China bans unauthorized reincarnations

ROLAND MAGUNIA/AFP/Getty Images China’s atheist authorities have decided to play God—they have banned Tibet’s Buddhist monks from reincarnating without permission. The State Administration for Religious Affairs said the new regulations on reincarnation are “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.” What the Chinese government is really trying to do is limit the power of the ...

599683_070829_dalailama_05.jpg
599683_070829_dalailama_05.jpg

ROLAND MAGUNIA/AFP/Getty Images

ROLAND MAGUNIA/AFP/Getty Images

China’s atheist authorities have decided to play God—they have banned Tibet’s Buddhist monks from reincarnating without permission. The State Administration for Religious Affairs said the new regulations on reincarnation are “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.”

What the Chinese government is really trying to do is limit the power of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and political leader who has been living in exile in India since 1959. The 72-year-old monk will not be allowed to reincarnate without approval from Chinese authorities. In practice, this means that when the Dalai Lama passes away, there could be two new dalai lamas: Beijing’s approved reincarnation and the one identified by Buddhist monks.

The Dalai Lama, however, has said he won’t be reborn in any place that’s under China’s control, which would make it rather difficult for Chinese authorities to locate his successor.

In all, this whole attempt to regulate reincarnation serves as a reminder: Even the most authoritarian governments in this earthly world face limits to their power. Too bad Chinese authorities don’t realize that.

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.