Eight reincarnated soul boys of living Buddhas, including the 11th Bainqen, have been found and recognized by the Chinese central government since 1998 when the reincarnation system was resumed.
"All these reincarnated soul boys are well and growing up healthily," said Tubdun, a senior official from the religions committee of Tibet.
"Some of them are expected to be admitted to a Buddhism school in Beijing this year, and other smaller boys will continue their studying in temples in Tibet," he said.
Tubdun said the procedure of locating reincarnated living Buddhas is in line with practice of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tubdun said only the central government enjoys the right to recognize reincarnated living Buddhas, a practice carried out since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
"The Dalai Lama has not been granted the right to pick reincarnated living Buddhas, according to the reincarnation system.
So his acts to locate them are totally against the tradition and thus those soul boys he names as reincarnations will never be confirmed by the Chinese Government," he said.
(China Daily 05/25/2001)
