DHARAMSHALA (HP), July 2: Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, declared on Wednesday that the sacred lineage of the Dalai Lama will continue beyond his lifetime, and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust will be authorised to identify his reincarnation. With this announcement, the Dalai Lama made it clear that no external authority, including any government, can interfere in the succession process.
The clarification comes as the Dalai Lama approaches his 90th birthday and addresses long-standing speculation regarding whether he would appoint a successor. His statement is expected to heighten friction with China, which has consistently maintained that it must approve any future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The Gaden Phodrang Trust, established by the Dalai Lama's office in 2015 as a non-profit organisation, will oversee the reincarnation process. Meanwhile, China rejected the spiritual leader’s announcement, asserting that any future Dalai Lama must be officially endorsed by Beijing — a stance that underscores the ongoing conflict between Tibetan religious tradition and the Chinese Communist Party’s political control.
