Dalai Lama's reincarnation included in Congress' $900 billion COVID relief bill

[WhiteTara]

https://www.lionsroar.com/dalai-lamas-reincarnation-included-in-congress-900-billion-covid-relief-bill/?goal=0_1988ee44b2-a3c244bd69-22616029&mc_cid=a3c244bd69&mc_eid=9427bfd571

A $900 billion dollar spending bill passed by Congress over a presidential veto on December 27th includes significant updates to the 2002 Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) that reaffirm the rights of Tibetans to choose a successor to the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Washington Post reports.

The 2020 TPSA now signed into law imposes sanctions on Chinese Communist Party officials if they attempt to name a successor to His Holiness, and urges international coordination to reject the recognition of any Dalai Lama picked by China. The TPSA was previously an independent piece of legislation, but was included in the spending bill after failing to make progress on Capitol Hill due to the reduced legislative schedule of the pandemic.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the 700-year-old tradition of recognizing reincarnate lamas is the most common system of sustaining spiritual lineages. In recent years, the Chinese government, who views His Holiness as a dangerous “splittist” and separatist, has indicated it may name its own Dalai Lama. His Holiness has previously stated that he may have no successor, or else his successor may be selected by the Tibetan people, but China insists that he must reincarnate and his successor will have to be approved by the state.

[applegrove]

1. The Chinese kidnapped the Panchen Lama as a child and his family. Then

they replaced him with their own. Nobody has seen the family.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Panchen_Lama_controversy

I would think the next Lamas would be found outside Tibet as Tibetan buddhism has crossed the globe in the last 60 years.

[WhiteTara]

2. Yes. It was very devastating to the Dalai Lama

when that happened. This gives Tibetans a chance for their lineages to survive.