Who will succeed the Dalai Lama? -News

The conflict between China and Tibet remains unresolved, as is the potential successor to the 89-year-old Dalai Lama. Backgrounds.

It’s all about this: The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, is currently receiving a special guest: a delegation from the US Congress is visiting him in exile in India. Since China’s takeover of Tibet in the 1950s, the Buddhist leader has lived in exile there. The head of the American delegation said that President Biden will soon sign a law urging China to resolve the Tibet dispute.

Discussion on the Dalai Lama’s successor: The Dalai Lama celebrates his 89th birthday on July 6. But the debate over his successor began long ago. “At the political level, he gave up his power in 2011,” explains Leah Berger, SRF’s religion editor. Since then there has been an elected parliament. “However, the Dalai Lama remains an important figure on the political scene. This visit by the American delegation of high-level representatives shows that.” Regarding his reincarnation and spiritual succession, the Dalai Lama once said that he would like to comment on his successor when he turns 90, That is, after a year.

Here the Dalai Lama struck a new tone.

Who can succeed the Dalai Lama? In the past, the Buddhist leader has briefly mentioned various options for his successor. “For example, he said that even a woman could inherit it,” Berger says. Another option is popular vote. “Both proposals are unusual and inconsistent with previous traditions.” They are usually men and the selection process is complicated. “Here the Dalai Lama struck a new tone.”

legend:

The Dalai Lama will turn 90 in 2025. From this day on, the spiritual leader wants to comment specifically on possible successors.

Keystone/Will Oliver

China’s role in the caliphate: China occupied Tibet in 1950, and has considered it its territory ever since. This is why China wants to organize the successor to the Dalai Lama himself. “In this Sino-Tibetan interaction, the so-called golden jar has actually been used before.” A kind of lottery to determine the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. China now claims this is a way to prevent fraudulent elections. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite: China is trying to influence the election,” Berger says. This influence of China on other important figures was also observed in the election of the Panchen Lama. “China has identified the official successor itself.”

The role of the Panchen Lama: In 1995, the 11th Panchen Lama was kidnapped, and to this day there is no trace of him. After the kidnapping, China appointed its successor, the new Panchen Lama, who has a positive attitude towards China. “When it comes to finding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama plays an important role,” explains the expert. This confirms this reincarnation, as well as the opposite. Traditionally, the two also give religious instructions to each other and have a teacher-student relationship. “The whole thing shows that in order to have influence in Tibet, the Panchen Lama is a very central figure,” Berger says.