Panchen lama biography of rory

The Panchen Lama is also considered to be a Tulku who will be reincarnated upon his death. The successive Panchen Lamas are considered to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha. The current eleventh incarnation of the Panchen Lama is a matter of controversy: the People's Republic of China asserts it is Qoigyijabu, while the Tibetan Government in Exile maintains it is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, whom they allege to be missing since The 5th Dalai Lama requested the Panchen to accept Tashilhunpo Monastery, built by the 1st Dalai Lama, as his multi-lifetime seat for future incarnations.

Since then, every incarnation of the Panchen Lama has been the master of Tashilhunpo Monastery, [1] and it is there that they have all received their education and their mummified bodies were enshrined. In Tibetan Buddhism, upon the death of either the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama, a special search is conducted to locate and identify the lama's alleged reincarnation.

The Panchen Lama is partially responsible for finding and identifying the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was just six years of age when he was caught up in a fight over faith, politics, and identity.

Inversely, when the Panchen Lama dies, new candidates for his position are reviewed and selected by the Dalai Lama. This tradition has existed since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama seventeenth century. This tradition was been followed until the Chinese Communist takeover in the s. He was enthroned on June 11, , in Amdo Qinghai under the auspice of Chinese officials after the KMT administration approved the selection of the reincarnation of the 9th Panchen Lama.

However, during the Cultural Revolution in he was imprisoned; in , he was released but held under house arrest in Beijing until In , he married a Chinese woman and had a daughter, Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo better known as "Renji," highly controversial behavior for a Gelug lama. Although some organizations have criticized the Tenth Panchen Lama as a Chinese puppet, most scholars and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama believe that he did the best that he could to help his people in an impossible situation.

In , the Tenth Panchen Lama died suddenly in Shigatse, Tibet at the age of 51, shortly after giving a speech critical of the Chinese occupation. Following his unexpected death, the search for his reincarnation quickly became mired in political controversy.