Speculation has long been underway on what political conflicts will arise between Tibet and China when the former transitions to a new Dalai Lama. Tibet Talk writes that the Chinese government has accused the current spiritual leader of Tibet of “innovating and perverting the religious tenets of the religion” in order to claim their own traditional purity. But what is tradition? The Chinese government wants a hand in the selection of the new leader and cites the Qing Dynasty process, when their influence over Tibet was strong. The current Dalai Lama would like Tibetan religious leaders to make the selection without Chinese influence. But neither is truly advocating for a “traditional” selection process — because arguably, one doesn’t exist.