The Baby-Faced Buddha

摘要

The karmapa of tibet is the first monk China's atheist rulers have ever recognized as a newly reincarnated "living Buddha." So he gets special respect, even if he is only 11 and a bit unpolished. When he was presented to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, the Karmapa allegedly blurted out: "Who is this man?" Chinese officials chose to ignore the remark, and last year they invited the Karmapa to tour China. Along the way they lavished the boy with publicity and gifts, including color TV sets, bolts of cloth and agate incense burners. Lest the boy's guardians miss the point of this largesse, Jiang expressed his hope that the Karmapa will grow up "strong, healthy and patriotic."