All Japanese Girl Rolls

No foolin', in this week's TIME (dated 8/20), here's the Religion Note in the brief "Dashboard" section:

"New Rules for Living Buddhas
Is Reincarnation Possible? Tibetans think so, believing their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is the 14th reincarnation of the same god-king. But China has banned the Dalai Lama and Tibet's other living Buddhas from--get this--reincarnating without government permission. The 14-part edict also prevents anyone outside China from taking part in the process to recognize a living Buddha.

[then they explain a little. Also, I didn't insert the "get this"...but I would've.]

WHAT TO THINK: The rules seem ridiculous, but they aim to prevent the exiled Dalai Lama,
72, from helping identify newly reincarnated Buddhas, allowing China to handpick people loyal to Beijing."

There is no comment by the Dalai Lama I've been able to find, but he's got a pretty sweet website. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with the Delay Lama...I think China's still okay with that for now...unless a reincarnated Buddha is also a creatively humorous music producer.