Dalai Lama to reveal line of succession

Buddhist leader turns 90 end of this week

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The Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of Buddhist religious figures this week ahead of his 90th birthday, as his followers wait for the Tibetan spiritual leader to share details about his succession in a move that could irk China.

Beijing views the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, as a separatist and says it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born outside China and urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing.

Tibetan Buddhists hold that enlightened monks are reborn to carry forward their spiritual legacy. The 14th Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday and has said he would consult senior monks and others at this time to share possible clues on where his successor, a boy or a girl, could be found following his death.

“The rest of my life I will dedicate for the benefit of others, as much as possible, as extensive as possible,” the Dalai Lama told a gathering of his followers yesterday as they offered prayers for his long life.

“There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas,” he said, without elaborating on the framework.