State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5
State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 (), officially named Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism (), is an order passed during a conference of the State Administration for Religious Affairs on 13 July 2007, marked for implementation on 1 September 2007. Order No. 5 states that a Reincarnation Application must be filed by all Buddhist temples in that country before they are allowed to recognize individuals as tulkus (reincarnated teachers). Tibetan Buddhists maintain that lamas and other spiritual leaders can consciously influence their rebirths, and often are  reborn many times to continue their spiritual pursuits. These tulkus are referred to in sources translated from Chinese as "living Buddhas". The order is based on the prior decree entitled Religion Work for Some Questions《中共中央、国务院关于进一步做好宗教工作若干问题的通知 published in 1991, that reincarnated lamas must be approved by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Order No. Five regulations. The Articles of the State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 are as follows, sourced from International Campaign for Tibet and from Chinese media sources: "These “Management measures for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism” were passed at the administrative affairs conference of the  State Administration of Religious Affairs on July 13, 2007, and will be implemented on September 1, 2007." "Bureau Director, Ye Xiaowen" "July 18, 2007" August 2007 Decree. On August 3, 2007, China's State Administration for Religious Affairs issued a decree that all the reincarnations of tulkus of Tibetan Buddhism must get government approval, otherwise they are "illegal or invalid". The decree states, "It is an important move to institutionalize management on reincarnation of living Buddhas. The selection of reincarnates must preserve national unity and solidarity of all ethnic groups and the selection process cannot be influenced by any  group or individual from outside the country." It also requires that temples which apply for reincarnation of a living Buddha must be "legally-registered venues for Tibetan Buddhism activities and are capable of fostering and offering proper means of support for the living Buddha." Reincarnation Applications have to be submitted to four governmental bodies for approval, specifically the religious affairs department of the provincial-level government, the provincial-level government, State Administration for Religious Affairs, and the State Council. Regulations. The state-run China Daily reported the regulations are composed of 14 articles, including the principle, conditions, approval procedures, the  duties and responsibilities of religious groups for reincarnation as well as punishment for those violating the regulations. They allegedly guarantee normal religious activities of Tibetan Buddhism and protect the religious belief of Tibetan Buddhism followers according to law. The China Daily also reported the State Administration for Religious Affairs said, "The government only administrate religious affairs related to state and the public interests and will not interfere in the pure internal religious affairs". Impact. On 4 August 2007, Xinhua News Agency reported the new rules are "an important move to institutionalise management of reincarnation of living Buddhas". Tulkus are indeed  an important element in Tibetan Buddhism, forming a clergy of influential religious figures. It is believed they are continuously reincarnated to take up their positions anew. Often there is more than one candidate competing to be recognised as the actual reincarnation, and the authority to decide who is the true claimant carries significant power. According to the Chinese government, the decree was allegedly implemented in response to clergy's protests about the reincarnation of living Buddhas "against religious ritual and historical convention". According to the CCP-run "China Daily", "over 1,000 living Buddhas" have been reincarnated through this "legal channel