LHASA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — A general academy of Tibetan Buddhism, the first of its kind in the southwestern autonomous region, began construction of the 80 million yuan (11.7 million U.S. dollars) facility on Saturday.

    The Tibetan Buddhism Academy in Nyetang Town, Quxu County, covers an area of 17.4 hectares. Quxu is under the jurisdiction of the regional capital Lhasa.

    Its total investment is all from the central government budget.

Tibet builds first Buddhism academy_English_Xinhua

Perhaps I’m a cynic, but (a) the photo shows guys in suits, not monks in robes, and (b) I see this as an attempt by China to establish its creds when it comes to Buddhism, in anticipation of claiming the right to “identify” the next Dalai Lama.

Hopefully, His Holiness will announce that he will not reincarnate, and designate the Karmapa his successor as head of the Government in Exile, thus heading them off at the pass.