianlong's (1711-1799) solution to the issue.

      He then introduced the "drawing lots from the Golden Urn" system, a method implemented to eliminate selection chaos and corruption, ensuring a fair and reliable process for identifying reincarnated Living Buddhas.

      "They said this is the people's selection, [choice] and they choose the Lama boy that they considered to be moral to be, highly respected," said Vibol Penh, a member of the Secretariat of Supreme Sangha Council of Cambodia, who was among the delegation of religious leaders.

      The monks highlighted a common wish to have more translations of Tibetan Buddhism knowledge into the languages of Buddhist countries.

      They commended the unique traditions of Tibetan Buddhism’s reincarnation system, including the "drawing lots from the Golden Urn" method, and expressed hope that more of its rich cultural heritage, from history to Tibetan language and medicine, would be translated, enabling wider exploration and connection.

      Global religious leaders examine living Buddha reincarnation system in Beijing

      Global religious leaders examine living Buddha reincarnation system in Beijing

      Next Article

      Food prices soar after Israel halts aid deliveries into Gaza

      2025-05-02 12:29 Last Updated At:12:37

      Food prices surged after Israel reimposed a full blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2, plunging the region into a dire food crisis.

      Now, all humanitarian aid has been barred from entering the enclave.

      The World Food Program has reported that food prices in Gaza have surged by 1,400 percent this year.

      Even the most basic vegetables have become unaffordable for ordinary families, as residents are starving on a scale beyond imagination.

      Amid the rubble in western Gaza City, a makeshift market has formed.

      Yet vegetables, once a common sight, are now sold by only a few vendors.

      "One potato costs five shekels (about 1.38 U.S. dollars), sometimes even more. The same goes for cucumbers and tomatoes. Prices are skyrocketing as the border crossings are closed and supplies can't get in," said Mohammad Yazji, a vegetable vendor at the market.

      Yazji sets up his stall early each day, but receives few customers.

      For him, these expensive vegetables aren't food. They're the only hope of making enough money to feed his family.

      According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Gaza's agricultural system has almost collapsed, with nearly 70 percent of farmland destroyed, over 70 percent of fruit trees burned, 95 percent of cattle and at least half of the sheep dead, and farming infrastructure severely damaged.

      Local food production has plummeted, leaving residents heavily dependent on imported food - an option no longer viable under the continuing blockade.

      As a result, the local pricing system has completely broken down.

      "Prices keep rising. There's no flour, no food to live on. The price of flour has become exorbitant. A bag of flour (30 kilograms) costs 500 to 600 U.S. dollars now. People have no cash. They can't afford any food. The only way out is to end the war on Gaza. It has inflicted too much pain on too many people," said Yazji.

      Food prices soar after Israel halts aid deliveries into Gaza

      Food prices soar after Israel halts aid deliveries into Gaza

      Recommended Articles
      Hot · Posts