THE 8-YEAR-OLD BOY AT THE HEAD OF A FIGHT OVER TIBETAN BUDDHISM

This is a fascinating look at the selection of a future religious leader. Brought to you by the New York Times. It's a long read, but worth the time for the curious. 

The boy had seemed destined for a life of affluence and earthly pursuits. Born into the family behind a major mining conglomerate in Mongolia, he might have been picked to someday lead the company from its steel-and-glass headquarters in the country’s capital.

Instead, the 8-year-old is now at the heart of a struggle between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Communist Party.

He was just a toddler when everything changed. On a visit to a vast monastery in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, known for a towering Buddha statue gilded in gold, his father brought him and his twin brother into a room where they and seven other boys were given a secret test.

The children were shown a table strewn with religious objects. Some of them refused to leave their parents’ sides. Others were drawn to the colorful candy that had been placed as distractions. This boy, A. Altannar, was different. He picked out a set of prayer beads and put it around his neck. He rang a bell used for meditation. He walked over to a monk in the room and playfully climbed on his legs.

“These were very special signs,” said Bataa Mishigish, a religious scholar who observed the boy with two senior monks. “We just looked at each other and didn’t say a word.”

They had found the 10th reincarnation of the Bogd, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism and, for many, the spiritual leader of Mongolia, where nearly half the population is Buddhist.

For the next seven years, the monks kept the identity of the Bogd, known formally as the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, a secret.

Then in March, the Dalai Lama introduced the boy at a ceremony in India in front of throngs of worshipers, his tiny frame engulfed by a maroon deel, the traditional Mongolian gown, with his doe eyes and spiky crew cut peeking out above a white surgical mask.

The news that the 10th Bogd had been chosen was cause for celebration in Mongolia.

The Bogd is a symbol of Mongolia’s identity, a position dating back nearly 400 years to descendants of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, who embraced Tibetan Buddhism and helped it spread across China and other conquered lands. 

In the early 20th century, a Tibetan-born Bogd (pronounced bogged) was the theocratic ruler of Mongolia, revered as a god-king figure. Today, the title adorns banks, cashmere boutiques and auto dealerships. When someone sneezes, Mongolians say “Bogd bless you...READ MORE
 

READ THE FULL STORY + AUDIO OPTION +PIX

Can't click through? Request a Reprint.