Dalai Lama XIV prepares to give clues about his successor amid pressure from China
30 June 2025 21:07
on July 2, a three-day conference with the participation of more than a hundred Buddhist religious leaders will begin in India. The event will feature a video message from the leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama XIV. His followers expect that on the eve of his 90th birthday, the spiritual leader will openly share details about the election of his successor for the first time.
This was reported byReuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
During a prayer on June 30, the Dalai Lama said that there is a clear structure within which we can talk about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. Representatives of the Tibetan government-in-exile confirm that the political leadership can function while the Gaden Phodrang Foundation – established by the Dalai Lama in 2015 to preserve traditions – is searching for a new incarnation of the spiritual leader.
In the meantime, pressure is building in Beijing. The Chinese authorities, who consider the Dalai Lama a separatist after he fled Tibet in 1959, have stated that they have the right to choose the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism. In January 2023, China secretly held a meeting of officials to prepare for this process.
In March 2025, Beijing publicly called the Dalai Lama a “political exile” and emphasized that it could discuss his future only if he recognized Tibet and Taiwan as integral parts of China. The Tibetan government in exile rejected this demand.
In response to the pressure, the Dalai Lama XIV has repeatedly stated that his successor will be born outside of China and urged his followers not to recognize whoever Beijing imposes. Nine years ago, during a visit to Mongolia, he declared that the reincarnation of Jetsun Dhampa, an important figure in Buddhism, was born there. This outraged China: Beijing closed the border crossing with Mongolia and postponed loan negotiations. Under pressure from China, Mongolia banned future visits by the Dalai Lama.
In his public statements, the Dalai Lama also noted that it is likely that his next incarnation will appear in India, where he lives in exile in Dharamsala, near the Himalayas.
Thupten Ngodup, the state oracle of Tibet and personal advisor to the Dalai Lama, emphasizes that usually the issue of reincarnation is not discussed during the lifetime of a spiritual leader. However, the current situation is exceptional: “Because of the intervention of the Chinese government,” he notes.
Reference:
- TheDalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, considered the earthly incarnation of the bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara. According to the belief, after death he is reincarnated in a new body.
- China occupied Tibet in 1950 and suppressed the uprising in 1959. In the same year, the Dalai Lama emigrated to India, where he founded a government in exile.
- In 2011, he relinquished political power to a democratically elected leader, focusing exclusively on spiritual service.
