Beijing/Dharamshala: China has lashed out against Tibetan leader Dalai Lama over his comments on appointing his successor to protect the 600-year-old institution of Tibetan Buddhism, saying that only China has the right to appoint the next Dalai Lama.
“The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn and approved by the central government,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
The 89-year-old Tenzin Gyatso had ruled out the legitimacy of any political imposition, stating ahead of his 90th birthday that a successor can only be appointed by the centuries-old traditional practices of Tibetan Buddhism, ruling out any say by China.
Back in 2011, when asked whether the institution will continue, the Dalai Lama said he had no “public discussions” on the issue, leaving much to speculation in the last 14 years.
Taking to X, he said that the institution will continue, after “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,” wrote to him asking for its continuation.
“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 added.
“The process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognised has been clearly established in the September 24, 2011 statement which states that responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“They 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. 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,” he said.