Fantastic. Probably the most absurd, bizarre and hilarious story we've come across in the past few weeks. Of course it's all about China screwing Tibet and trying to destroy Tibetan religious beliefs.
As Chairman Mao is once supposed to have said, "Religion is poison."
Most of the story is in the above headlines. London Times story intro follows, then go here to read the full thing :
Tibet’s living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China’s atheist leaders. The ban is included in new rules intended to assert Beijing’s authority over Tibet’s restive and deeply Buddhist people.
“The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,” according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1.
The 14-part regulation issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs is aimed at limiting the influence of Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, and at preventing the re-incarnation of the 72-year-old monk without approval from Beijing.
Of course, it would be impossible to stop someone from reincarnating, if that was even a reality to begin with. But the Chinese laws are aimed at stopping a new 'living Buddha' from being identified, named and branded.
This is how you kill off a mystical system dating back more than 800 years. With intense bureaucracy.
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