This may seem like an idiot move by some weirdly totalitarianism country – but China has banned any Buddhist monk from being reincarnated without permission. The law came into effect in 2007.

Sound crazy? There’s a sinister side.

The current Dalai Lama is 76 and he’s beginning to plan his succession – in other words – he’s planning on what happens next. After the death of the current Dalai Lama their will be a search for the body the new Dalai Lama has been reincarnated into.

Right now, the Dalai Lama is saying that he will “refuse” to be reborn in Tibet while the Chinese control it.

China hope that by trying to regulate reincarnation that they’ll be able to pick, or perhaps cast doubt on, the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

In Pure Spirit

What’s your take on this? Will this new law give officials in China any control or say on who the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama will be? It’ll certainly be hard for someone in Tibet, who didn’t have “permission”, to announce themselves as the next Dalai Lama.