https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202507/02/WS68648275a31000e9a5739a57.html
"- Recently, the Dalai Lama clique and international anti-China forces have colluded to claim the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist living Buddhas, claiming that it is an internal religious matter that should be decided by the reincarnated people themselves. Historical facts show that the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist living Buddhas, including the search and confirmation of the successive Dalai Lamas, has never followed such a precedent. The reincarnation of living Buddhas is by no means a mere internal religious matter
- The established system of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation lineage began with the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, while the religious community posthumously recognized the first and second Dalai Lamas.
- Records such as the biography of the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, document his birth in a place near Lhasa in 1543 and the subsequent observation of auspicious signs that led to his identification as a candidate for reincarnation. In 1544, disciples of the late Gendun Gyatso from Drepung Monastery visited Sonam Gyatso. They confirmed the reincarnation through tests such as asking the child to identify a Buddha statue and rosary that belonged to Gendun Gyatso. Later, after years of research by eminent religious monks, their decision was approved by the then leader of the local government of Phagmodrupa. These facts clearly show that the Living Buddha Drepung was identified and installed through collective religious rituals and procedures with the approval of the local government of Sisang. - In 1781, when the Qianlong Emperor formally conferred the title of the Eighth Dalai Lama, he simultaneously confirmed Kelsang Gyatso as the Seventh Dalai Lama and Tsangyang Gyatso as the Sixth. This marked a direct clarification and regulation of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation lineage from the central government's perspective, emphasizing the central government's authority in managing the Dalai Lama's reincarnation matter.
- In order to prevent arbitrary action by individuals and to ensure the sanctity and purity of the reincarnation process, the golden urn lot system was introduced in 1793. Since then, the identification of the Dalai Lama's reincarnations has been carried out either by lot from the golden urn or through special exemptions granted by the central government.
- These historical facts fully demonstrate that the reincarnations of successive Dalai Lamas have always been sought and determined through religious procedures by the Gelug monastic community with the approval of the government. There has never been a single case where a decision was made solely by a reincarnated person.
- Historically, the Living Buddha reincarnation system was created and developed precisely through the granting and approval of the central government. The reincarnation of Living Buddhas, especially those who had significant influence, was always included in the sphere of state administration."
Read also: