Dalai Lama says Trust to select successor, rules out China role

In a major development for the Tibetan community, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, on Wednesday announced that “the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue”.

Gaden Trust to follow traditional method

The Dalai Lama affirms that the Gaden Phodrang Trust alone will identify his reincarnation, directly challenging China’s claim over the succession

In book released recently, he hinted that his successor could be born outside China, with further clarity promised around his 90th birthday

The move reinforces his commitment to the centuries-old tradition of reincarnation and offers assurance to followers amid Beijing’s attempts to assert control over the process

He also reiterated that China would have no role in the process of locating the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, asserting that the Gaden Phodrang Trust held the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation. “No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” a statement from the office of the Dalai Lama said.

“I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the statement read. The decision to continue with the institution came after appeals from various Buddhist organisations across the world.

The Dalai Lama noted that he has not spoken publicly on the matter in the past 14 years since September 2011, but had been receiving messages and appeals through different channels from Tibetans inside Tibet and from the diaspora, urging him to ensure the continuation of the institution.

The announcement coincided with the opening day of a three-day conference in McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh, where Buddhist scholars and monks from around the world have gathered.

The decision on the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution was originally intended to be made when the current Dalai Lama turned 90. According to the Gregorian calendar, the 14th Dalai Lama turns 90 on July 6, though he reached that age on June 30 as per the Tibetan calendar.

In the past, the Dalai Lama has said, “When I am about 90, I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism to re-evaluate whether or not the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.”

He also reiterated the established norms for identifying the next reincarnation, referring to the September 24, 2011 statement, which made it clear that “the responsibility lies exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust and the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama”.

The process, according to that statement, should involve consultations with the heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the oath-bound Dharma Protectors linked to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. The search and recognition must follow traditional procedures and the Gaden Phodrang Trust alone retains the authority to carry it out.

The 2011 statement had also cautioned that “no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone (other than the Trust), including those in the People’s Republic of China”.

India and the US have also expressed support for keeping China out of this spiritual process. Tibet has been under Chinese occupation since 1949.

Among those who appealed for the continuation of the institution were members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, participants in a Special General Body Meeting, officials of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, Buddhists from the Himalayan region and Mongolia, Buddhist republics in the Russian Federation and Buddhists across Asia, including from mainland China.

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