China can't choose: Dalai Lama plans to reincarnate - will be reborn abroad
the
said on Wednesday that the 600-year-old institution will continue after his death, a move likely to deeply influence his global Buddhist followers.
Speaking during prayer celebrations ahead of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama reaffirmed that the institution he leads will endure beyond his lifetime.
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In a recorded message, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism said his successor should be identified in keeping with centuries-old Buddhist traditions.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama chooses the body into which he is reincarnated, a process that has occurred 14 times since the institution's founding in 1587.
The Dalai Lama said that responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama "will rest exclusively" with the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office of the Dalai Lama, according to news agency AFP.
"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," he added.
Tenzin Gyatso was recognised as the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940. He fled Tibet in 1959 after Chinese forces crushed an uprising in Lhasa and has lived in exile in Dharamshala, India, ever since.
The Dalai Lama has long maintained that his successor will be born outside of China, a stance that directly challenges Beijing's claim that it alone has the authority to appoint the next Dalai Lama.
China considers him a separatist and rejects any religious process outside its control.
Reaffirming his position, the Dalai Lama said, 'The institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,' and stated that the search for his reincarnation must follow 'past tradition.' Most Tibetan Buddhists, both inside Tibet and in exile, strongly oppose China's efforts to control Tibetan religious affairs.
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