Dalai Lama urges followers not to worry as China vows to choose successor

News24

02-07-2025

The Dalai Lama said the institution would continue after his death.
He will celebrate his 90th birthday on 6 July.
China regards him as a rebel and separatist.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that the 600-year-old institution would continue after his death, a decision that would have profound impact on his Buddhist followers.
It is a landmark decision not only for Tibetans, but also for global supporters who see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of non-violence, compassion and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule.
According to Tibetans, he is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and his statement was released ahead of his 90th birthday on 6 July.
He said he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from Tibetan diaspora in exile, Buddhists from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China, 'earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue'.
'In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal,' he said in a video broadcast at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades.
'In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,' he added, according to an official translation.
He and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.
His advanced age has also sparked concern over the future of Tibetan leadership and the delicate question of his succession.
While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk'.
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name a successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950.
But the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama 'will rest exclusively' with the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office of the Dalai Lama.
'I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,' he added.
China said on Wednesday that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama 'must be approved by the central government', after Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said he would have a successor after his death.
The current Dalai Lama, who turns 90 this week, has lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.
'The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government,' foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing, referring to a method introduced by a Qing dynasty emperor in the 18th century.
'The Chinese government implements a policy of freedom of religious belief, but there are regulations on religious affairs and methods for managing the reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas,' Mao said.
Tenzin Gyatso - the 14th Dalai Lama - was 23 when he fled Lhasa in fear for his life.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has since become the global face of the Tibetan push to assert their cultural identity, as well as a powerful symbol of peace and non-violence.
Mao said on Wednesday that Beijing's policy of making religion more Chinese 'is not its restriction. The survival and development of any religion lies in adapting to the country's social environment and cultural traditions'.