China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation

From next month onwards, if you are a Buddhist monk in Tibet, you are not allowed to reincarnate without the permission of the Chinese government. From MSNBC:

According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

Poor monks. Reincarnate also must ask permission from government. So I guess we may see the next Dalai Lama reincarnated in countries like United States, India, and maybe who knows, even Singapore.