; and (2) the Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces. . 3. Statement of policy regarding the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Tibetan Buddhism is practiced in many countries, including the People's Republic of China, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, India, the Russian Federation, and the United States. (2) No single political entity encompasses the territory in which Tibetan Buddhism is practiced. (3) The Dalai Lama is widely revered by Tibetan Buddhists and those who practice Tibetan Buddhism around the world, including those in the United States, as their spiritual leader. (4) Under the Tibetan Buddhist belief system, there have been 14 persons recognized as the Dalai Lama, each a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, selected according to the spiritual traditions and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. (5) The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, issued a statement on September 24, 2011, explaining the traditions and spiritual precepts of the selection of Dalai Lamas, setting forth his views on the considerations and process for selecting his successor, and providing a response to the claims of the Government of the People's Republic of China that only that Government has the ultimate authority in the selection process of the Dalai Lama. (6) The 14th Dalai Lama said in his statement that if a decision to continue the institution of the Dalai Lama is made, that the responsibility shall primarily rest with the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust, who will be informed by the written instructions of the 14th Dalai Lama. (7) Since 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama has reiterated publicly on numerous occasions that decisions on the succession or reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama belong to the Tibetan Buddhist faith community alone. (8) The Government of the People’s Republic of China has interfered in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including in 1995 by arbitrarily detaining Gedhun Choekyi Nyima,