Tibetan ‘Living Buddha’ with movie-star looks exposed as a sham
He became an online celebrity with millions of followers, released albums and offered private tutoring on reincarnation for 300,000 yuan
Authorities in Tibet say a 29-year-old man with movie-star looks who has been passing himself off as a living Buddha is a fraud, according to an official website.
The man claimed to be “Kyabje Ling Rinpoche,” and was offering training sessions on reincarnation for 300,000 yuan (HK$350,000), Tibet.cn reported.
Last Sunday, the Buddhist Association of China launched its Tibetan Living Buddha Query System, a database of 1,307 living Buddhas in eight mainland provinces, but there we none matching his name.
According to Tibetan Buddhists, the Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche is a tulku, or spiritual teacher who has been reincarnated seven times since the 17th century. The present Ling Rinpoche was born in 1985 and lives in Dharamshala, India, with the Dalai Lama.
Meanwhile, the imposter in Tibet has became an internet sensation due to his resemblance to movie star Wang Xiaoming.
