On eve of 90th birthday, Dalai Lama hopes to live till 130 years
The announcement came days after the Nobel Peace Prize winner said that the next Dalai Lama would be found and recognised according to Buddhist traditions and his office would lead the search.
Addressing scores of followers at a prayer ceremony for his long life in Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama, attired in his maroon monk robes and flowing yellow wrap, looked in good health as he said: 'So far, I have done my best and with the continued blessings of Avalokiteshvara (a Buddhist spiritual protector), I hope to live another 30 or 40 years, continuing to serve sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma.'
Dharamshala has been the Dalai Lama's home in exile since 1959 after he fled Tibet in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Since then, he has sustained Tibet's aspirations for greater autonomy under Chinese Communist Party rule and mobilised Tibetans inside and outside China.
On July 2, the Dalai Lama had in a statement said that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a foundation established by him, could only recognise future reincarnations, and no one else has the authority to decide on the matter. The statement assumed significance as it not only checks China's intervention in the process of naming his successor but also ended years of speculation that started when he indicated that he might be the last person to hold the role. Much to the delight of followers, the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue.
China views the Dalai Lama as a separatist and has insisted that only Beijing has the authority to approve his successor.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju attended the prayer ceremony on Saturday and said, 'I am a devotee of the Dalai Lama. Anybody in the world who follows the Dalai Lama wants his successor to be chosen by the Dalai Lama himself.'
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu and Hollywood actor Richard Gere were among those who attended the ceremony in which thumping drums and deep horns reverberated as a chanting chorus of monks and nuns offered the prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) organised the long life prayer on behalf of the Tibetan people, while the birthday celebrations are lined up at Tsuglagkhang temple in McLeodganj on Sunday.
Meanwhile, more than 20,000 people are in Dharamshala to celebrate the Dalai Lama's birthday on Sunday. His followers have put up giant posters and billboards across the hill town of Himachal Pradesh, as Buddhist leaders of various sects and followers from across the world arrive for the celebrations.
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