Chinese Communist Party has institutionalized monitoring of Tibetan Buddhism: Report

Colombo, Oct 22 (IANS) China's approach towards Buddhism in Tibet depends on three interconnected levers - co-opting religious institutions, building a state-centred narrative and projecting influence internationally. These levers are aimed to reduce Tibet Buddhism to a a manageable part of the state's political structure. The CCP's levers of control showcase impressive reach but fragile depth, a report stated on Wednesday.

Since the late 1990s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has institutionalized its monitoring of Tibetan Buddhism. Currently, Tibet Autonomous Region has roughly 1700 officially registered monasteries and around 46,000 monks and nuns, a report in Sri Lanka's Ceylon Wire News detailed.

Government-approved management committee oversees each monastery in Tibet and all senior monastic appointments need party approval. The "patriotic education" sessions, having increased in Lhasa since 2008, force monks to denounce Dalai Lama and pledge loyal to the state.

"The clearest example of the state’s intervention is its claim to the right to approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. This bureaucratization of a sacred religious tradition reflects Beijing’s conviction that controlling succession is essential to neutralizing a figure who embodies Tibetan religious and political identity," the report mentions.

Narrative assertion is part of this effort with Tibet's inclusion in China in 1951 being described as a “Peaceful Liberation” that ended a feudal theocracy in textbooks, museums and official media. The Party-state frequently highlight the amount of money being spent on restoring monasteries. Furthermore, choreographed pictures of monks expressing gratitude to the party for their prosperity reinforce this narrative, the report highlighted.

"Beijing has also worked to extend its version of Buddhism beyond China’s borders. It regularly funds international Buddhist conferences in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Nepal and supports university research centres across Asia that promote a vision of Buddhism aligned with Chinese state narratives. This effort is intended to present China, rather than the Tibetan diaspora, as the legitimate global centre of Buddhist thought and to diminish the influence of the Dalai Lama, who remains one of the most respected religious leaders worldwide," it mentioned.

However, instead of resolving the question of Tibet’s future, Beijing remains focused on controlling reincarnation risks turning the succession into a major international flashpoint.

"The Tibetan case highlights a broader truth. The CCP’s campaign is less about faith than about political legitimacy. By seeking to 'Sinicize' religion, embedding it with what the Party calls 'Chinese characteristics,' Beijing has invariably revealed its anxiety that spiritual traditions can mobilize loyalties beyond the reach of the Party-state. The more the CCP tries to control Tibetan Buddhism, the more it underscores the resilience of the tradition it hopes to subsume.

"The struggle over Buddhism in Tibet is ultimately about who defines moral authority in China’s borderlands. The CCP’s levers of control demonstrate impressive reach but fragile depth. They show that political power without some measure of moral consent is inherently insecure, and that efforts to impose ideological control can sometimes strengthen the very traditions they aim to weaken," the Ceylon Wire News report stated.

--IANS

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