Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday confirmed that the 600-year-old institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his death, a decision with deep significance for his global Buddhist followers and supporters of Tibetan autonomy.
The announcement, made just days before his 90th birthday on July 6, affirms that the Dalai Lama’s line of reincarnations—currently in its 14th cycle—will not end with him.
“It is a landmark decision not only for Tibetans but also for global supporters who see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of non-violence, compassion and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule.”
The Dalai Lama revealed that over the past 14 years, he has received numerous appeals from the Tibetan diaspora, as well as from Buddhist communities across the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Russia, and even China, asking that the tradition continue.
“In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal,” he said in a video broadcast during a meeting of religious leaders in McLeod Ganj, the Indian town where he has lived in exile since 1959.
“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he added, according to an official translation.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 along with thousands of Tibetans after a failed uprising in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, against Chinese rule. Since then, he has continued his spiritual and cultural leadership from India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is also based.
Now in advanced age, the question of his succession has grown increasingly sensitive. China, which has labeled him a separatist, is expected to name its own successor in an attempt to maintain influence in Tibet. Many fear this could lead to a political and spiritual crisis for Tibetan Buddhism.
However, the Dalai Lama made it unequivocally clear that the authority to choose his successor rests only with his institution in exile.
“I hereby reiterate that 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 Gaden Phodrang, the India-based office of the Dalai Lama, will now be responsible for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama, ensuring the tradition remains under Tibetan and Buddhist control, not foreign influence.