When religion becomes absurd

If the reader is still looking for evidence that religion is wholly-man made for painfully obvious and inescapably mundane reasons, just read the newspaper.

It has been reported in Todayonline that Communist Party of China has declared, without any tinge of cheekiness expected of one making such a pronunciation, that the Dalai Lama of Tibet would be (MUST BE) reincarnated as a child upon death; and even more absurdly, that the blessed child could only be one that has been "approved" by the Party.

Because obviously, the despots in Beijing, are the leading authority on Buddhism and indeed the intricate mechanisms and workings of Reincarnation.

The political (spiritual) spat between Beijing and the Dalai has devolved into a comedy of epic proportions and must certainly embarrass Beijing given its avowed secularism.  One must sincerely wonder whether that poor official Zhu Weiqun, who was unfortunately tasked to press the Party's official position, could have done it with a straight face.  Redness in the face? Must be that infamous Asian flush from one too many goblets of gao liang.

No, of course it is NOT about installing a pro-Beijing puppet leader in Tibet, Zhu vehemently trumpets. It is about "respecting Tibetan Buddhism". 

Er.. wut? This is like a Roman emperor exiling the Pope (after "peacefully liberating" the Vatican) and then denouncing a Papal Bull as blasphemy because it doesn't "respect Christianity."  The only thing more absurd than this analogy is that it is not so far off from what is actually happening in Tibet.

No honest person can argue that this is a dispute regarding theology and not politics. Indeed, both the Dalai and Beijing appear to make no effort in masking the political motivations behind this ostensible argument on the central tenet of Tibetian Buddhism,

The only remaining question is whether there remains any Tibetians, Buddhist or not, who could still view this religion seriously and without its richly deserved contempt?