Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

ideological/spiritual invasions, then up to and including Marxist communism it has been seen, the
Sinologist Wolfgang Bauer writes, “that, as far as religion is concerned, China never went on the
offensive, never missionized, but rather the reverse, was always only the target of such
missionizations from outside” (Bauer, 1989, p. 570). Nevertheless such religious imports could never
really monopolize the country, rather they all just had the one task, namely to reinforce the idea of
China as the center of the world. This was also true for Marxist Maoism.
Let us also not forget that the Middle Kingdom followed the teachings of the Buddha for centuries.
The earliest evidence of Buddhism can be traced back to the first century of our era. In the Tang
dynasty many of the Emperors were Buddhists. Tibetan Lamaism held a great fascination especially
in the final epoch, that of the Manchus. Thus for a self-confident Chinese power elite a Chinese
reactivation of the Shambhala myth could without further ado deliver a traditionally anchored pan-
Asian ideology to replace a fading communism. As under the Manchus, there is no need for such a
vision to square with the ideas of the entire people.
The Panchen Lama
Perhaps the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet is not even needed at all for the Time Tantra to be able to
spread in China. Perhaps the Chinese are already setting up their own Kalachakra master, the
Panchen Lama, who is traditionally considered friendly towards China. „Tibetans believe,” Edwin
Bernbaum writes, „that the Panchen Lamas have a special connection with Shambhala, that makes
them unique authorities on the kingdom.” (Bernbaum, 1980, p. 185). In addition there is the
widespread prophecy that Rudra Chakrin, the doomsday general, will be an incarnation of the
Panchen Lama.
As we have already reported, the common history of the Dalai Lama and the ruler from Tashi Lunpho
(the Panchen Lama) exhibits numerous political and spiritual discordances, which among other things
led to the two hierarchs becoming allied with different foreign powers in their running battle against
one another. The Panchen Lamas have always proudly defended their independence from Lhasa. By
and large they were more friendly with the Chinese than were the rulers in the Potala. In 1923 the
inner-Tibetan conflict came to a head in the Ninth Panchen Lama’s flight to China. In his own words
he was „unable to live under these troubles and suffering” inflicted on him by Lhasa (Mehra, 1976, p.
45). Both he and the Dalai Lama had obtained weapons and munitions in advance, and an armed clash
between the two princes of the church had been in the air for years. This exhausted itself, however, in
the unsuccessful pursuit of the fleeing hierarch from Tashilunpho by a body of three hundred men
under orders from Lhasa. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama was so enraged that he denied the Buddhahood
of the fleeing incarnation of Amitabha, because this was selfish, proud, and ignorant. It had, together
„with his sinful companoins, who resembled mad elephants and followed wrong path,” made itself
scarce (Mehra, 1976, p. 45).
In 1932 the Panchen Lama is supposed to have planned an invasion of Tibet with 10,000 Chinese
soldiers to conquer the Land of Snows and set himself up as its ruler. Only after the death of the
“Great Thirteenth” was a real reconciliation with Lhasa possible. In 1937 the weakened and
disappointed prince of the church returned to Tibet but died within a year. His pro-China politics,
however, still found expression in his will in which he prophesied that “Buddha Amitabha’s next
incarnation will be found among the Chinese” (Hermanns, 1956, p. 323).
In the search for the new incarnation the Chinese nation put forward one candidate and the Tibetan