China launches online system to check Living Buddhas authenticity

China launched an online system to check the authenticity of Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism on Monday, as a growing number of fraudulent Buddhas have been known to swindle money.

The official websites of the State Administration for Religious Affairs - www.sara.gov.cn and www.tibet.cn -- will be nodal reference points to certify the authenticity of Living Buddhas, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The first group of 870 verified Living Buddhas was published on Monday.

This is the first time information on the country's religious leaders is accessible via the Internet.

The 7th Drukhang Living Buddha, Drukhang Thubten Khedrup, who is the vice president of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC), said that he was very happy with this development to promote transparency at the association and regulate reincarnation issues for Living Buddhas.

The BAC said the system, which can be used both on computers and mobile phones, publishes detailed, accurate information on living buddhas, including photos, names, religion names, monastic titles, date of birth, religious sects, numbers of living buddha certificates and resident monasteries.

Originated in the 13rd century A.D., the reincarnation of Living Buddhas is a unique inheritance system in Tibetan Buddhism. Since 2010, the BAC began to issue certificates to Living Buddhas.