The Panchen Lama and the succession question
In 1995 the Dalai Lama's choice of Panchen Lama vanishes into Chinese custody and Beijing installs its own; the same struggle now looms over who will name the next Dalai Lama.
- The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1997)
- Statement of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on the Issue of His Reincarnation — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2011)
- Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2025)
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
On 14 May 1995 the Dalai Lama announced that a six-year-old boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. Within days the boy and his family were taken into Chinese custody. Beijing rejected the choice, held a Golden Urn ceremony and enthroned another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, in December 1995. Chinese officials have said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is living a normal life and does not wish to be disturbed, but he has not been seen in public since.
- The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1997)
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
In 2007 China ruled that all reincarnations require government approval. In 2011 the Dalai Lama gave up his political role to an elected exile leader and set out how his own reincarnation should be recognised, warning against any successor chosen by Beijing.
- Statement of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on the Issue of His Reincarnation — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2011)
- Dalai Lama XIV — Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2025)
Only the Dalai Lama himself, and after him the Gaden Phodrang Trust in consultation with the heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, can recognise his reincarnation. Any candidate chosen by an atheist state for political ends will not be accepted.
- Statement of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on the Issue of His Reincarnation — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2011)
- Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama — Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2025)
Reincarnations of living Buddhas must follow historical convention, including drawing lots from the Golden Urn, and be approved by the central government, as required by 2007 regulations. Gyaltsen Norbu is the legitimate 11th Panchen Lama.
- Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity — State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China (2021)
- The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1997)
Why it matters today
The next Dalai Lama may be the most important choice in modern Tibetan history. Tibetans fear a future with two rival Dalai Lamas, one recognised in exile and one installed by Beijing, as already happened with the Panchen Lama.
The dispute raises a question for Buddhists everywhere: who has the authority to recognise a reincarnate teacher, a religious tradition or a state? Many Buddhist leaders and governments have weighed in.