The Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of Buddhist religious leaders this week ahead of his 90th birthday, as his followers eagerly await the Tibetan spiritual leader's announcement of details about his successor, a move that could anger China.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, a separatist and says he will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born outside China and has called on his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing, Reuters reports.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that enlightened monks are reborn to continue their spiritual legacy. The 90th Dalai Lama will turn XNUMX on Sunday and said he will consult with senior monks and others during this period to share possible clues about where his successor, a boy or girl, might be found after his death.
"I will dedicate the rest of my life to the welfare of others, as much as possible and in the broadest possible sense," the Dalai Lama told the gathered followers yesterday, as they prayed for his long-lasting health.
"There will be a certain framework within which we can discuss the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution," he added, without further clarifying that framework.
He has previously said he could be reincarnated in India, where he lives in exile near the northern Himalayan city of Dharamsala. He was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two years old.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, often describes himself as a simple monk, but for more than 60 years, armed almost exclusively with charm and conviction, he has managed to keep the cause of his people in the international spotlight, writes Reuters.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent struggle for autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetans.
Dolma Tsering Tejkang, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament in exile in Dharamshala, said it was important for the world to hear the Dalai Lama's position directly on the issue because China "is trying to defame him at every opportunity ... and at the same time trying to establish rules and regulations to have control over the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama."
“China is trying to appropriate this institution ... for its own political goals,” she said.
"We want the Dalai Lama to be reincarnated not only for the survival of Tibet as a distinct culture, religion and nation, but also for the benefit of all humanity."
Tupten Ngodup, who serves as Tibet's state oracle, said that usually reincarnation is not discussed while a monk is still alive, but that the situation is different now because "the Chinese government is interfering."
The Dalai Lama often describes himself as a simple monk, but for more than 60 years, armed almost exclusively with charm and conviction, he has managed to keep the cause of his people in the international spotlight.
Beijing said in March that the Dalai Lama was a political exile who had "no right to represent the Tibetan people." China said it was ready to discuss his future only if he recognized that Tibet and Taiwan were inalienable parts of China. The Tibetan government-in-exile rejected the proposal.
In the book "Voices for the Voiceless," published earlier this year, the Dalai Lama said that Tibetans around the world want the institution of the Dalai Lama to survive after his death, and stressed that his successor would be born in the "free world," which he described as the space outside of China.
In previous years, he said that the heir could be a girl, and it is possible, he pointed out, that there might not be an heir at all.
He said, however, that a successor chosen by China, which is pressuring foreign governments to boycott him, would lack legitimacy.
This week's religious conference, held for the first time since 2019, will bring together more than 100 Tibetan Buddhist leaders, and the Dalai Lama will address them via video message.
Hollywood star Richard Gere, a longtime follower of Tibetan Buddhism, will be among those in attendance, organizers said.
The Dalai Lama will participate in prayers organized by the Tibetan government in exile on July 5, and a day later in a celebration of his birthday, according to a schedule announced by organizers.
He is expected to speak for about half an hour. Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and several other Indian officials have also announced their attendance.
Tibetans are praying for his health, especially after knee surgery in the United States last year, although the Dalai Lama told Reuters in December that he could live to be 110. His predecessor died earlier than expected, at 58.
The Dalai Lama and Tibetan officials say a system is in place to allow the government-in-exile to continue its political work while officials from the Gaden Podrang Foundation, founded by the Dalai Lama in 2015, search for and identify the next Dalai Lama.
The senior members of this foundation are his closest associates.
Teikang and other Tibetan officials said the Dalai Lama has been preparing his people for years for the day he will be gone, particularly through his 2011 decision to transfer his political role to a democratically elected government, ending a 368-year tradition of the Dalai Lama serving as both the spiritual and secular leader of Tibetans.
"Since he came in human form, we have to accept that there will come a time when he will no longer be with us," Tejkang said. "His Holiness really prepared us for that day, he made us act as if he were already gone."
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