I've been reading books on Tibetan history lately, written by scholarly historians with no discernible axe to grind. This is partly to learn more about the rich history of Tibetan Buddhism and partly to get a better understanding of China's claim to Tibet.
So far I've written brief biographies of the 5th and 6th Dalai Lamas, and I'm working on a biography of the 7th. Events of the lifetimes of these three men (the Great Fifth was born in 1617; the 7th Dalai Lama died in 1757) are critical to China's claims, I believe.
I've been struck by how little power most of the Dalai Lamas actually had. Before the 14th Dalai Lama, the only ones who really acted as heads of state were the Fifth and Thirteenth. The tragic Sixth died in the custody of kidnappers when he was only 24. The Seventh was mostly shut out of a role in government until the last few years of his life.
My history books say little about the Eighth, although he lived to be 47. He seems to have let other people take care of politics. The Ninth through Twelfth died too young to make an impact on history. Through most of the 18th and 19th centuries the Panchen Lamas,� regents. and other lamas and career officials appear to have been the ones in charge of Tibet.
The Thirteenth, on the other hand, was a formidable and shrewd leader. But even he lacked the power to accomplish as much as he hoped. I'd say being the Dalai Lama just isn't what it's cracked up to be. And will there be a 15th?
A recent article in Time magazine looks at the issue of the Dalai Lama's successor. The author, Hannah Beech, reports that in China, relations between ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese continue to deteriorate. Beijing appears to believe that Tibetans will become more compliant once th 14th Dalai Lama is gone. But others think that's when Beijing will find a worse problem on its hands.
"There is so much anger in Tibet now; it is only because of His Holiness that the people don't rise up," says Tsering Migyur, a Mandarin-speaking undersecretary in the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala. ... "China believes that once the Dalai Lama dies, the movement will lose power," says Migyur. "But the Dalai Lama is actually China's best friend because the next generation will not be so accommodating."
Migyur spent decades as a senior officer for the Chinese police and military intelligence in Lhasa� before he defected to Dharamsala, so he should know.
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