Succession stakes on the roof of the world
On October 7, 1950, after Chinese troops crossed the Upper Yangtze, they began their occupation of Eastern Tibet. Hardly three weeks later, in Lhasa, the gods spoke through the Nechung oracle—'Make him king', referring to the young Dalai Lama. Thus, Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned as the Dalai Lama at the young age of 15. The 'god king' became the temporal and religious leader of Tibet.
In May 2011, the Dalai Lama decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own political leader. Today, a sikyong or president runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama has lived since 1960.
On September 24, 2012, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, mentioning two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an emanation, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy or girl.
In the same message, the leader of Tibetans wrote that he would consult senior lamas: '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, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.' No wonder that during the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectation could be felt around Dharamsala.
Finally, on July 2, a statement was released reaffirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue. It also reiterated: the 'responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama', and that it will be 'the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter'. It was a clear message to China.
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