00:00China, an officially atheist country, has been eyeing a new frontier for some time, Buddhism.
00:06Over the past decade, Beijing has spent millions of dollars on temples, universities,
00:12relic diplomacy and monk exchanges, all aimed at promoting its state-managed version of faith.
00:19That drive has alarmed officials in New Delhi and Washington, who see it as part of a broader
00:25soft power push to weaken India's historical ties to Buddhism and also expand Chinese influence across
00:33the region. That rivalry is on full display in the idyllic pilgrimage site of Lumbini in southern
00:40Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. Nepal has welcomed a deluge of funding from President
00:47Xi Jinping's government, with Chinese state-aligned institutions having proposed a $2 billion expansion
00:54plan for Lumbini Buddhist University, which includes research centers, hotels and its own hydropower supply.
01:03Less than a mile away, India has funded a $10 million cultural center that is awaiting inauguration.
01:10But nowhere are the stakes higher for China than in the looming battle over the succession of the Dalai
01:18Dalai Lama. Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, fled Tibet in 1959, nine years after China took control
01:25of the region. Beijing says it has the right to designate his successor. But any succession dispute
01:32would effectively split Tibetan Buddhism, fracturing loyalties across one of the religion's
01:37most influential traditions, which has followers around the world. It would also give China greater
01:45influence as it continues to wield Buddhism as an instrument of soft power.
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