Express News Service
BENGALURU: The eight-year-old US-born Mongolian boy, who was anointed as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche by the Dalai Lama in an initiation ceremony at Dharamshala on March 8, “may come to India for monastic studies,” informed sources told this newspaper.
“Following his initiation, the Tulku (reincarnate boy) is now the head of the Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the Buddhist spiritual head of Mongolia. There is a possibility of him coming to India for spiritual studies because of the lineage and better monastic facilities. The ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa was affiliated with the Jonang Takten Phuntsok Choeling Buddhist Monastery in Shimla. Some of the monks in Jonang monastery also study at Drepung Monastery in Mundgod in Karnataka. It is possible that the Tulku takes up his monastic studies at these centres,” sources added on condition of anonymity.
According to unofficial reports, the Tulku, who was born in the US in 2015, was anointed as the 10th Khalkha (largest district of Mongolia) Jetsun Dhampa (Lord of Refuge) in a ceremony at Mongolia’s biggest Gandantegchinlen Monastery in February. The ceremony was attended by the Abbot of the monastery and the high Lamas of Mongolia.
“He was accorded legitimacy after he was declared a reincarnation of the ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa on March 8 at the culmination of the exercise that the Dalai Lama undertook when he visited Ulaanbaatar in 2016,” sources said.
“The Tulku may become the latest and yet another point of friction between India and China with the latter coming down aggressively to claim ownership of Tibetan Buddhism and reincarnations of Lamas. Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa is considered one of the most important spiritual leaders in Tibetan Buddhism,” sources added.
“There are concerns regarding the Tulku’s security after what happened to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima soon after his initiation as Panchen Lama in 1995,” the sources said.
A month after his initiation, he was abducted by the Chinese authorities and to date, he remains the world’s youngest political prisoner. He has been missing for 27 years. The Chinese authorities spared no time in announcing their own Panchen Lama six months after Choekyi’s abduction.
BENGALURU: The eight-year-old US-born Mongolian boy, who was anointed as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche by the Dalai Lama in an initiation ceremony at Dharamshala on March 8, “may come to India for monastic studies,” informed sources told this newspaper.
“Following his initiation, the Tulku (reincarnate boy) is now the head of the Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the Buddhist spiritual head of Mongolia. There is a possibility of him coming to India for spiritual studies because of the lineage and better monastic facilities. The ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa was affiliated with the Jonang Takten Phuntsok Choeling Buddhist Monastery in Shimla. Some of the monks in Jonang monastery also study at Drepung Monastery in Mundgod in Karnataka. It is possible that the Tulku takes up his monastic studies at these centres,” sources added on condition of anonymity.
According to unofficial reports, the Tulku, who was born in the US in 2015, was anointed as the 10th Khalkha (largest district of Mongolia) Jetsun Dhampa (Lord of Refuge) in a ceremony at Mongolia’s biggest Gandantegchinlen Monastery in February. The ceremony was attended by the Abbot of the monastery and the high Lamas of Mongolia.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
“He was accorded legitimacy after he was declared a reincarnation of the ninth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa on March 8 at the culmination of the exercise that the Dalai Lama undertook when he visited Ulaanbaatar in 2016,” sources said.
“The Tulku may become the latest and yet another point of friction between India and China with the latter coming down aggressively to claim ownership of Tibetan Buddhism and reincarnations of Lamas. Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa is considered one of the most important spiritual leaders in Tibetan Buddhism,” sources added.
“There are concerns regarding the Tulku’s security after what happened to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima soon after his initiation as Panchen Lama in 1995,” the sources said.
A month after his initiation, he was abducted by the Chinese authorities and to date, he remains the world’s youngest political prisoner. He has been missing for 27 years. The Chinese authorities spared no time in announcing their own Panchen Lama six months after Choekyi’s abduction.
