Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Part of a series on
Tibetan Buddhism
Sects Nyingma Sakya Bodong Kagyu Jonang Gelug Rimé New Kadampa Tradition
Key personalities First dissemination Padmasambhava Śāntarakṣita Kamalaśīla Second dissemination Atiśa Talika Abhayakirti Niguma Sukhasiddhi Milarepa Nyingma Longchenpa Patrul Rinpoche Mipham Kagyu Rangjung Dorje Jonang Dolpopa Taranatha Sakya Sakya Pandita Gorampa Gelugpa Je Tsongkhapa 5th Dalai Lama 13th Dalai Lama 14th Dalai Lama
Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction
Practices and attainment Lamrim Pāramitās Bodhicitta Avalokiteśvara Meditation Laity Vajrayana Tantra techniques Deity yoga Buddhahood
Major monasteries Tradruk Drepung Dzogchen Ganden Jokhang Kumbum Labrang Mindrolling Namgyal Narthang Nechung Pabonka Palcho Ralung Ramoche Rato Sakya Sanga Sera Shalu Tashi Lhunpo Tsurphu Yerpa
Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku
Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun
Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum
Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka
History and overview History Timeline Outline Culture Index of articles

Traditionally within Tibetan buddhist customs, the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas are the sources of final authority in recognizing each other's reincarnations, after spending many lifetimes together. Locating and confirming the reincarnation of a lama involves several methods, among them the familiarity with specific personal items and exhibited traits.[8] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was located and then recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, after closely following methods established more than 400 years ago by Tibetan buddhist customs. The 11th Panchen Lama would afterwards follow custom and establish his seat at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery where Chadrel Rinpoche was the Khenpo, or abbott.

The Chinese government, while evidenced to be persecuting Tibetan buddhists, alleged in a blog a different series of events was wished by the 10th Panchen Lama. The allegations include: Four days before his death, the 10th Panchen Lama made his own will publicly to follow the tradition. On 24 January, following the opening ceremony of the Ling Pagoda, with religious figures in Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and autonomous regions, the 10th Panchen Lama held a special talk on the reincarnation of the Living Buddha, proposing that "the three candidate boys should be identified first and then investigated one by one" and "I would like to take the lead by drawing lots of Golden Urn before the image of Sakyamuni." [9]

Following the death of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989, the search for his reincarnation began. As Tibet had been under the occupation and control of the government of the People's Republic of China since 1959,[10] Tibet's traditionally authoritative methods for locating and confirming the reincarnated Panchen Lama, revered and adored by Tibetans, were under attack.Three days after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the Chinese Premier of the State Council published a statement on how it felt the 11th Panchen Lama was to be selected. The statement alleges the Chinese government took advice from the committee of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and from monks.[11][12]

Under Beijing's observation and control, the head of the Panchen Lama search committee, Chadrel Rinpoche, maintained private communication with the Dalai Lama ostensibly in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable candidate for both the Dalai Lama and Beijing authorities concerning the Panchen Lama's reincarnation.[13] After the Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama on 14 May 1995, Chinese authorities kidnapped the Panchen Lama, detained his family, and had Chadrel Rinpoche arrested and charged with "splittism", or a form of treason. The Panchen Lama has not been seen in public since May 17, 1995. International calls for his release since then have grown continuously, and multiplied in 2020.

After his sentence was served in 2002, Chadrel Rinpoche was reportedly put under house arrest.[14] The Tibetan Government in Exile reported that Chadrel Rinpoche was replaced by Sengchen Lobsang Gyaltsen, so chosen because he was more likely to agree with the party line.[15] Sengchen Lobsang Gyaltsen had been a political opponent of both the Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Lama.[16] Many Tibetans and scholars believe that Chadrel Rinpoche's arrest, and replacement by Senchen Lobsang Gyaltsen was a tactical move by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to create more unrest and disunity between the typically unified Tibetan peoples.[17][18]

After the Panchen Lama's kidnapping by the Chinese government, a second Bejing supported search committee ignored the Dalai Lama's May 14 announcement and instead chose from their list of finalists, which excluded Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. In selecting a person amenable to Bejing, lottery numbers were said to have been drawn from a Golden Urn, a procedure allegedly used in Tibet by the Chinese (Manchu) emperor in 1793.[19] The lottery system contradicts methods for establishing an authentic reincarnation: The 14th Dalai Lama stated that the Tibetan method involves using possessions of the former Panchen Lama to identify his reincarnation, as the child incarnate will reportedly recognize his past items amid miscellaneous ones.[20]

The BBC reported that the Chinese Communist Party's final choice of Gyaltsen Norbu was rejected by most Tibetans.[21] International condemnation has also followed the appointment of Gyaltsen Norbu. Alexander Norman wrote, "Today, the Panchen Lamas are famous for having two claimants to the see of Tashilhunpo: one recognised by the present Dalai Lama and taken into house arrest by the Chinese, the other recognised by China but by no one else."[22] Tibetan buddhists and international observers see only one Panchen Lama, as recognized by the Dalai Lama.

Since his kidnapping, the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima have been unknown.[23] Chinese officials state that his whereabouts are kept undisclosed to protect him.[24] Human rights organizations termed him the "youngest political prisoner in the world".[25][26] No foreign party has been allowed to visit him.[27]

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child requested to be told of Nyima's whereabouts on 28 May 1996. Xinhua declined, responding that Gedhun Choyki Nyima was at risk of being "kidnapped by separatists" and that "his security had been threatened".[28] The Committee requested a visit with Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, supported by a campaign of more than 400 celebrities and associations petitioning for the visit, including six Nobel Prize winners.[29][30] According to statements by the Chinese government from 1998, he was then leading a normal life.[27]

In May 2007, Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the UN Human Rights Council, asked the Chinese authorities what measures they had taken to implement the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, that the government should allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima while respecting his right to privacy, and that of his parents. In a response dated 17 July 2007, the Chinese authorities said: "Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is a perfectly ordinary Tibetan boy, in an excellent state of health, leading a normal, happy life and receiving a good education and cultural upbringing. He is currently in upper secondary school, he measures 165 cm [5 ft 5 in] in height and is easy-going by nature. He studies hard and his school results are very good. He likes Chinese traditional culture and has recently taken up calligraphy. His parents are both State employees, and his brothers and sisters are either already working or at university. The allegation that he disappeared together with his parents and that his whereabouts remain unknown is simply not true." This response did not answer the question about a visit or confirmation.[31]

In 2015, on the twentieth anniversary of Gendun Choekyi Nyima's disappearance, Chinese officials announced "The reincarnated child Panchen Lama you mentioned is being educated, living a normal life, growing up healthily and does not wish to be disturbed."[32]

In April 2018, the Dalai Lama declared that he knew from a "reliable source" that the Panchen Lama he had recognized, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was alive and receiving normal education. He said he hoped that the PRC-appointed Panchen Lama (Gyaincain Norbu) studied well under the guidance of a good teacher. Within Tibetan buddhist traditions, there were instances of a reincarnated lama taking more than one manifestation.[33][34] Each of those manifestations must also be recognized.

As of 2020, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has not been seen by any independent observer since his disappearance in 1995.[35]

• List of people who disappeared

• BBC News article – "Tibet's missing spiritual guide"