the decree was implemented in response to clergy's protests about the reincarnation of living buddhas "against religious ritual and historical convention", according to the chinese government. the most high-profile dispute about living buddhas happened between the dalai lama and the chinese government about the selection of the 1995 panchen lama, whose influence in tibetan buddhism is second only to the dalai lama. over 1,000 living buddhas have been reincarnated through this legal channel in tibet and other areas in china since 1991.