Binding the Deities: Tibetan Buddhism, Reincarnation and the Chinese Communist Party

Abstract

This article investigates the interaction(s) between the communist state of China and Tibetan Buddhism. It will focus on the issue of reincarnation of tulkus or rinpoches, who are hierarchs in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This tradition is turning into a major site of contestation between the Tibetans and the party state. When the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) marched into Tibet, they encountered a unique socio-political system, defined by many as a theocracy. As a belief system, Buddhism has a hegemonic hold over the Tibetans. Moreover, Tibetan Buddhism’s influence is present in the Himalayan belt, a space contested by postcolonial India and China. However, the focus will be on the different modes of interaction between the Tibetan Buddhist elites and the CCP. While the majority of this contact between them is described as a conflict, the article will highlight moments of cooperation and co-option. The process will be understood through the idea of ‘binding the deities’, which was an important mode of the ‘Buddhicisation’ of Tibet and the Himalayas.