Dharamsala, India – Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that he should have a successor and said that the next Dalai Lama should be chosen by the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non -profit group he set up – rejecting China’s movements to direct his succession.
The decision, he said in a statement that he had read out loudly during the opening day of a three-day spiritual conference in Dharamsala, came after years of calls from Tibetan religious and secular leaders, as well as people and organizations around the world.
“In particular, I received messages via various Tibetan channels in Tibet by making the same call,” he said. “In accordance with all these requests, I assert that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.”
His statement did not mention China by name, but he said that the selection of the next Dalai Lama should be made “in accordance with previous tradition”.
“No one else has such an authority to interfere in this case,” he said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated Wednesday that the selection of a new Dalai Lama was to follow Chinese law and that it should take place in China.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that when Dalai Lama dies, his mind will reincarnate in a new body. A research committee traditionally composed of high -ranking monks and lamas is formed to find a child born in the year following the death of the Dalai Lama which presents exceptional qualities and behaviors similar to its predecessor. The current Dalai Lama was two years old when it was identified.
In a book written earlier this year, the Dalai Lama said that his successor was born in the “free world”, which he described as outside China.
In 2011, Dalai Lama said he would decide if he would have a reincarnated successor “when I was about 90 years old.” The Tibetan spiritual leader is 90 years old on Sunday. The celebrations of the stage anniversary started in Dharamsala on Monday.
Reporting by Dawa Dolma, edited by Greg Barber