Gendün Chökyi Nyima

Gendün Chökyi Nyima with the 10th Panchen Lama in the background, painted by Claude-Max Lochu

Poster for the missing Panchen Lama

Wall painting

Gendün Chökyi Nyima ( Tib . : dge 'dun chos kyi nyi ma , Tibetan : དགེ་ འདུན་ ཆོས་ ཀྱི་ ཉི་མ་; * April 25, 1989 , in the Lhari region in Nagchu in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China ) is the 11th Penchen Lama recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama Tendzin Gyatsho .

Selection of the 11th Penchen Lama

In 1989 a search commission of Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Trashilhünpo Monastery was commissioned to search for the reincarnation ( Trülku ) of the 10th Penchen Lama , who died in the same year . Since the Dalai Lama plays an important role in finding the Penchen Lama according to tradition in Tibet, the monks, with the express approval of the Chinese government, also contacted the Tibetan government in exile to ask the Dalai Lama to participate in the selection.

In 1994 the search commission formed gave the Dalai Lama a detailed list with photos of the candidates in question, to which he was given from his Indian exile in Dharmshala ( Himachal Pradesh ) - albeit without further consultation with the Tibetan search commission or the Chinese authorities - recognized six-year-old Gendün Chökyi Nyima as Penchen Lama on May 14, 1995.

The election was rejected by the Chinese authorities on the grounds that the parents wanted their private lives to be respected and that Gendün Chökyi Nyima should lead a normal life. The cooperation between the government in exile and the search commission was then broken off. Gendün Chökyi Nyima, chosen by the Dalai Lama, was officially rejected by the monks charged with the search, and Gendün Chökyi Nyima and his family were taken to an unknown location by the Chinese authorities three days after his selection.

By drawing from the “ Golden Urn ”, the 5-year-old Gyeltshen Norbu was later named the 11th Penchen Lama in the Jokhang in Lhasa .

abode

The exact whereabouts and well-being of Gendün Chökyi Nyima have been unknown since his disappearance. There is still only one photo of him that shows him as a six-year-old boy. Repeated inquiries and requests from Tibetans in exile to the Chinese authorities went unanswered or were evasively answered. The involved UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances also repeatedly expressed concern about his fate.

According to Chinese authorities, he was taken to a safe place at the request of his parents. His security is threatened and there is a danger that he will either be kidnapped or politically instrumentalized by Tibetan separatists .

In 1998, the Chinese authorities announced that Gendun Chökyi Nyima's mother was serving a prison term. The reason for the sentence and its duration were not disclosed. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Asma Jahangir received a notice from the Chinese government on September 7, 2005 that Gendün Chökyi Nyima was attending secondary school, leading a normal, happy life and receiving a good cultural education. The information provided by the Chinese authorities cannot, however, be verified by independent observers.

Gyeltshen Norbu, determined by drawing from the “Golden Urn”, is not recognized by many Tibetans as a Penchen Lama. Many monasteries in Tibet have pictures of the 10th Penchen Lama, but none of Gyeltshen Norbu.

literature

German

• Isabel Hilton: The Search for the Panchen Lama. On the trail of a lost child . 2nd Edition. Piper, Munich and Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-492-23629-4 .
• Klemens Ludwig / Holm Triesch: Gendün - The return of the Panchen Lama. 1st edition. Longtai Verlag, Giessen 2013, ISBN 3938946229 .

English

• Laba Püncog 拉巴 平措 (ed.): Dì-shíyī-shì Bānchán Quèjíjiébù zuòchuáng shí zhōunián《第十一 世 班禅 确 吉杰布 坐床 十 周年》 / The tenth anniversary of the Eleventh Panchenué Qoigyijabu chūbǎnshè 中国 藏 学 出版社 2006; Tibetan / Chinese / English ), ISBN 7-80057-808-9 .
• Ya Hanzhang: Biographies of the Tibetan spiritual leaders Panchen Erdenis ( Beijing , Foreign Languages ​​Press 1994), ISBN 7-119-01687-3 .
• Melvyn C. Goldstein: A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951 . University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 0-520-07590-0
• Melvyn C. Goldstein: The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama . University of California Press, 1997, ISBN 0-520-21951-1
• Ya Hanzhang: Biographies of the Tibetan spiritual leaders Panchen Erdenis . Foreign Languages ​​Press, Beijing 1994, ISBN 7-119-01687-3 .

Chinese

• Zhū ​​Xiǎomíng 朱 暁 明 (ed.): Dì-shíyī-shì Bānchán Quèjíjiébù《第十一 世 班禅 确 吉杰布》 (Beijing, Zhōngguó Zàngxué chūbǎnshè 中国 藏 学 800 2001; Tibetan / Chinese ), ISBN 7-800 出版社 2001; Tibetan / Chinese ), ISBN 7-800 出版社 2001 -8 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Gendün Chökyi Nyima in the catalog of the German National Library
• The search for the lost child
• Panchen Lama as the youngest political prisoner in the world
• Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the missing 11th Panchen Lama, will be 18 years old
• The World's Youngest Political Prisoner
• $ 30,000 Reward For Information
• BBC News article - "Tibet's missing spiritual guide"
• Petition to Release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (English)
• 11th Panchen Lama alive, receiving education: Dalai Lama

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Richard S Ehrlich: Mystery surrounds kidnapped Panchen Lama. Asia Times, May 8, 2019, accessed May 17, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Wave of enforced disappearances in China sparks concern from UN rights experts. UN News, April 8, 2011, accessed May 17, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Bristow: Gedhun Choekyi Niyima: Tibetan Buddhism's 'reincarnated' leader who disappeared aged six. BBC News, May 17, 2020, accessed May 17, 2020 .