The prime of a successor to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual caput of Tibetan Buddhists, is simply a substance of riveting involvement not lone for followers of his religion, but besides China, India, and the United States, for strategical reasons.
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The Nobel bid laureate, who turns 90 connected Sunday, is regarded arsenic 1 of the world's astir influential figures, with a pursuing extending good beyond Buddhism.
How was helium chosen?
Tibetan contented holds that the psyche of a elder Buddhist monk is reincarnated aft his death.
The 14th Dalai Lama, calved arsenic Lhamo Dhondup connected July 6, 1935, to a farming household successful what is present Qinghai province, was identified arsenic specified a reincarnation erstwhile helium was conscionable 2 years old.
A hunt enactment sent by the Tibetan authorities made the determination connected the ground of respective signs, specified arsenic a imaginativeness revealed to a elder monk, the Dalai Lama's website says. The searchers were convinced erstwhile the toddler identified belongings of the 13th Dalai Lama with the phrase, "It's mine, it's mine".
In the wintertime of 1940, Lhamo Thondup was taken to the Potala Palace successful Lhasa, the superior of today's Tibet Autonomous Region, and officially installed arsenic the spiritual person of Tibetans.
How volition his successor beryllium chosen?
In his publication "Voice for the Voiceless", released successful March 2025, the Dalai Lama said his successor would beryllium calved extracurricular China.
The Dalai Lama has lived successful exile successful bluish India since 1959, aft fleeing a failed uprising against the regularisation of Mao Zedong's Communists.
He wrote that helium would merchandise details astir his succession astir the clip of his 90th birthday.
On Wednesday, helium ended years of waiting by his followers connected the contented of his succession, saying the instauration of the Dalai Lama volition proceed and that the Gaden Phodrang Trust had sole authorization to recognise his reincarnation.
The Gaden Phodrang Trust is simply a non-profit organisation acceptable up by the Dalai Lama. It
is liable for each matters related to him and acts connected his behalf.
Earlier this week, portion addressing a gathering successful Dharamshala, helium said: "There volition beryllium immoderate benignant of a model wrong which we tin speech astir the continuation of the instauration of the Dalai Lamas".
In a code successful 2011, the Dalai Lama mentioned however highly enlightened Buddhists tin "manifest an emanation earlier death".
Some experts person speculated that it mightiness mean the Dalai Lama perchance suggesting helium could bid a successor successful his lifetime, but Tibetan officials accidental that is unlikely.
"He has said this instauration volition transportation on, which means his incarnation volition beryllium born," said Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the lawman talker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.
"Our Dalai Lama volition beryllium reborn, and the instauration volition transportation on."
The parliament-in-exile, based successful the Himalayan municipality of Dharamshala, similar the Dalai Lama, says a strategy has been established for the exiled authorities to proceed its enactment portion officers of the Gaden Phodrang Foundation volition beryllium charged with uncovering and recognising his successor.
The existent Dalai Lama acceptable up the instauration successful 2015 to "maintain and enactment the contented and instauration of the Dalai Lama" with respect to his spiritual and spiritual duties, it says connected its website. Its elder officers see respective of his aides.
What does China say?
China says its leaders person the close to o.k. the Dalai Lama's successor, arsenic a bequest from imperial times. A enactment ritual, successful which the names of imaginable reincarnations are drawn from a aureate urn, dates to 1793, during the Qing dynasty.
Chinese officials person repeatedly said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should beryllium decided by pursuing nationalist laws that decree usage of the aureate urn and the commencement of reincarnations wrong China's borders.
But galore Tibetans fishy immoderate Chinese relation successful the enactment arsenic being a ploy to exert power connected the community.
It is inappropriate for Chinese Communists, who cull religion, "to meddle successful the strategy of reincarnation of lamas, fto unsocial that of the Dalai Lama," the Buddhist person has said.
In his book, helium asked Tibetans not to judge "a campaigner chosen for governmental ends by anyone, including those successful the People's Republic of China," referring to the state by its authoritative name.
Beijing brands the Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize successful 1989 for keeping live the Tibetan cause, arsenic a "separatist" and prohibits displays of his representation oregon immoderate nationalist amusement of devotion towards him.
In March 2025, a Chinese overseas ministry spokesperson said the Dalai Lama was a governmental exile with "no close to correspond the Tibetan radical astatine all".
China denies suppressing the rights of the Tibetan people, and says its regularisation ended serfdom in, and brought prosperity to, a backward region.
What relation could India and the US play?
Apart from the Dalai Lama, India is estimated to beryllium location to much than 100,000 Tibetan Buddhists who are escaped to survey and enactment there.
Many Indians revere him, and planetary relations experts accidental his beingness successful India gives New Delhi immoderate benignant of leverage with rival China.
The United States, which faces rising contention from China for planetary dominance, has repeatedly said it is committed to advancing the quality rights of Tibetans.
U.S. lawmakers person antecedently said they would not let China to power the prime of the Dalai Lama's successor.
In 2024, past US President Joe Biden signed a instrumentality that presses Beijing to resoluteness a quality implicit Tibet's demands for greater autonomy.
English (US) ·