{"id":1957,"date":"2025-07-03T15:51:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T15:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/the-dalai-lama-sent-a-strong-message-to-his-followers-and-to-china\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:51:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T15:51:40","slug":"the-dalai-lama-sent-a-strong-message-to-his-followers-and-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/the-dalai-lama-sent-a-strong-message-to-his-followers-and-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dalai Lama sent a strong message to his followers \u2014 and to China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

To outsiders, the Dalai Lama affirming that someone will take his place when he dies might have felt like a mere confirmation of the status quo.<\/p>\n

He is the 14th Dalai Lama — of course, there will be a 15th.<\/p>\n

But that assumption misses the point, as well as the significance of his statement.<\/p>\n

The Dalai Lama’s statement comforted millions of followers while also sending a message to political forces in Beijing that are expected to try and meddle with his succession.<\/p>\n

He also sent a message to the world: Tibet’s struggle for identity is not over.<\/p>\n

China calls him a ‘wolf in monk’s robes’<\/h2>\n

The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has become inseparable from Tibet’s identity and its decades-long struggle for autonomy under Beijing’s tightening grip.<\/p>\n

News :<\/span><div>12 weeks' jail for school IT support technician who took upskirt videos of teachers<\/div><\/span><\/a><\/div>

After escaping Tibet in 1959, he has been as much a reformist as a spiritual leader.<\/p>\n

From his adopted home in McLeodganj, Dharamshala, in northern India, he built a government-in-exile, unified Tibetans across the diaspora and brought their plight to the global stage.<\/p>\n

For Beijing, he remains a thorn in the side, denounced as a dangerous separatist and a “wolf in monk’s robes”.<\/p>\n

He had previously said that when he turned 90, he would consult the high lamas of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan public to re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue at all.<\/p>\n

This week, at an event to celebrate his birthday according to a Tibetan calender, he confirmed the way forward.<\/p>\n

“I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

News :<\/span>Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones<\/span><\/a><\/div>

And, he said, it would do so without the interference of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n

Importantly, he said that only his foundation — the Gaden Phodrang Trust — can recognise his future reincarnation, and that he himself will issue instructions for the process when the time comes.<\/p>\n

His followers responded with a mix of jubilation and relief.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Attendant<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

The Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala hosted the first round of celebrations for the Dalia Lama’s 90th birthday. (AP: Ashwini Bhatia<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A question that hung over his followers<\/h2>\n

For decades, Tibetan Buddhists around the world have pleaded with the Dalai Lama to clarify his succession plans.<\/p>\n

Their fear was twofold: that the institution might end with him, leaving a spiritual and political vacuum; or that China would install a puppet successor to undermine the Tibetan cause.<\/p>\n

Those concerns are not unfounded.<\/p>\n

In 1995, years after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, Beijing installed its own Panchen Lama, rejecting the Dalai Lama’s chosen candidate — a six-year-old boy who has since vanished from public view.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas have played crucial roles in recognising each other’s reincarnations.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Tibetan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

The Dalai Lama has moved to head off any attempts by China to hijack the recognition of the next Dalai Lama. (AP: Ashwini Bhatia<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many experts believe Beijing is preparing to impose control over the Dalai Lama’s succession too.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday —  shortly after his statement — a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated Beijing’s position that any reincarnation must be selected and approved by China.<\/p>\n

That could pave the way for the possibility of two Dalai Lamas: one revered by Tibetans and Buddhist followers across the world, the other installed by Beijing.<\/p>\n

The Dalai Lama has long anticipated this scenario.<\/p>\n

“It is particularly inappropriate for Chinese communists, who explicitly reject even the idea of past and future lives … to meddle in the system of reincarnation,” he said in 2011.<\/p>\n

“Such brazen meddling contradicts their own political ideology and reveals their double standards.” <\/p>\n

At the religious conference in Dharamshala this week, senior Tibetan Buddhist leaders issued a formal statement of gratitude to the Dalai Lama.<\/p>\n

They too condemned China’s interference as political and illegitimate: “We strongly condemn the People’s Republic of China’s usage of the reincarnation subject for their political gain and will never accept it.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

Tibetan monks gathered at the Dalai Lama’s temple complex in India to pray for his long life. (Reuters: Anushree Fadnavis<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A message to Tibet, and beyond<\/h2>\n

Beijing, which annexed Tibet in 1951, has in recent years been accused of an intensified campaign to reshape Tibetan Buddhism into a tool of the state.<\/p>\n

The atheist Chinese Communist Party has imposed surveillance inside monasteries, pushed monks through patriotic re-education, and installed its own religious figures, as part of a broader effort to assimilate ethnic and religious minorities, according to a report by the US Department of State.<\/p>\n

Many of the tactics mirrors those reportedly used in Xinjiang against the Muslim Uyghur population.<\/p>\n

Despite Beijing’s long shadow, Tibetan Buddhists have been celebrating and praying for their leader’s long life this week.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

The Dalai Lama’s declaration is a strong reminder of the continuing struggle for Tibet’s identity. (Reuters: Anushree Fadnavis<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 90, the Dalai Lama’s influence remains undiminished, but the road ahead is fraught.<\/p>\n

His declaration this week reasserts his authority over the succession process and signals his determination to safeguard both the institution and the Tibetan cause beyond his lifetime.<\/p>\n

It’s a strong reminder to his followers, and to Beijing, that the struggle for Tibet’s identity continues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Dalai Lama sent a strong message to his followers — and to China<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To outsiders, the Dalai Lama affirming that someone will take his place when he dies might have felt like a mere confirmation of the status quo. He is the 14th Dalai Lama — of course, there will be a 15th. But that assumption misses the point, as well as the significance of his statement. The…<\/p>\n

Read More “The Dalai Lama sent a strong message to his followers \u2014 and to China”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}