Shillong, March 27: Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has named an 8-year-old Mongolian child who was born in the United States as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the third highest position in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Buddhist spiritual leader, who lives in exile in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala, was spotted with the eight-year-old youngster attending a ceremony there on March 8 according reports.
The eight-year-old American-born boy is the son of a university professor and the grandson of a former member of the Mongolian parliament. He is also said to have a twin brother.
China, which has been insistent that it will only recognise Buddhist leaders picked by its own government, is sure to take offence at the decision to elevate the eight-year-old to the position of third highest lama in Tibetan Buddhism. The news of the ceremony, according to an article in Times, was received with both excitement and apprehensions because there is still a chance that China will object to the decision.
Chinese authorities had abducted the 11th Panchem Lama and his family in 1995 soon after the Dalai Lama named him. The Panchem Lama, the second-most significant spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism, was later replaced by a Chinese candidate.