TENSION

The Dalai Lama Lays Out Succession Plan Ahead of 90th Birthday

The Tibetan spiritual leader laid out the plan in a video message Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama has laid out his succession plan. Addressing a gathering of religious elders in Dharamshala, India Wednesday, the Tibetan spiritual leader affirmed that his successor will be chosen by the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office and foundation of the Dalai Lama, in “accordance with past tradition.” “I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the spiritual leader said in a pre-recorded video Wednesday, delivered a mere few days ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday. “The Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he continued, seemingly referring to leaders in Beijing who have insisted that the Chinese government maintains authority over approving the next Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader, who is the 14th Dalai Lama, has been living in Dharamshala in exile ever since he fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959 following a thwarted uprising against Chinese troops. China’s Foreign Ministry maintained its stance on the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation Wednesday and reiterated that the selection must be approved by the central government in Beijing. “Tibetan Buddhism was born in China and is a religion with Chinese characteristics,” spokesperson Mao Ning said at a news briefing, per The Washington Post.