The mystical process of finding Dalai Lama's reincarnation

Time of India

02-07-2025

Tibetan spiritual leader
Dalai Lama
has challenged
China
by announcing that a non-profit institution he has set up, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, will have the sole authority to identify his reincarnation, countering China's insistence that it will choose his successor. Responding to his announcement, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday that his succession through his reincarnation must be approved by China's central government.
In his book 'Voice for the Voiceless', released in March 2025, the Dalai Lama said his successor would be born outside China. He wrote that he would release details about his succession around the time of his 90th birthday.
The Dalai Lama's eagerly awaited statement, made days before the Nobel peace laureate turns 90, puts to rest speculation, started by the Dalai Lama himself, that he may be the last of
Tibet
's spiritual leaders, ending a line that stretches back centuries. Addressing via a video message at the inaugural session at the 15th Tibetan Religious Conference at Dharamsala on Wednesday, he assured his followers that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and spelt out a succession process.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Also Read: Dalai Lama has challenged the Chinese stratagem
The Dalai Lama, who is named Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th in the long line of succession, had to flee from Tibet in 1959 due to a crackdown by Chinese authorities after a failed uprising against the rule of Mao Zedong's Communists. China had invaded and captured Tibet a decade back. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile at Mcleodganj in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, since his escape from Tibet.
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The mystical process of identifying Dalai Lama's reincarnation
Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the present incarnation of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet (the first having been born in 1391 CE), who are in turn considered to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, holder of the
White Lotus
, as per the official website of the Dalai Lama. He is also believed to be a manifestation of Chenrezig, in fact the seventy-fourth in a lineage that is traced back to a Brahmin boy who lived in the time of Buddha Shakyamuni.
China maintains that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be decided by following national laws that decree the use of the golden urn and the birth of reincarnations within China's borders. The golden urn is a method introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793 for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a golden urn.
But many Tibetans are suspicious of any Chinese role in the selection. It is inappropriate for Chinese Communists, who reject religion, "to meddle in the system of reincarnation of lamas, let alone that of the Dalai Lama," the Dalai Lama has said. In his book, he asked Tibetans not to accept "a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People's Republic of China," referring to the country by its official name.
When a Dalai Lama dies, it is believed he will reincarnate to continue his work. The process of finding his reincarnation begins after a period of mourning and rituals. Senior monks and high lamas look for signs that may point to the next reincarnation. These signs may include Dreams or visions and clues left by the Dalai Lama himself, such as the direction he was facing at death or prophetic statements he may have made. An oracle may also be consulted for guidance.
After adequate signs have appeared, a search team of high lamas and monks is formed. They travel, often in the direction indicated by the signs, to look for boys born around the time of the Dalai Lama's death who show unusual qualities. Once a potential child is found, a series of tests are conducted. After a thorough investigation and testing, the child may be formally recognised as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. The child is then given a traditional monastic education, often under the guidance of experienced tutors. He is trained in Buddhist philosophy, ritual, and leadership to prepare for his future role.
How the current Dalai Lama was found
The current Dalai Lama, 14th in the lineage, was born in 1935 in a farming family in a village called Taktser in what is now Qinghai province in the far northwest of China. He was identified as the reincarnation when he was just two years old by a search party sent by the Tibetan government. In 1940, he was officially installed as the spiritual leader of Tibetans in a ceremony at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, now the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The official website of the Dalai Lama gives a vivid account of how the current Dalai Lama was located and identified by lamas.
"When Lhamo Thondup was two years old, a search party that had been sent out by the Tibetan government to find the new incarnation of the Dalai Lama arrived at Kumbum monastery. It had been led there by a number of signs. One of these concerned the embalmed body of his predecessor, Thupten Gyatso, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, who had died aged fifty-seven in 1933. During the mummification process, the head was discovered to have turned from facing south to the northeast. Shortly after that the Regent, himself a senior lama, had a vision. Looking into the waters of the sacred lake, Lhamoi Lhatso, in southern Tibet, he clearly saw the Tibetan letters Ah, Ka and Ma float into view. These were followed by the image of a three-storied monastery with a turquoise and gold roof and a path running from it to a hill. Finally, he saw a small house with strangely shaped guttering. He was sure that the letter Ah referred to Amdo, the northeastern province, so it was there that the search party was sent," says the account on the website.
"By the time they reached Kumbum, the members of the search party felt that they were on the right track. It seemed likely that if the letter Ah referred to Amdo, then Ka must indicate the monastery at Kumbum, which was indeed three-storied and turquoise-roofed. They now only needed to locate a hill and a house with peculiar guttering. So they began to search the neighbouring villages. When they saw the gnarled branches of juniper wood on the roof of the His Holiness's parent's house, they were certain that the
new Dalai Lama
would not be far away. Nevertheless, rather than reveal the purpose of their visit, the group asked only to stay the night. The leader of the party, Kewtsang Rinpoche, then disguised himself as a servant and spent much of the evening observing and playing with the youngest child in the house," the website says.
"The child recognized him and called out 'Sera lama, Sera lama'. Sera was Kewtsang Rinpoche's monastery. The next day they left, only to return a few days later as a formal deputation. This time they brought with them a number of possessions that had belonged to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, together with several similar items that did not belong to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. In every case, the infant correctly identified those belonging to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama saying, 'It's mine. It's mine'. This more or less convinced the search party that they had found the new incarnation. It was not long before the boy from Taktser was recognized to be the new Dalai Lama," says the website.
(With agency inputs)