Tibetan Buddhists Mark 28th Birthday of Abducted Panchen Lama

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was born April 25, 1989, in Lhari County, Tibet. Six years later, the Dalai Lama named him the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama and three days later the boy was abducted and has not been heard from again.

6-year old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, named by the present Dalai Lama,Tenzin Gyatso, as the 11th Panchen Lama shortly before his abduction
Six-year old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, named by the present Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, as the 11th Panchen Lama shortly before his abduction in 1995.

That same year, the Chinese government named and enthroned as the Panchen Lama 5-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu, the child of Tibetan Communist Party members, and moved him to Beijing where he has lived under tight security ever since.

In an open letter to the Panchen Lama, published today by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee writes:

“Ever since you were abducted as a young child at the age of six, the Chinese government has refused to share even basic information about you… and your whereabouts… Please know that it is my responsibility to advocate on your behalf, and for those others in China who are being persecuted because of their religious beliefs and activities. On behalf of all Tibetans, most respectfully, I offer you the traditional mandala for your good health and long life. I fervently pray for your freedom and receiving your blessing in person. May you celebrate your 29th birthday, and every birthday thereafter, in freedom.”

The first Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570–1662), was tutor and close ally of the 5th Dalai Lama, who reserved the Panchen title, previously an honorific for all exceptionally learned lamas, for that individual being.

Tibetan Buddhists and the human rights community worldwide continue to condemn the abduction of the 11th Panchen Lama and the Chinese government’s naming of their own, maintaining the actions were carried out to put selection of the next Dalai Lama in the hands of the government.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Tibetan Buddhists Dali Lama Panchen Lama Tenzin Dorjee
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