Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said in a new book that his successor will be born outside China, further fuelling a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.
In the book Voice for the Voiceless he writes that Tibetans around the world want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue even after his death. The selection of the Dalai Lama’s successor has been a matter of discussion for a long time. Now they have agreed that his successor should be chosen.
Next Dalai Lama May Be Born in India
Until now, the Dalai Lama has been appointed by identifying a child born in Tibet, but this time the situation is more complicated. The 14th Dalai Lama has indicated that his successor will be chosen from an independent country outside China.
There is speculation that the next Dalai Lama could be a Tibetan Buddhist child born in India. If this happens, it will send a strong message to the Tibetan independence movement and China’s influence will decrease. The 14th Dalai Lama has made it clear that China will have no authority over this decision.
China Rejects Dalai Lama’s Authority, Calls Him a Political Exile
In response, Chinese spokesman Mao Ning said on Tuesday, “The Dalai Lama is a political exile who has no right to represent the Tibetan people. The lineage of the Living Buddha Dalai Lama was established and developed in China, and his religious status and title were also determined by the Chinese government.”
Dalai Lama Came to India at the Age of 23
The current 14th Dalai Lama, originally named Tenzin Gyatso, fled to India in 1959 at the age of 23 along with thousands of Tibetans after a failed uprising against the Communist government of Mao Zedong.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, but China still considers him a separatist.
