Dalai Lama names Mongolian boy as 3rd highest leader in Buddhism

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Last Updated30/03/2023

Over 600 Mongolian Buddhists gathered in the Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh for the anointing of the next Jebtsundamba Khutuktu which has brought back attention to the intrigues of the Buddhist world.

In 2012, the 9th‘Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche’ passed away in Ulaanbaatar.
He led the Mongolian Buddhists for years from the Himalayan town of Dharamshala.
US-born boy was anointed as the ‘10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche’ or the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu of Gelug lineage of Khalka Mongols.
Jebtsundamba Khutuktu of Mongolia is no ordinary monk. The monks’ lineage was declared theocratic rulers after northern Mongolians declared independence in 1911.
The Jetsun Rinpoche is the third highest monk in the Buddhist world.

Anointing of US-born boy will rattle Beijing as it looks to influence Mongolia in a contested space of geopolitics in Asia.
In 1995, the Dalai Lama named the new Panchen Lama, and the Chinese authorities imprisoned the child and appointed their own Panchen Lama.
Dharamshala may have feared a similar kind of fate falling on the boy.
Mongolia is maintaining silence on the appointment of the Rinpoche as it concerns Beijing’s response to an official acknowledgement.