Dalai Lama Pushes Back Against China On Reincarnation, Affirms Gaden Phodrang Trust's Authority
In a move that directly challenges China's persistent attempts to control the succession of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has made it unequivocally clear that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness, holds the sole authority to recognise his future reincarnation.
In a statement that signals a firm assertion of Tibetan religious autonomy, the Dalai Lama recalled that as far back as 1969, he had declared that the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution should be a decision for the Tibetan people and the followers of Tibetan Buddhism. He reaffirmed a resolution made in 2011, where it was formally stated that the responsibility of identifying the next Dalai Lama rests entirely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust, in consultation with the heads of Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the lineage's spiritual protectors.
'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," the Dalai Lama said, clearly drawing the battle lines against Beijing's ambitions to appoint a China-backed successor.
Over the past 14 years, the Dalai Lama revealed, he has received widespread appeals from Tibetans inside Tibet, the Tibetan diaspora, and Buddhists across Asia, including from within mainland China, Mongolia, and Russia, urging him to ensure the continuation of the institution. Acting upon these requests, the Dalai Lama has now formally affirmed that his lineage will continue, but strictly under the religious and traditional framework set by the Tibetan spiritual community, not by any political entity.
This statement sets the stage for a likely showdown with the Chinese government, which has repeatedly signalled its intention to control the reincarnation process as part of its broader strategy to tighten control over Tibet.
First Published:
July 02, 2025, 10:22 IST
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Economic Times
12 hours ago
- Economic Times
Dalai Lama: Politics of reincarnation
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This is because reincarnation in the Tibetan world is not about the occult or mysticism-it is about real political power. Wealth and weapons can control the bodies of people. Stories are needed to control the Chinese, whose core civilisational area has primarily been the river valleys of Yangtze and Hwang-ho, have long sought control of the dry western regions through whose mountain passes, Chinese got access to horses, in exchange for bolts of silk. From there came Buddhism, after 300 AD and Islam after 700 AD. These forces forced the isolationist China to become a major global player in medieval times, even before the arrival of Europeans arrived in ships after 1600 AD via the eastern of rebirth spread via Buddhism. Rebirth is not very prominent in the Vedas, but it emerges as a major theme in South Asia following the rise of the Buddhist and Jain monastic orders 2,500 years ago. The Buddhist Jataka tales speak of the previous lives of the Buddha. Jain chronicles also speak of the rebirths of Ravana and Krishna who will become Tirthankara of the future. In Hindu tales, boons and curses of previous lives shape fortune and misfortune in present tales of rebirth became popular in China during the Tang dynasty around 800 AD when Chinese kings sponsored the building of Buddhist caves, Buddhist monasteries, Buddhist art and relic shrines. In Tibet, Buddhism made its early inroads around 800 AD. It became a major and powerful force by 1200 AD, roughly when Buddhist monks were migrating out of India, in search of new patrons, facing Brahmin hostility as well as Islamic persecution. The story of Padmasambhava who came from Oddiyana (Odisha) and tamed local Tibetan demons became the dominant story of how Tantric Buddhism reached the Himalayan plateau. After Buddhism had declined in India, it found refuge in China (seen as the home of the Bodhisattva Manjushri) and in Tibet (seen as the home of the primal Buddha Vairocana). 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Time of India
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Dedipya Agarwal is a TPSJ alum interning with ThePrint (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Naga collective calls UK auction of Naga human head 'colonial violence', urges repatriation of remains
