BEIJING, JAN 18 (ZENIT).- In a face-saving attempt after the flight of the Karmapa Lama, the third-highest authority of Tibetan Buddhism, China yesterday announced the enthronement of the reincarnation of the Reting Lama in Tibet. The announcement was made in a brief news dispatch on Sunday by the official agency New China. The 2-year-old 7th reincarnation of Rimpotche (reincarnated Lama) of the Reting monastery, north of Lhasa. According to the agency, the child, Soinam Puncog, was born on October 13, 1997. The enthronement ceremony of the new lama, whose legitimacy is challenged by the Dalai Lama, the chief Tibetan religious leader who lives in exile in India, took place in the Johkang temple in Lhasa, in the presence of the principal authorities of the city and the autonomous region of Tibet. The Reting Lama is particularly important because he is one of the few lamas who can act as regent in the absence of the Dalai Lama.
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Zenit