The boy’s recognition has generated celebrations among Buddhists in Mongolia. 

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has named an eight-year-old US-born Mongolian boy as the reincarnation of a spiritual leader.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, aged 87, has named a US-born 8-year-old Mongolian boy Aguidai as the tenth Khakha Jestun Dhampa Rinpoche, the third-highest leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

He has been recognised as the reincarnation of Khakha Jestun Dhampa Rinpoche.
The Dalai Lama was photographed together with the boy during a ceremony recognising him as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche. The ceremony took place on 8 March in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, lives in exile. 

Family Background of the Mongolian Boy
The media reports say, the Mongolian boy comes from a family with academic and corporate backgrounds. His father, Altannar Chinchuluun, is a university mathematics professor, while his mother, Monkhnasan Narmandakh, is a national resources conglomerate executive. The boy’s grandmother, Garamjav Tseden, is a former member of the Mongolian Parliament.

The elderly spiritual leader was pictured with the boy during a ceremony recognising him as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche. The ceremony took place earlier this month in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama (87) lives in exile.

The Dalai Lama and the eight-year-old kid were photographed together at a ceremony in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India on March 8. A place where the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 87, currently lives in exile.

Tensions with China

The recognition of the Mongolian boy as the reincarnation of the 10th Khakha Jestun Dhampa Rinpoche has the potential of straining the tense relationship between the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Key Takeaways

• In 1995, when the Dalai Lama announced a six-year-old boy as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in the faith, the boy was swiftly arrested by Chinese authorities and replaced with a candidate of their own.
• China had annexed Tibet in 1959. Dharamshala has been the seat of the Tibetan Government in exile since 1960.
• Great Buddhist monk Atish Dipankar from Bengal, who visited Tibet in the 11th century during the reign of Nayapala, is still venerated there.
• Vajrayana (Vehicle of Thunderbolt) form of Buddhism was established in Tibet in the eleventh century AD as a result of missions sent from the Vajrayana monastery of Vikramshila in Bihar.