China regulates Buddhist reincarnations

By Matthew Philips
Newsweek

Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese control. Assuming he's able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks. "It will be a very hot issue," says Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford. "The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet, and so it's quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others."

So where in the world will the next Dalai Lama be born? Harrison and other Buddhism scholars agree that it will likely be from within the 130,000 Tibetan exiles spread throughout India, Europe and North America. With an estimated 8,000 Tibetans living in the United States, could the next Dalai Lama be American-born? "You'll have to ask him," says Harrison. If so, he'll likely be welcomed into a culture that has increasingly embraced reincarnation over the years. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 20 percent of all U.S. adults believe in reincarnation. Recent surveys by the Barna Group, a Christian research nonprofit, have found that a quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10 percent of all born-again Christians, embrace it as their favored end-of-life view. A non-Tibetan Dalai Lama, experts say, is probably out of the question.

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Father Jorge Hernandez, a Franciscan friar, sprinkled holy water on a taxi cab during the annual blessing of cabs outside St. Boniface church in San Francisco yesterday. It coincides with the feast day of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of taxi drivers.

Africa welcomes US gay-bashers

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me@rescam.org

Zimbabwe and Kenya have great tract records...doah!

...and some of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Bring on the altar boys!

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not pandering to those who believe that only they can interpret God's word

Well, the Holy Books all say that only Gods people can interpret His word properly and that He has blinded the disobedient from understanding His Word... But it all seems fairly clear to me... When God says don't do it, then don't do it... When God says do it, then do it... Simple eh? ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

not pandering to those who believe that only they can interpret God's word

Well, the Holy Books all say that only Gods people can interpret His word properly and that He has blinded the disobedient from understanding His Word... But it all seems fairly clear to me... When God says don't do it, then don't do it... When God says do it, then do it... Simple eh? ;)

And God also suggested: "If any man preaches you something, ask me in righteous prayer if that is right."

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And God also suggested: "If any man preaches you something, ask me in righteous prayer if that is right."

The last prophet of the Book of Mormon, a man named Moroni, gave this remarkable promise to anyone who wants to know whether the Book of Mormon is true: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost”. (Moroni 10:4)

Mormons would do well to spend a little more time in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible and a little less time in the churches other doctrine... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

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And God also suggested: "If any man preaches you something, ask me in righteous prayer if that is right."

The last prophet of the Book of Mormon, a man named Moroni, gave this remarkable promise to anyone who wants to know whether the Book of Mormon is true: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost”. (Moroni 10:4)

Mormons would do well to spend a little more time in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible and a little less time in the churches other doctrine... ;)

Look into the Bible, Epistle of James, 1:5.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I must say the Epistle of James is one of the most interesting Bible books for me anyway. No other part of the Bible is marked as often and as colored in my Bible as the Book of James :)

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No other part of the Bible is marked as often and as colored in my Bible

My Holy Books remain untainted... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

No other part of the Bible is marked as often and as colored in my Bible

My Holy Books remain untainted... ;)

And likely unread... :P

Jeffrey, many people underline and/or highlight in at least one copy of the Bible as a study aid... You should see one of mine. Day-glo yellow, blue, green, and pink all over the place.

Jeffrey, many people underline and/or highlight in at least one copy of the Bible as a study aid...

I don't need a 'study aid'... That's what the Spirit is for...

When I need a verse, it magically appears... Sure beats having to rely on 'book smarts'... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

I don't need a 'study aid'...

And yet you've admitted to having many.

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me@rescam.org

And yet you've admitted to having many.

Of couse I do... I read them because I enjoy it, not because I need to 'study' them... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

No other part of the Bible is marked as often and as colored in my Bible

My Holy Books remain untainted... ;)

And likely unread... :P

Jeffrey, many people underline and/or highlight in at least one copy of the Bible as a study aid... You should see one of mine. Day-glo yellow, blue, green, and pink all over the place.

Just like mine :) The only reason why my King James Bible is not as colored as my German Luther Bible or my German Einheitsübersetzung is that I read more often in the last one (naturally). Only when I prepare for a special topic, I use the advantages of all three of them: The huge appendix of the King James Bible, the better reading in the EinheitsÜbersetzung, and the better spiritual understanding through the Luther Bible. :).
Each copy of my Holy scriptures is used for study. My German Scriptures are even the 2nd copies I use, my first ones became too worn-out during the first decade after my baptism. That either tells something about the poorly-made editions, or how often I studied in them :)
To me, the message is more important than the paper it is written on. That's why I use my copies of the Scriptures to study in them quite frequently, and I attached tabs to find the single parts easier, I underlined, highlighted, even footnoted verses I found important or interesting.
To me, my copy of the Bible is not a sacred thing. It's the message in there which is holy, not the hardcopy of it.
But I admit, my copy of the Q'ran, and of the Bagavat-gita, and of several other Scriptures of non-Christian beliefs are also full of pencil underlinings and remarks. I studied in many different of them on my spiritual Quest before I decided to stay with the Bible.
In my parent's house I should still have all of them in a shelf. All but three: the only books I ever threw away after having read them: Hubbart's "Dianetics", Crowley's "The Book of Law", and LaVey's "Satanic Bible".

This leads me to the question to all of you who own copies of the particular Holy Book(s) of the denomination you believe in: How do you treat them? Do you barely touch them, or do you use them quite often for your own studies?

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How do you treat them? Do you barely touch them, or do you use them quite often for your own studies?

I handle them delicately and read them often...

Then again, my apartment is full of ten year old stuff that people would say still look brand spankin new... Heck, even my 1998 car would pass for new if it weren't for that dang odometer... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

Has the Bible described communism?

Acts 2:44-45
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 4:32-35
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.
And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

2 Thess 3:10-12
For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.
Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

Eph 4:28
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

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Pope says abortion "not a human right"

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me@rescam.org