Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

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Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Tibetan name
Tibetan: དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་
Wylie transliteration: dge ’dun chos kyi nyi ma
pronunciation in IPA: [gendỹ tɕʰøci ɲima]
official transcription (PRC): Gêdün Qoigyi Nyima
other transcriptions: Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Chinese name
traditional: 更登確吉尼瑪
simplified: 更登确吉尼玛
Pinyin: Gèngdēng Quèjí Nímǎ

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (b. April 25, 1989) is the eleventh Panchen Lama, according to most Tibetan Buddhists.[1][2][3] He was born in Lhari County, Tibet. The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, named him Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995. The government of the People's Republic of China then removed him from Tibet and installed Gyancain Norbu (Erdini Qoigyijabu) as its 11th Panchen Lama.

Contents

[edit] Selection of the 11th Panchen Lama

One of the few known photos of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama according to the Gelug sect
One of the few known photos of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama according to the Gelug sect

Following the death of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989, the search for his reincarnation quickly became mired in bureaucracy and controversy.[4] Chadrel Rinpoche, the head of the search committee, was able to secretly communicate with the Dalai Lama.[5] However, after the Dalai Lama announced Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the new Panchen Lama, Chinese authorities arrested Chadrel Rinpoche, who was replaced with Sengchen Lobsang Gyaltsen.[6] Sengchen had been a political opponent of both the Dalai Lama and the previous Panchen Lama.[7] The new search committee ignored the Dalai Lama's May 14 announcement and instead chose from a list of finalists; the list excluded Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. In selecting a name, lots were drawn from the Golden Urn, a tradition introduced in 1793.[8] Gyancain Norbu was announced as the search committee's choice on November 11, 1995.

[edit] Whereabouts

The whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima are unknown. The Government of Tibet in Exile claims that he and his family continue to be political prisoners, and has termed him the "youngest political prisoner in the world".[9] According to Chinese government claims, he is attending school and leading a normal life somewhere in China.[10] This cannot be verified by outside sources as no credible evidence has been provided to confirm or deny these claims.[11] The reason this evidence has been withheld, according to statements by Chinese authorities, is that his whereabouts are kept undisclosed to protect him[12].

The Committee of the Rights of the Child of the United Nations reviewed the Gendhun case on May 28, 1996. During hearings on the matter, Chinese authorities claimed for the first time to have "take the child for his security"[13]. The Committee requested a visit with Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, supported by a campaign of more than 400 celebrities and associations petitioning for the visit, including eleven Nobel Prize winners.[citation needed]. These Nobel Laureates included Günter Blobel, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Christian de Duve, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Roger Guillemin, Dudley Robert Herschbach, François Jacob, Eric R. Kandel, Jean-Marie Lehn, Norman Foster Ramsey and David Trimble.[citation needed] Chinese authorities again failed to respond to a 2007 inquiry concerning the status and condition of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. The request, made by Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the UN Human Rights Council, was met only with a response that the Pachen Lama was in good health and living a normal life.[14]


[edit] References

  1. ^ Recent Developments in Tibet: One Step Forward, Three Steps Back
  2. ^ BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Tibet's missing spiritual guide
  3. ^ Struggle over Tibet's 'soul boy' | World news | guardian.co.uk
  4. ^ Gedhun Choekyi Nyima: the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet
  5. ^ Tibet's Stolen Child, the 11th Panchen Lama
  6. ^ Update-Communist China set to decide on a rival Panchen Lama
  7. ^ Communist China set to decide on a rival Panchen Lama
  8. ^ Alex McKay, The History of Tibet : The Modern Period, Routledge 2003, ISBN 0415308445, p. 32.
  9. ^ World's youngest political prisoner turns 17
  10. ^ Congressional-Executive Commission on China
  11. ^ Congressional-Executive Commission on China
  12. ^ Xizang-zhiye April 27, 2005
  13. ^ Site of the TCHRD
  14. ^ China Fails to Respond to UN Rights Expert's Question on Panchen Lama (2008-04-25). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Choekyi Gyaltsen		 Reincarnation of the Panchen Lama
(Government of Tibet in Exile interpretation)		 Succeeded by
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