I promise. Anyway, did you know that the 14th Dalai Lama (the current one) has *no* lineage, except chronological, tracing him back to DL number one? It is a fascinating story - The first Dalai Lama, simply proclaimed himself to be so, with the backing authority of the Mongol Empire, then led by the grandson of Kublai Khan, who was the grandson of Genghis Khan. The process of passing the lineage, and choosing the next Dalai Lama, has been corrupted several times, by the imposition of both lotteries and intermediaries, that chose the next Lama, not as the next incarnation, but someone chosen by the ruling government, to suit their needs, without the direct input of the Dalai Lama. So the lineage has been passed on, though not even close, as an unbroken chain, of reincarnations. Instead, quite a broken and random process, it turns out, perhaps similar to the many rewritings and interpretations of the Christian Bible. There is no doubt in my mind, the friendliness and good intentions of the current DL, but he is certainly not related to, nor a reincarnation of, DL number one. Hence, his the title of "14th Dalai Lama", has more in common with the succession of Presidents, in this country, than holding any venerated spiritual authority. As I like to say, with a huge helping of irony: "Buddhism, keeping the dream alive". OK, that's it - Goodnight, all - :-)
