Days before he turns 90, Dalai Lama says Gaden Phodrang Trust will find his reincarnation

“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation. No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” the Dalai Lama said while reading out a message via videoconference before reporters in Dharamshala.

The Dalai Lama said the trust will discuss the matter with Tibetan spiritual heads and take a decision accordingly. He had issued a similar statement in 2011.

“On 24 September, 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, I made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and those who have a connection with Tibet and Tibetans, regarding whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue. I stated: As far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future,” the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said.

“I also said: When I am about 90, I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, to re-evaluate whether or not the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue,” he added.

Saying that he had no public discussions on the matter, the Dalai Lama stated that “over the last 14 years leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, participants in a Special General Body Meeting, members of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, Buddhists from the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Buddhist republics of the Russian Federation and Buddhists in Asia including mainland China, have written to me with reasons, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue.”

“In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said.

Reminding that the process through which the next Dalai Lama will be recognised has been clearly established in the 2011 statement, he said that the members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust “should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition.”