Dalai Lama asserts right to find successor, China fumes

The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that the 600-year-old institution of spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists will continue after his death and a trust created by him will be the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation, effectively shutting out any role for China in choosing his successor.

- Dar Ovais and Rezaul H Laskar

Speculation has swirled about the future of the institution since the Nobel laureate head of Tibetan Buddhism said in 2011 that he would decide on his 90th birthday — which falls on July 6 this year — whether the position should continue. His Wednesday announcement, which clarifies matters, came at a Tibetan religious conference in McLeodganj, near Dharamshala, that is part of a week of celebrations to mark his birthday.

The Dalai Lama outlined the process for choosing his successor in a pre-recorded video message and said his decision was influenced by numerous requests from Tibetan spiritual leaders, members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, and the Buddhist diaspora in the Himalayas, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and Asia, including mainland China, that the institution should continue.

"In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue," he said, drawing cheers from more than 100 monks who gathered along with long-time supporters such as Hollywood star Richard Gere and journalists from across the world in a Gere and journalists from across the world in a McLeodganj library.

"I hereby reiterate 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, referring to a non-profit he founded in 2015 that oversees matters related to the spiritual leader and the institute of the Dalai Lama.