China objects to Dalai Lama’s plan, says ‘seal of approval’ must

A war of words has broken out between the Chinese and Tibetans after the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, announced continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lama.

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China on Wednesday rejected the Dalai Lama's succession plan, insisting that any future heir must receive its seal of approval, adding a new chapter to Tibetan Buddhism's decades-long struggle with the Chinese ruling Communist Party.

The Tibetan spiritual leader on Wednesday said that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust will have the authority to recognise the future reincarnation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at media briefing in Beijing responded to the Dalai Lama's announcement saying the reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition, the ‘Golden Urn' process, and approval by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws”.

Mao Ning said the traditional ceremony “Golden Urn’ was incorporated in 2007 into China's official regulations, along with a clause explicitly banning interference by overseas individuals and parties.

In New Delhi, Dhundup Gyalpo, Secretary of Bureau of Dalai Lama, countered China in post made on X calling Mao Ning’s statement as “Lies, damned lies and Chinese propaganda”.

He said that the “Golden Urn” is a system of drawing of lots and is a distorted version of the traditional Tibetan dough-ball divination method, historically used when doubts arose or multiple candidates emerged. However, if there are clear written instructions, signs or visions pointing to a specific candidate, divination isn’t necessary, Gyalpo said.

The “Golden Urn” traces back to the Tibet-Gurkha conflict (1791–93), when Tibet sought Manchu military support. After expelling the Gurkhas, Manchu officials proposed several suggestions to enhance Tibetan governance, including the use of Golden Urn to select the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. Although drawing lots from the Golden Urn bore some resemblance to the traditional dough-ball divination method, it was never widely adopted. It was used only once — likely as a symbolic gesture — in the selection of the 11th Dalai Lama, said Gyalpo.

China, he said, played no role in the search or recognition of the 14th Dalai Lama. In fact, Chinese arrived in Tibet on visas issued by British India to attend his enthronement ceremony of Dalai lama in 1940 — merely as foreign guests.

Gyalpo said that Chinese Buddhism, or "Han Buddhism," does not include a reincarnation system, which is unique to Tibetan Buddhism.

News agency Press Trust of India reported that Mao's reply related to the Dalai Lama's succession plan was conspicuously missing from the official transcript of the media briefing posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website on Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama caught the attention of the world following his high-profile defection to India in 1959 with a large group of Tibetans after the Chinese military under the command of Communist Party founder Mao Zedong took over Tibet.