The Dalai Lama has confirmed that he will have a successor, following years of uncertainty about what would happen following his death as he is just days away from his 90th birthday.
The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who had previously said that there may be no successor at all, said in video message on Wednesday: "I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.”
However, how he expects this successor to be chosen is a break from what has been tradition. Here’s everything you need to know.
How will the next Dalai Lama be chosen?
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate said that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, his non-profit organisation, will be responsible for choosing the next Dalai Lama. It is the religious belief that each new Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of their successor.
This method however counters China’s insistence that it will decide the successor of the Tibetan Buddhist leader. “No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” the Dalai Lama said.
Who is the current Dalai Lama?
Tenzin Gyatso is the current and 14th Dalai Lama, and is regarded as one of the world’s most influential figures, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Born as Lhamo Dhondup in 1935, he grew up in northeastern Tibet, an area now part of Qinghai province in China. He was identified as a holy reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at just two years old.
At 16, he assumed full political power as head of state in Tibet’s government-in-exile, however he relinquished authority to a democratically elected leader in 2011.
In 1959, following a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese control, he fled to India in disguise, travelling on horseback and foot. He is regarded as a separatist in the Chinese government’s eyes.
What is the controversy around his succession?
The Dalai Lama’s announcement is controversial because it breaks with tradition. According to Chinese officials, the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be chosen by national laws involving ancient traditions. Since 1793, a selection ritual, in which the names of potential reincarnations are drawn from a golden urn, has taken place in China.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry emphasised that their stance on the succession process hasn’t changed. “The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on a news briefing.
“The Chinese government implements a policy of freedom of religious belief, but there are regulations on religious affairs and methods for managing the reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas.”
However, the current Dalai Lama has argued that the golden urn tradition lacks “spiritual quality”.
Chinese officials have also insisted that the next Dalai Lama must be born in China, however, the current Dalai Lama has said that this needn’t be the case, encouraging his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing.
According to Chinese officials, a foreign-born or exile-appointed successor would be regarded as “illegitimate”.
As well as this, potential successors are usually young boys, however Samdhong Rinpoche, a senior official of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, said that the successor can be someone of any gender.
Tibetan Buddhists may even be left with two Dalai Lamas, according to Tibet observers and scholars, a situation the current Dalai Lama foresaw in 2019.
“In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from here, in free country, one chosen by Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect [the one chosen by China],” he said.
