Born Free, Chosen True: Dalai Lama’s Reincarnation to Defy Interference

In a dramatic and timely statement on the eve of his 90th birthday, the 14th Dalai Lama has reiterated that the Gaden Phodrang Trust—his official organization in Dharamshala—has the exclusive rightful authority to certify his future reincarnation. The statement issued during the 15th Tibetan Religious Conference is made at a time of increasing international focus and geopolitics over the succession of the supreme spiritual leadership of Tibetan Buddhism.

 

The Dalai Lama reaffirmed that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue, and no foreign power, including any government, has the authority to interfere with the sacred process of identifying his next reincarnation. He reaffirmed that the reincarnation must be discovered by traditional Tibetan Buddhist means, without any political interference.

 

Key Highlights:

 

The Gaden Phodrang Trust, established in 2015, will carry out the search and identification of the 15th Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama himself had stated: "My reincarnation is to be decided by myself; no one is entitled to decide on that."

He said the future Dalai Lama would be born in a free nation, probably not in China, in order to be spiritually free.

The announcement conforms to his 2011 statement and subsequent writings in Voice for the Voiceless, upholding the continuity of the lineage.

Other international powers, including the U.S., have supported the Tibetan stance, opposing any kind of Chinese intervention in the reincarnation process.

 

This announcement not only preserves the integrity of the Tibetan Buddhist practices but also paves the way for a high-stakes spiritual and political saga in the years to come.

 

Source: IndiaPost, News18, Deccan Chronicle