2015年CRI China Warns of Fake Living Buddhas

（单词翻译）

The video began circulating via Weibo last week in China. 

In it, a self-proclaimed Living Buddha¹ named Baima Aose, is seen ordaining² mainland actor Zhang Tielin as a living Buddha himself as part of a ceremony in Hong Kong. 

The controversy³ stems from both Baima Aose himself, as well as the process he used to anoint the actor as a Living Buddha. 

Gyatso Ling is one of the 358 recognized Living Buddha's currently in Tibet. 

"The reincarnations of Living Buddhas⁴ have to follow certain rules in Tibetan Buddhism⁵. Every Living Buddha should have a monastery⁶ for self-cultivation." On top of not following the proper procedures, Baima Aose's own standing⁷ as a Living Buddha is also in question. The Sichuan-based Kathok Monastery, from which Baima Aose claims he obtained his Living Buddha status, has described him as a "fake." 

He hasalso been accused, like a number of others, of being a con-man.

Zhu Weiqun is an advisor⁸ with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. 

"Fake Living Buddhas swindle money from practitioners⁹ in eastern and central China and trick women into having sex with them. Some of them then return to Tibet and engage in illegal 'splittist activities.' "

The Living Buddha system in Tibetan Buddhism took shape in the 13th century after Tibet became an administrative¹⁰ district in China during the Yuan Dynasty. 

The religion holds that the soul of a senior lama, or monk¹¹, is reincarnated¹² in the body of a child who will then grow up to become a so-called Living Buddha. 

Under Tibetan Buddhist¹³ tradition, the search for a Living Buddha is said to be complex, involving divination¹⁴, interpreting dreams, oracles¹⁵ and prayer. 

Because of this, a new set of rules on the reincarnation of Tibetan Living Buddhas was enacted¹⁶ in 2007.

It stipulates¹⁷ that all reincarnations need approval from regional and central authorities. 

The latest controversy is also prompting calls for the creation of a nation-wide database to identify those who are legally ordained¹⁸ as a Living Buddha. 

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.