Beijing is undermining Dalai Lama’s influence and reshaping Tibetan religious identity.
Beijing is using the 11th Panchen Lama’s Kalachakra initiation as a political strategy to assert control over Tibetan Buddhism while attempting to weaken the Dalai Lama’s spiritual authority. (Image: ICT)
Beijing is using its appointed 11th Panchen Lama to perform the Kalachakra initiation as a strategic move to legitimize its control over Tibetan Buddhism and undermine the Dalai Lama’s spiritual authority.
For the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), religion in Tibet is not merely a matter of faith—it’s a battleground for loyalty. The Kalachakra initiation, one of the most sacred and complex rituals in Tibetan Buddhism, has historically been conferred by the Dalai Lama. By orchestrating this ceremony through Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama handpicked by Beijing, the CCP aims to reshape Tibetan religious identity under its own ideological framework.
This is not a spiritual offering—it’s a political performance. Gyaltsen Norbu’s Kalachakra ceremony at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery from October 9-12, 2025, is framed as a gesture for “world peace” and “prosperity of the motherland.” The timing and symbolism are deliberate. The event coincides with the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the true 11th Panchen Lama in 1995. Gedhun has never been seen publicly since, and China’s refusal to provide verifiable proof of his well-being remains a sore point for Tibetans and the international community.
Beijing’s strategy hinges on three key objectives:
Undermining the Dalai Lama’s influence by transferring the Kalachakra rite to its own appointee, China seeks to dilute the Dalai Lama’s spiritual authority and sever the transnational religious ties that connect Tibetans to their exiled leader.
Sinicizing Tibetan Buddhism: Gyaltsen Norbu has toured Tibetan regions promoting Beijing’s religious directives, aligning Buddhist teachings with Party ideology. His allegiance to Xi Jinping’s vision of “religion with Chinese characteristics” is central to this campaign.
Manufacturing consent: Reports from previous Kalachakra events suggest that attendance was coerced, with payments offered and strict security protocols enforced. Despite the spectacle, Tibetans remain unconvinced. The spiritual weight of the Kalachakra cannot be manufactured. While thousands may attend, many do so under pressure or out of reverence for the ritual itself—not for the figure performing it. The CCP’s attempt to replace faith with propaganda only deepens the rift between state and soul.
In the end, Beijing’s use of the Kalachakra initiation is a paradox: a sacred rite wielded as a tool of control. It reveals not the strength of China’s hold over Tibet, but its persistent fear of a people whose spiritual resilience continues to defy political domination.
Nephew of the Dalai Lama, Khedroob Thondup is a geopolitical analyst.
