{"id":1633546,"date":"2024-04-26T18:03:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/tibet\/buddhism-04262024121905.html"},"modified":"2024-04-26T18:03:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:03:53","slug":"the-story-of-one-of-buddhisms-most-revered-figures-long-missing-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/04\/26\/the-story-of-one-of-buddhisms-most-revered-figures-long-missing-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The story of one of Buddhism\u2019s most revered figures, long missing, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
The young boy who was abducted as a 6-year-old turned 35 this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What he does, where he lives or even if he\u2019s still alive isn\u2019t known, thanks to the reticence of the Chinese government, which kidnapped him along with his family and his teacher 29 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n Beijing leaders, ever wary of potential rivals for the Communist Party\u2019s authority, viewed the boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as a possible threat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Days earlier the Dalai Lama had named him the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader in the largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tibetan leaders marked his birthday this week with a celebration held in absentia, and reiterated long-standing requests to Beijing to reveal Gedhun Choekyi Nyima\u2019s fate.<\/span><\/p>\n