Photo/Illutration The 14th Dalai Lama delivers a sermon in Bodh Gaya, a holy site of Buddhism in northern India, in 2022. (Takashi Ishihara)

His name is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Born in 1989 in a poor farming village in Tibet, his life was irrevocably altered at the age of 6.

That year, the 14th Dalai Lama—spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism—recognized him as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in the Gelug school, subordinate only to the Dalai Lama himself.

Just three days later, the young boy vanished from his village along with his parents.

The Tibetan government-in-exile claims he was abducted by Chinese authorities. Chadrel Rinpoche, the abbot of a prominent Tibetan monastery who had played a central role in the search for the reincarnated Panchen Lama, was also detained and later imprisoned.

Chinese authorities selected another boy, Gyaincain Norbu, asserting that he was the true 11th Panchen Lama.

Over time, this “officially recognized” figure matured and began appearing at state functions. Earlier this month, he was even received by President Xi Jinping. In photographs and accompanying media coverage, he is seen bowing deeply to Xi and pledging loyalty to the Communist Party.

It is a deeply sorrowful and haunting story.

To imagine being in the place of either boy is enough to stir anguish. Human freedom is treated with disturbing ease and entire lives are manipulated like pieces on a board. The sheer injustice—and absurdity—of it all is overwhelming.

Next month, the 14th Dalai Lama will turn 90.

An announcement regarding the selection of his successor—the 15th Dalai Lama—is reportedly imminent. The Chinese government is almost certain to respond with fierce opposition.

Will the world soon be confronted with the spiritually and politically charged dilemma of “two Dalai Lamas,” just as it has been with the Panchen Lama?

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, meanwhile, turns 36 this year.

According to Chinese authorities, he graduated from an unnamed university, holds an unspecified job and is “living a normal life” somewhere.

Yet no one has ever seen him.

—The Asahi Shimbun, June 27

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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