Dharamshala, India — The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending years of speculation that started when he indicated he might be the last person to hold the role. His having a successor would mean he would be reincarnated.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism said at prayer celebrations ahead of his upcoming 90th birthday that the next Dalai Lama should be found and recognized as per past Buddhist traditions, while signaling that China should stay away from the process of identifying his successor.
SANJAY BAID/AFP via Getty Images 
The Dalai Lama’s succession plan is politically consequential for most Tibetans who oppose China’s tight control of Tibet and have struggled to keep their identity alive, in their homeland or in exile. It is also profound for Tibetan Buddhists who worship him as a living manifestation of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion.
The decision, however, is expected to irk China, which has repeatedly said that it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader. It insists the reincarnated figure must be found in China’s Tibetan areas, giving Communist authorities power over who is chosen.
Many observers believe there eventually will be rival Dalai Lamas – one appointed by Beijing, and one by senior monks loyal to the current Dalai Lama.
And China said Wednesday that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation “approved by the central government,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.
Tenzin Gyatso became the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1940. He fled Tibet when Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959 and has been living in the town of Dharamshala in India since then, helping establish a democratic government-in-exile while also traveling the world to advocate autonomy for the Tibetan people.
Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama can choose the body into which he is reincarnated, as has happened on 14 occasions since the creation of the institution in 1587. He has reiterated in the past that his successor would be born outside China.
The Dalai Lama laid out his succession plan in a recorded statement that was televised at a religious gathering of Buddhist monks in Dharamshala. He said the process of finding and recognizing his reincarnation lies solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust – a non-profit he founded in 2015 that oversees matters related to the spiritual leader and the institute of the Dalai Lama.
“No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he said, adding that the search for a future Dalai Lama should be carried out in “accordance with past tradition.”
The Dalai Lama has often urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing. The self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile he once headed before relinquishing his political role in 2011 also supports this stance.
Penpa Tsering, the president of the government-in-exile, said Tibetans from around the world made “an earnest request with single-minded devotion” that the position of the Dalai Lama should continue “for the benefit of all sentient beings in general and Buddhist in particular.”
“In response to this overwhelming supplication, His Holiness has shown infinite compassion and finally agreed to accept our appeal on this special occasion of his 90th birthday,” he said at a press conference.
Tsering, however, warned China not to meddle in the process of the Dalai Lama’s succession, saying it is a “unique Tibetan Buddhist tradition.”
“We not only strongly condemn the People’s Republic of China’s usage of reincarnation subject for their political gain, and will never accept it,” he said.
The search for a Dalai Lama’s reincarnation begins only upon the incumbent’s death.
In the past, the successor has been identified by senior monastic disciples, based on spiritual signs and visions, and it can take several years after the next Dalai Lama is identified as a baby and groomed to take the reins.
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