Reincarnation of a Tibetan lama?

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 44

Reincarnation of a Tibetan lama?

NZPA-AFP Taipei A four-year-old boy in Taiwan has been identified as a reincarnation of a Tibetan lama who died 17 years ago, says a visiting lama. Lama Lamchenpa Gyalpo said that the child, Luosang Chimei, an ethnic Tibetan bom in Taiwan, had been renamed “Dijiutileinanyudianbieyima,” which means Buddha, dharma (scripture) and danga (the followers).

The boy had been confirmed as the reincarnation of a Tibetan lama after a complicated sixhour ritual in his home in Ta Hsi town, south of Taipei. Lama Lamchenpa, who is executive advisory secretary to the thirtyseventh lineage holder of the Drikung school of the White Sect, flew to Taiwan from India on April 25 to look for the boy. He said the boy would

be sent to Solan, India, for a coronation ceremony within two years upon consent of the parents. The White Sect, one of the four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism, originated in Solan. Lama Lamchenpa said the boy was bom in Taiwan in the Year of the Boar after 21 days of meditation two years ago. The boy’s parents, both Tibetans, reacted with mixed feelings to learn that their only child had

been identified as a living Buddha. They were also having difficulty adjusting to the long name. Lama . Lamchenpa agreed that the boy could be addressed simply as Rinpoche, which means lama in Tibetan. “We learned about it from Rinpoche’s uncle in Nepal. I don’t know what to say or what to do,” said the boy’s mother, Luosang Tsunchou, aged 35.