The dictator of China regards the popularity of Tibetan Buddhism, like that of other religions or movements which are not mere adjuncts of the Chinese Communist Party, as both a threat and an opportunity. His idea is not to eliminate it but to remold it, in part by providing financing and imposing linguistic and ideological mandates. (“For Xi Jinping, Religion Is Power,” The Atlantic, May 5, 2024).
Judith Hertog reports:
To co-opt Tibetan Buddhism’s popularity, the CCP recruits religious leaders willing to implement what it calls Sinicized Buddhism—a combination of state-sanctioned religious teachings and socialist propaganda taught by party-approved clergy—and rewards their monasteries with money and status. The well-funded Sumtseling monastery, for example, has been officially designated by the CCP as a “forerunner in implementing the Sinification of Buddhism.” To detach Buddhism from Tibetan culture, monks are pressured to replace traditional Tibetan-language scriptures with Chinese translations. According to Rekjong, they will soon be expected to practice in Mandarin.
The approach is part of a broader campaign to influence all religions in China. As of January 1, every religious group is legally required to “carry out patriotic education and enhance the national awareness and patriotic sentiments of clergy and believers.” Failure to pledge loyalty to Xi, display the Chinese flag, and preach “patriotic sentiments” is now punishable by law. If Mao wanted to eliminate religion, Xi wants to nationalize it.
Will it work? Joshua Esler, “a researcher who studies Tibetan culture at the Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, in Australia,” told Hertog that Tibetan Buddhism has gotten so popular “precisely because it offers the Chinese something their government can’t.”
Hertog suggests that true devotees are more likely to be alienated than persuaded by Xi’s destructive program. It will push them “toward Buddhist leaders who secretly support the exiled Dalai Lama…. Government-sponsored monasteries like Sumtseling might attract tourists looking for a photo op, but lavish temples won’t win over true believers.”
The Chinese government wages a comparable assault on Tibetan culture through schooling as it forces families to send their kids to CCP-controlled boarding schools.
