Remember When the Commies Were Godless?

I guess, technically, they still are.

China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com

Quote:

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. 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.

Ah well. The Dalai Lama's an asshole anyways.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

How many Popes has China hand-picked?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

They all laughed at the Chinese Bankers, but look at 'em now!

I guess though, there's nothing stopping the Party from declaring the Pope illegitimate and claiming their own representative as the true Party-sanctioned Pope.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.