Tibetans coerced to attend the Kalachakra empowerment led by ‘fake Panchen’

Tenzin Nyidon 

DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 14: Chinese authorities have reportedly forced thousands of Tibetans, including monks, nuns, and high-ranking lamas such as the 7th Gunthang Rinpoche, the Sakya abbot, and the Sera abbot, to attend a Kalachakra empowerment conducted by Gyaltsen (Gyalcain) Norbu, the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama, known among Tibetans as the ‘fake Panchen’. The four-day religious event was held from October 9 to 12 at the Kyi-kyi Nakha site of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas in Shigatse.

There has been a prior precedent of authorities compelling attendance at Gyalsten Norbu’s teachings. In 2016, he presided over a similar Kalachakra ceremony at Dechen Phodrang, near Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. That event was marred by controversy following reports that Chinese officials offered financial incentives to some Tibetans and coerced others to participate.

According to sources, the city was placed under intense security and surveillance during the recent event, with heavy deployment of police and military personnel. Officers disguised as medical workers were reportedly seen monitoring and controlling the crowd at the venue.

Observers say the ceremony highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing efforts to elevate the stature of the religious figure appointed to serve its political agenda. This move comes amid an escalating campaign of religious repression in Tibet and an intensified effort to undermine the Dalai Lama, which includes preventing Tibetans from traveling abroad to attend his teachings.

A major Kalachakra empowerment conferred by the Dalai Lama in Ladakh in 2014 was denounced by Chinese state media as an event that “incited hatred, terror, and extremist action.” Similarly, following the Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra teachings in India in 2012, many Tibetans who returned to Tibet were detained, subjected to prolonged “re-education” programs, and accused of harboring anti-state sentiments.

Gyaltsen Norbu was installed by Chinese authorities as part of Beijing’s broader strategy to consolidate control over Tibet and assert influence in the event of the Dalai Lama’s eventual succession. He is obliged to perform the role of the “official” Panchen Lama, a state-sanctioned religious figure expected to demonstrate unwavering loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.

He was selected by the CCP after Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the real 11^th Panchen Lama was recognized by the exile spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and revered by Tibetans as the true incarnation was forcibly disappeared in 1995. Nearly three decades later, there remains no credible information regarding his whereabouts or well-being.